On 3 April 2009, lawyer and human rights activist Lucille Mazangue of the Association des Femmes Juristes in the Central African Republic (CAR) published an op-ed in “Le Pays,” an independent newspaper in Burkina Faso. The piece confronts regional misperceptions about the Court and calls for African countries to revitalize their longstanding commitment to international justice. Here are excerpts from the piece, entitled “Advocating African Leadership to Uphold Justice.”

“[T]he current spate of accusations against the Court for its alleged targeting of African leaders has reached a critical climax. But critics are ignoring the facts and doing a great disservice to the victims of heinous crimes…insinuating that the ICC’s investigations are anti-African ignores a basic fact: when the Court investigates those presumed responsible for committing serious crimes in Africa, it does so in the name of African victims…

If the African states developed the capacity to lead investigations and foster active and effective judicial prosecutions of these crimes, fewer cases in Africa would reach the Court…

Guaranteeing justice for victims should not be rejected on the grounds that justice for all is not with immediate reach. The recent developments with the African Union are therefore quite disturbing…

The meeting of African States Parties to the ICC-expected to take place this spring in Addis Ababa under the auspices of the African Union-would appear to be nothing other than an act of hostility toward the Court, an act that threatens to weaken the institution. And yet, African leaders should do the very opposite. The victims are counting on them-particularly those from African States Parties-to strongly express how important the Court is as a means to end violence on the continent. It is especially important for States Parties such as Burkina Faso and Uganda who also enjoy a seat in the Security Council to adopt a positive leadership role.

…Instead of trying to weaken the Court, [the 30 African States Parties to the ICC] should proudly support the Court’s mandate…so that more nations outside of the Rome Statute system are pressured to adhere.

…African States have remained much too silent in the public eye. The question we need to ask is: will our leaders continue to let the Court suffer from attacks, or will they take an unequivocal stand for justice? The disparaging attacks against the Court undermine both victims’ interests and the aspirations of all African citizens. The aforementioned meeting of African State parties in Addis Ababa is an important moment to stem the current tide. The people of Africa are counting on their leaders to be on their side, and on the side of justice.”

Please Note: This is an unofficial translation by the CICC Secretariat from the original French.

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Sarah Jane Fowler is an intern with the Coalition’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Section.

On 14 April, Dismas Nkunda, Co-Director of the Kampala-based International Refugee Rights Initiative spoke in New York on the humanitarian situation in Sudan and Chad following the ICC’s 4 March 2009 arrest warrant for Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, the president of Sudan.

Nkunda spoke of the continued targeting of Sudanese civil society organizations and activists, forcing some organizations as venerable as the Khartoum Centre to the brink of closure.

In response to reports that African states parties to the ICC may consider pulling out of the Court in early June, Nkunda warned that such actions would mark the “beginning of the end of the ICC.” He said one of the most influential opponents of the Al-Bashir arrest warrant to watch is Jean Ping, Gabonese diplomat and Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union. He stressed the importance of targeting South Africa, Libya, Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt - which wield the most influence and account for nearly 75% of all AU funding and identified the AU Peace and Security Council, Arab League, and Organisation of the Islamic Conference as important regional bodies that need to come down on the side of justice. Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana, Botswana, and Zambia should also be targeted for support.

The AU seemingly wants to keep Al-Bashir, Kushayb and Haroun, and even the rebels on their side in order to focus on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The more pressure there is on the Sudanese government, the less room to manoeuvre and move the CPA and entire political process along. Nkunda noted that rebel support for the arrest warrant is likely as it represents a tool to delegitimize the President’s authority.

Nkunda ended his remarks on a sobering note, saying that resources for raising awareness of the ICC mandate are limited by the day-to-day realities on the ground and the people’s legitimate concerns for their own safety in Sudan.

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Sister Sophie Kitoga who runs the Congolese organization Femme, Lève-toi et Marche (translates loosely to Women, Let’s Get Up and March) based in Bukavu recently spoke to the CICC Secretariat over email about her reaction to the Lubanaga proceedings. What follows is the full text from that conversation. Please note that translation from the original French is informal and provided by the CICC Secretariat.

The Thomas Lubanga trial is very important for people in our country in that we can start to see that what is written in our constitution with regard to the fight against impunity is finding responses. The trial is equally important for our organization, Femme, Lève-toi et Marche [member of the Congolese National Coalition for the ICC] which is comprised of female victims of rape. Our goal is to assist rape survivors in recovering from the psychological trauma and lethargy that this type of scourge inflicts on them.

Many women have been physically mutilated (often genital mutilation resulting in fistula) whereas others have had their breasts cut, wounds on their thighs, buttocks, back and stomach. Others still have been traumatized psychologically given the fact that they have been raped repeatedly in the presence of their husbands or their children.

What remains is this feeling of shame and humiliation. Some are blamed by their husbands or children who pretend that these poor victims consented to rape. The consequence is that these women are discouraged to the point of wanting to commit suicide. The disgust they confront from others forces them to want to withdraw from society and forever stop taking part in any kind of social or economic order.

What’s more, the children born as a result of rape become innocent victims and are not accepted by members of the family into which they are born but also the society as a whole. We have a name for these children: Hutu children. For some mothers, it’s hard to accept these children. These children bear the signs of the very things Lubanga is accused of. If by some misfortune, Lubanga is acquitted, where will be the justice? The impunity our country suffers from will continue and the victims will become more and more numerous.

Personally, I don’t know Lubanga and that probably goes for many Congolese. But we have heard about the acts he is alleged to have committed as well as his soldiers. All of us here in the Congo wait for justice to be done-many people have been killed, families have been forced to leave their property, their fields, and their businesses. Poverty and misery are being fought in every region. Should Lubanga be found guilty, such a verdict could bring comfort-and perhaps indemnities so that people could return to their activities. Women too could regain hope for the future.

As for the violence, I don’t know if the failure to convict Lubanga would help victims recover their belongings, but it would restore some confidence in power and the love of country these people feel for the Congo-victims would feel vindicated and from this would flow a feeling of patriotism.

As for women, in addition to the sense of security and a return to justice, the women would feel revalorized and rehabilitated.

Let’s talk about our country’s supreme court: the Lubanga trial stands to breathe courage into our national court system in terms of its ability to openly pursue the issue of rape and fight for justice. The trial stands to vanquish fear and false shame which together propel rape. We are scared because we are threatened-you see, it’s this false sense of shame that forces people to remain quiet and not denounce these rapes. This trial will encourage the country’s system of justice to formulate laws against all manner of violence against all types of people-but especially those most vulnerable: the weak, women and children.

I don’t know if many victims will have the possibility to testify as eyewitnesses; many would no doubt fear retaliation. It must be that victims come together to fight-for this to happen, the Congolese state must start up investigations to find the perpetrators. The Church, too, has a role to play in condemning this scourge because rape goes against religious respect for physical integrity.

The enlistment of child soldiers is a grave crime because it deprives children of their childhood and their right to grow up under the affection of their parents. It also deprives them of a normal education. It hurts children psychologically and morally: child soldiers no longer respect the law that holds a society together: you shall not kill, you shall not steal, and you shall respect adults, small children, older people, women and girls. Contrary to these societal laws, child soldiers have moral wounds that force them to learn to act immorally: rape, lie, murder and speak obscenities. All this goes against our common human culture and the African culture. For victims, a guilty verdict for Lubanga would be a milestone in the fight against impunity. In this sense, the symbolic dimension of the trial will serve as a lesson. Whoever would or would be tempted to act as this man has will think twice. And those who give such a person arms will also be denounced because they too carry a heavy responsibility for the wars in Africa.

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