The Hague, July 13, 2012 (FH) \u2013 The International Criminal Court (ICC) is preparing to deliver its first decision on reparations for victims. The conviction and sentencing of former Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga to 14 years in prison for war crimes opens the way to reparations for victims in the case. The ICC is the first international criminal court that provides not only for victims to be represented during trials but also for reparations to victims.<\/p>\n
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The Court\u2019s judges have in the past few weeks asked the prosecution, defence, ICC Trust Fund for Victims and NGOs to submit their opinions on criteria for allocation of reparations and procedures to be followed. The judges are expected to deliver their decision in the coming weeks, laying down who should pay, who should benefit and what will be the nature of reparations.<\/p>\n
The ICC Trust Fund for Victims, which is funded and managed separately from the Court, invites the judges to determine reparations in line with a goal of reconciliation. \u201cThe prevention of crimes will not only require punishing the perpetrator,\u201d says Trust Fund director Pieter de Baan. \u201cIt will require sustainable peace based on the healing of victims and reconciliation of society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Who is a victim?\u00a0 <\/p>\n
In a written document, the Prosecutor proposes that \u201call victims of the attacks perpetrated by the UPC [Union des Patriotes Congolais, of which Lubanga was head], in particular the targeted members of the Lendu communities, could apply as victims\u201d.<\/p>\n
But for Lubanga\u2019s lawyer Catherine Mabille, her client\u2019s conviction \u201cis not enough to justify laying all the blame for Ituri\u2019s suffering on his head\u201d. She considers that only victims of crimes attributed to him from 2002 to August 2003 are entitled to reparations.<\/p>\n
Lawyers Luc Walleyn and Franck Mulenda, representing child soldiers, warn the judges against attributing reparations only to the Hema, the ethnic group to which Lubanga and their clients belong. They say the child soldiers represented in the Lubanga case \u201care often in conflict with their own community\u201d, and that \u201cwhile it is a fact that this community has suffered through its youth being recruited into militia and its children used in war, it also largely accepted these things and supported the leaders that brought them about\u201d. They conclude that \u201creparations that benefit only the Hema community would have no sense and could be perceived as unjust by other communities\u201d.<\/p>\n
Who should pay?<\/p>\n
The Prosecutor contends that \u201cThe Court can order Mr. Lubanga to pay a symbolic nominal sum to each identified victim\u201d. He says the rest of the reparations should be paid by the Trust Fund for Victims.<\/p>\n
But Walleyn and Mulenda say even if the ICC Registry has pronounced Lubanga indigent, \u201cthe obligation to provide reparations for crimes committed falls first and foremost on the person convicted as guilty\u201d. They say that following this principle \u201ccan have psychological impact and constitutes in itself recognition of the harms caused\u201d. They contend that Lubanga will have the possibility to earn some money in prison, that a proportion of this should go to reparations, and that once he has served his sentence he should be made to contribute part of his income. The two lawyers propose that the Trust Fund advance the sum required from Lubanga, and that he subsequently reimburse it.<\/p>\n
However, defence lawyer Mabille warns that \u201cordering the payment of exorbitant sums with no relation to the proven harms would not be compatible with the declared aims of reparation\u201d.<\/p>\n
What kind of reparations?<\/p>\n
Child soldiers\u2019 lawyers Walleyn et Mulenda say their clients want measures that will allow them to find work, such as micro-credit, access to education and training, or recruitment into companies. The two lawyers say, amongst other things, that \u201cthe building of a memorial commemorating the children who died in the war and denouncing the use of child soldiers would be welcomed by the victims\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lawyers Carine Bapita and Paul Kabongo Tshibangu, representing other victims, say that in the case of girls who were conscripted and raped, what is needed is \u201cto follow the local customs by giving the families what is required in dowry, that is, 7 goats and 3 cows, which could provide compensation in livestock to the family of the girl who was raped\u201d. The two Congolese lawyers say that \u201crespecting this custom could help wash away the harm suffered by the girl and her family\u201d.<\/p>\n
SM\/ER\/JC<\/p>\n
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The Hague, July 13, 2012 (FH) \u2013 The International Criminal Court (ICC) is preparing to deliver its first decision on reparations for victims. The conviction and sentencing of former Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga to 14 years in prison for war crimes opens the way to reparations for victims in the case. The ICC is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-24518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hirondellenews"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n