Civil society and the international community must unite in order to address the greatest challenge with the Lubanga trial: the lack of public information on the ground. Far too many segments of the population here, and victims of UPC force’s cruelty in particular, are not receiving adequate information about this historic trial. Sadly, the trial runs the risk of being exploited by those seeking to twist information and misinform. In Goma and in Bukavu, for example, we have heard false rumors that the Prosecutor’s Office has no additional witnesses and that Lubanga will be let go in the near future.
In response to this troubling trend, the Congolese Coalition for the ICC in the South-Kivu (CN-CPI) convened a 10 February meeting with various national and international actors fighting against impunity in South-Kivu to exchange views. Participants expressed overall dissatisfaction with the amount and level of penetration of the Court’s public information efforts on the ground. As an example, victims and witnesses in the Kivus and in the township of Kisangani have virtually no access to information on the hearing.
There has been widespread agreement that the Court’s Public Information and Documentation Section (PIDS) should quadruple its efforts on the ground to reverse the rampant misinformation. Participants also came up with a set of recommendations for PIDS, namely that PIDS must make DVDs or CD summaries more readily available so the CN-CPI and others can organize viewings; PIDS must also make the various decisions handed down in the Lubanga trial publically accessible so that magistrates, lawyers, students and Congolese researchers alike may be better informed and inspired by the proceedings. While the consistently high-quality work of Radio Okapi was underscored, participants emphasized the need for radio programs on the ICC to reach more rural media outlets.
While the ICC field office in Kinshasa is experiencing some success with the distribution of its audio visual summaries, much work remains in terms of improving and expanding access to public information. And yet the ICC alone cannot satisfy the demand for information day to day. Robust outreach must be regarded as a high priority by all actors fighting against impunity.
Descartes MPONGE MALASI
South-Kivu focal point for the Congolese Coalition for the ICC (CN-CPI)
“Journalists for the Promotion of Human Rights (JPDH),” a non-governmental member organization of the Coalition for the ICC welcomes the long-awaited trial of Thomas Lubanga even if we believe the scope of the charges is too limited and should have been much broader in scope. NGO members of the national network of human rights organizations in Congo—RENADHOC—also welcome the opening of the trial and refuses to speculate on its outcome. Our appreciation is further shared with a large part of the affected population in Ituri (northeastern DRC). However, they remain concerned with the untimely cuts in the televised broadcast of the trial and the acts of sabotage by Lubanga supporters which led to the disruption of the screening [in Bunia].
We believe that the Lubanga trial marks a turning point in international justice, especially in light of the controversial experiences of the UN ad hoc tribunals like the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha. This trial has a deterrent effect on other active warlords in DRC. Victims are hoping to see the accused sanctioned and the victims granted redress (in the form of community reparations like building a school, etc.). The participatory role of victims in the trial will be to tell their stories and share the atrocities they suffered. In DRC, the trial is definitely having a deterrent effect.
Desire-Israel Kazadi,
Executive director of National Network of Human Rights Organizations in Congo (JPDH) and media liaison at the Congolese Coalition for the ICC (CN-CPI) in Kinshasa
Indeed, it is true that the Public Information and Outreach Section (PIDS) of the International Criminal Court should multiply its efforts so that victims and the population access information but I do not understand why the Congolese media are not interested in or do not make much effort to relay information in relation with the Lubanga trial.
Perhaps the ongoing closed sessions do not allow for much information on the trial but there are hearings summaries which can be used, particular with community radio and on Radio Okapi which covers most of the DRC.
Eugène Bakama Bope, Président of the Club des amis du Congo