Kinshasa, Kisangani, Paris, 22 October 2024. At long last, there is hope for justice for the victims of international crimes, considered some of the greatest atrocities of recent decades. On 14 October 2024, the ICC Prosecutor announced the "renewal" of investigations led by the Office of the Prosecutor in DRC which will focus on crimes perpetrated by all alleged actors in the North-Kivu region since January 2022.
According to Jean-Claude Katende, FIDH Vice-President and ASADHO President: "By assessing the crimes perpetrated in the North Kivu region since January 2022, the ICC and the DRC are taking a step forward in the fight against impunity for crimes committed by actors who have been present in the DRC for 30 years. Actors continue to commit crimes and fuel the climate of recurrent violence. The M23 (March 23 Movement) and the other armed groups such as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which have been present in North-Kivu for many years, should also be investigated by the ICC Prosecutor."
FIDH and its member organisations in the DRC highlight the importance of collaboration between the Office of the Prosecutor and the Congolese government as well as local civil society organisations (CSO), especially to inform them about the investigation.
Dismas Kitenge, President of the Groupe Lotus, declares: "As outlined in the Prosecutor’s Policy on Complementarity and Cooperation, CSOs are key partners in documenting crimes and bridging the gap between Prosecutor’s Office and affected communities. It is crucial that the Office of the Prosecutor puts this policy into practice in a meaningful way."
The signatory organisations call on the DRC to prioritise the investigation and the prosecution of gender-based crimes, while ensuring the participation and the protection of victims. National prosecutions must include a mechanism for meaningful participation and guarantee access to justice for victims, which are essential components of effective complementarity.
Grace Lula, President of the Executive Board of the Ligue des électeurs, adds: "Among the crimes committed in North Kivu since January 2022, the investigations must focus on the recurrent and horrific gender-based violence against women and girls."
While national authorities have the primary responsibility to investigate, and to prosecute perpetrators of crimes falling under their jurisdiction, FIDH and its member organisations welcome the efforts made to establish a special criminal court for the DRC. Under this framework, it is essential to establish clear and transparent criteria of complementarity to prevent an excessive deference to national authorities, which could potentially leave victims with no viable recourse to justice.
Context
Since the Office of the Prosecutor opened its investigation in the DRC in 2004, the ICC issued seven public arrest warrants and opened investigations against six suspects. As the Prosecutor points out, the investigation in the DRC is part of the Complementarity and Cooperation Policy adopted recently adopted by his Office, which aims to strengthen the collaboration and accountability between the ICC and national jurisdictions to prosecute crimes under the Rome Statute.
The DRC has been facing recurrent episodes of armed violence for 30 years, in a general climate of impunity for the perpetrators, who are constantly regrouping and forming new factions.
The Prosecutor’s announcement follows a second referral by the Government of the DRC to the ICC in May 2023 for alleged crimes committed in North Kivu and the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Office of the Prosecutor and the DRC in June 2023, which aims to strengthen their cooperation in the fight against impunity, at the ICC and at the national level on the basis of complementarity. FIDH and its member organisations in the DRC, the Association africaine de défense des droits de l’Homme (ASADHO), the Ligue des Électeurs and the Groupe Lotus, welcomed these efforts at the time, while stressing the need for them to be followed by concrete action.