The MONITOR Journal of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court ISSUE NO. 35 Second DRC Case Spotlights Importance of Cooperation By Oriane Maillet n 17 October 2007, Germain Katanga, alleged leader of the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri, was sur- Orendered by authorities from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and transferred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, marking the Court’s second DRC case. Pre-Trial Chamber I issued the arrest warrant for Katanga on 2 July 2007, but it remained under seal until 18 October 2007 when the suspect was transferred to the Scheveningen deten- tion center in The Hague. Katanga had been in detention in Kinshasa, DRC since March 2005. The arrest warrant focuses on the period between January and March 2003, in particular the attack of the village of Bogoro on 24 February 2003. It lists three crimes against humanity and six war crimes in Ituri, a territory in eastern DRC that includes Bogoro. The alleged crimes include murder, inhumane acts, inhuman or cruel treat- ment, the use of child soldiers, sexual slavery, willful killing, Germain Katanga, alleged commander of the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), was intentional attacks against the civilian population and pillage. transferred to The Hague on 17 October 2007, marking the opening of the ICC’s second case in the DRC. ICC Registrar Bruno Cathala said the warrant was not imme- Credit: ANP/Robert Vos diately executed because of logistical matters. At a press conference following Katanga’s transfer, both the Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry praised DRC -au thorities for cooperating with the Court. They “have cooper- In response to criticism from non-governmental orga- ated with the Court in the spirit of the Statute by executing nizations that Katanga was a “small fish,” the Office of the warrant of arrest and surrendering him,” Cathala said. The French and Dutch authorities also helped facilitate the transfer. the Prosecutor said that it pursues cases solely based “It is very significant that cooperation with the ICC is remain- on available evidence. ing a priority,” ICC Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the press after the surrender. To prosecute those responsible for the crimes under the ICC jurisdiction, she said, “we rely In response to criticism from non-governmental organizations on the continuing cooperation of states, to help implement the that Katanga was a “small fish,” the Office of the Prosecutor Court’s arrest warrants, whether they are in the DRC, Uganda, said that it pursues cases solely based on available evidence. “We Darfur or anywhere else.” follow the evidence,” said Bensouda. “Our mandate is to go for those who bear the greatest responsibility and in this particu- This second surrender can only be seen as one step in our dif- lar instance, we see Katanga as the one who bears the greatest ferent investigations and prosecutions,” she continued. ”Other responsibility for the crimes we have charged him with.” She steps must follow, and state’s support, as foreseen in the Court’s also emphasized that this arrest would not be the last in DRC. Statute, remains crucial in this respect. There is no excuse not “While continuing our work in our two first investigations, we to execute the Court’s warrants.” are selecting our third case in the DRC,” she said. “This second arrest warrant accords with concerns of civil so- “The DRC is still engulfed in violence. It must stop,” said ICC ciety to see those responsible for international crimes in DRC, Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo following the transfer. within the various armed groups, held to account for the grave “Perpetrators must know they will be prosecuted. The ICC is crimes committed in Ituri,” the International Federation of Hu- at work in the DRC.” Reacting to the arrest, the South Kivu man Rights said in a statement. But some insisted that the inves- focal point of the DRC National Coalition for the ICC reit- tigation should expand to include senior officials in the region. erated the necessity for the DRC parliament to adopt Rome “The prosecutor should also pursue the political masters in Kin- Statute implementing legislation because it is essential to shasa, Kampala and Kigali who armed and supported the militia the fight against impunity. “It is only by this means that the groups operating in Ituri,” Human Rights Watch insisted. concerns of the Congolese peasant, a regular victim of seri- continued on p. 12 The Note from the Convenor Monitor Dear Readers, CTION Journal of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court Welcome to the latest edition of The Monitor. In this issue and at E Issue 35: November 2007 - April 2008 the Sixth Assembly of States Parties, we call attention to the increas- Views expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily those of the CICC Secretariat, ing importance of state and multilateral cooperation with the Court. its members or our funders. With four situations under investigation, several arrest warrants out- standing and more investigations on the horizon, ICC state parties Monitor Team Anaga Dalal Editor along with the international community must work harder to close EDITORIAL S EDITORIAL Linda Gueye Content Coordinator (French) the enforcement gap. We do not underestimate the complexity or Oriane Maillet Content Coordinator (English and French) difficulty of this work. It will take years of negotiations and greater Mariana Rodríguez Pareja Content Coordinator (Spanish) international cooperation before we see progress. At every step of the 2 Sasha Tenenbaum Content Coordinator (English) way, the CICC will be advocating for positive change in both formal Peony Trinh Designer and informal settings. Francesca Varda Content Coordinator (Spanish) During the course of our work, we sometimes encounter painful re- Secretariats in New York and The Hague minders of the dangers and importance of promoting international William R. Pace Convenor justice and the rule of law around the world. It is with a very heavy Tanya Karanasios Program Director heart that the Coalition mourns the passing of members from our Iraqi Noha Aboueldahab Outreach Liaison for the Middle East/North Africa and Europe national coalition who were recently murdered. For the safety of their Staci Alziebler Financial Officer Zoya Craig Office Coordinator families and colleagues, we have chosen not to mention their names. Anaga Dalal Head of Information and Communications We honor their memory and pay tribute to their courageous daily bat- Linda Gueye French Information Services Coordinator tles in the struggle to end impunity. Although their lives have ended, Brigitte Hamadey Program Assistant their courageous spirit and contribution to our work lives on. Spencer Lanning IT Consultant Oriane Maillet Communications Officer, The Hague Sincerely, Maaike Matelski Program and IT Assistant, The Hague Kirsten Meersschaert Development and Program Officer, The Hague Cecilia Nilsson Kleffner Legal Advisor/Head of Hague Office Kattia Ninahuanca Website and Database Developer William R. Pace Richard Nsanzabaganwa Outreach Liason for Africa Convenor of the Coalition for the ICC Isabelle Olma Legal Officer, The Hague Wasana Punyasena Legal Officer Leila Rachidi Senior Development Officer About Us Casey Schepp Human Resources Assistant The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) advocates for Brigitte Suhr Director of Regional Programs a fair, effective and independent ICC. The Coalition enters its twelfth year Sasha Tenenbaum Information Services Coordinator in 2007 and has proven to be a dynamic civil society network and campaign Peony Trinh Website and Publications Coordinator with more than 2,000 member organizations to date and an ever-expanding Francesca Varda Outreach Liaison for Latin America/Caribbean and Asia/Pacific membership. The CICC has worked closely with its members, like-minded Astrid de Vries Office and Finance Coordinator, The Hague governments, international and regional organizations, the United Nations Tricia Wong Finance Assistant system and the media to help establish the Court and push for universal rati- Oswaldo Zavala-Giler Legal Officer, The Hague fication and implementation of its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, along with widespread awareness of and support for international justice. Regional Coordination Amal Basha Middle East/North Africa Coordinator The Monitor is the Coalition’s flagship publication. It is distributed world- Francis Dako Francophone Africa Regional Coordinator wide in English, French and Spanish. Benson Chinedu Olugbuo Anglophone Africa Regional Coordinator Write Fátima da Camara Lusophone Campaign Adviser E-mail [email protected] to submit a letter to the editor or an ar- Rasha Jarhum Middle East/North Africa Technical Support Assistant ticle idea. 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