Former LRA Commander Dominic Ongwen to Be Tried: First ICC Trial for Wide Range of Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes
| Publisher | International Federation for Human Rights |
| Publication Date | 5 December 2016 |
| Cite as | International Federation for Human Rights, Former LRA Commander Dominic Ongwen to Be Tried: First ICC Trial for Wide Range of Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes, 5 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5845354e4.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Tomorrow, the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will hear the opening statements in the trial of Dominic Ongwen, a former senior commander of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Our organisations welcome the commencement of this important trial as a first concrete step to justice for more than 4000 participating victims and thousands of Ugandan survivors of the most serious crimes, in particular of sexual and gender-based crimes, committed by the LRA in Northern Uganda between 2002 and 2005.
Dominic Ongwen is charged with being criminally responsible for 70 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The charges include 19 charges of sexual and gender-based crimes, counts related to the use and conscription of child soldiers, attacks on camps of internally displaced persons (IDP) and persecution during the cycle of violence in Northern Uganda from 2002 to 2005. Our organisations especially welcome the extension of charges by the ICC Office of the Prosecutor in 2015, particularly to include charges of rape, forced marriage, forced pregnancy and sexual slavery, which were previously excluded from the counts against him. This is the first ICC trial for the charges of forced pregnancy and forced marriage.
4107 victims have been granted the right to participate in the proceedings. 2601 are represented by
two external lawyers of their choice, who are participating in the Ongwen case and only a few days ago were granted with legal aid. After the Trial Chamber judge decided not to grant legal aid for external counsels chosen by victims, considering only Court-chosen counsels should be entitled to legal assistance paid by the Court and leaving it up to the Registrar's prerogative, the Registrar decided on 29 November to provide means for the external counsels' team [1].
Footnotes
[1] See NGOs open letter of 17 November 2016 urging the ICC Registrar to grant legal aid for victims in the Ongwen case.
