Model International Court of Justice (MICJ)

Case #1

Democratic Republic of the Congo (Applicant)

Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. )

Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) November 20-21, 2020

1 Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Complaint

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) files in the Registry of the Court

Applications instituting proceedings against Uganda “for acts of armed aggression committed in flagrant breach of the United Nations Charter and of the Charter of the

Organization of African Unity”.i

In addition to the complete stop of the violent acts, the DRC respectfully seeks reparation for acts of intentional destruction and looting, as well as the restoration of national property and resources appropriated for the benefit of Uganda. ii

There are three main claims that are submitted against Uganda. Firstly, by

“engaging in military and paramilitary activities against the DRC and by occupying DRC territory and actively extending military, economic and financial support to irregular forces operating in the DRC, Uganda violated international law governing non-use of force, peaceful settlement of disputes, respect of sovereignty, and non-intervention”. iii

Secondly, by committing several acts of violence against DRC nationals and destroying their property, and by failing to prevent such acts by persons under its control, “Uganda violated international legal obligations to respect human rights, including the obligation to distinguish between civilian and military objectives during armed conflict”. iv

Lastly, “by exploiting Congolese natural resources and pillaging DRC assets and wealth, Uganda violated international law governing rules of occupation, respect for sovereignty over natural resources, right to self-determination of peoples, and the principles of non-interference in domestic matters.”v

2 The DRC hereby files a request for the indication of provisional measures to put a stop to all unsolicited military activity and violations of human rights and of the sovereignty of the DRC by Uganda. vi

Historical Background

The main events leading to this important case originated in May 1997 with

President Laurent-Désiré Kabila's deposition of Zairean dictator Mobutu-Sese Seko.

Laurent Kabila came into power with the military assistance and aid from Uganda and , hence his several attempts to now remove Ugandan and Rwandese troops from the DRC were rather unsuccessful. vii

After President Kabila’s came into power, Uganda and Rwanda were granted many benefits in the DRC especially in the military and economic sectors, so they were opposed to Kabila’s decision of a gradual reduction of their influence in the DRC.viii

The DRC was invaded by Ugandan armed forces in August 1998, and these troops also captured and occupied most Congolese towns and territory. This was done as a response to Kabila’s decision to get rid of the Ugandan and Rwandese forces from the DRC.

Further, the DRC contended that Uganda “recruited, funded, trained, equipped, and supplied armed Congolese groups opposed to the Kabila government.” ix

It was, according to the DRC, this “new policy of independence and emancipation” from the two States that sparked up the invasion of towns and territory of the DRC by Ugandan armed forces in August 1998.x

3 The invasion by Ugandan troops created conflict in many areas of the DRC and involves violent fighting in seven provinces namely Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, Equateur,

Maniema, Katanga, Orientale Province, and Kasai Oriental.xi

The facts as they occurred during the first days of the surprise invasion of the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Ugandan troops are as follows.

1. On the 2nd and 3rd of August 1998, columns of Ugandan army trucks carrying heavily armed soldiers breached the eastern frontiers of the Congo and occupied the cities of and Bukavu. 2. At the same time these events were taking place in the east of the country, in approximately 1,000 Ugandan soldiers, having evaded the repatriation operation ordered by the Congolese Government and acting with the support of so-called “Banyamulenge” units, attacked the military camps of Tshatshi and Kokolo. 3. On Tuesday 4th August 1998, three Boeings belonging to Congolese companies (Congo Airlines, Lignes aériennes congolaises and Blues Airlines) were forced to reroute from Goma (Nord-Kivu) to the military base of Kitona (Bas-Congo), with 600 to 800 Ugandan soldiers on board. 4. On Sunday 9 August 1998, two columns of Ugandan soldiers violated the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The first column was made up of 3 armored vehicles and 7 “KV” trucks, while the second comprised seven armored cars. Having crossed the frontier between Kamango and Watsa, they advanced on , in Orientale Province. 5. Further, on the same day (9 August 1998), a large transport aircraft of the Ugandan army landed at Nebbi in Uganda, close to Karobo, some 20 kilometers from Mahagi, on Congolese territory. The aircraft was carrying a substantial consignment of arms and munitions. These were distributed to the garrisons of Fahidi, Huruti, Mbo and Mee so that they could provide support for the Ugandan troops in the Congo.xii

4 The DRC maintains that in an official statement published on 28 July 1998,

President Kabila called for the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Congolese territory.

Although his address referred mainly to Rwandan troops, the DRC argues that there can be no doubt that President Kabila intended to address his message to “all foreign forces”. Uganda began its violent military intervention in the DRC immediately after the failure of the coup attempt against Kabila.xiii

The DRC claims that the aim was to overthrow President Kabila within ten days, and in the advance towards Kinshasa, Ugandan and Rwandan troops violently captured certain towns and occupied the Inga Dam, which is the main source of electricity to

Kinshasa.xiv

Countries like Angola and Zimbabwe came to the immediate assistance of the

Congolese Government to help prevent the capture of Kinshasa by Ugandan and

Rwandan troops, and in the north-eastern part of the country, within few months,

Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) troops had advanced and had progressively occupied a huge amount of Congolese territory in several provinces.xv

The DRC states that Uganda’s military operation against the DRC also included the provision of military support to armed groups in the DRC that were opposed to

President Kabila’s Government.

At the end of September 1998, Uganda supported the creation of the new

Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) rebel group. According to the DRC,

Uganda was significantly involved in the recruitment, training, education, equipment and supplying of the MLC and its military wing, the ALC.xvi

5 The close links between Uganda and the MLC were reflected in the formation of a united military front in combat operations against the FAC. The DRC states that there were several occasions where the UPDF provided tactical support, including artillery cover, for ALC troops.

Hence, the DRC contends that the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) and the ALC constantly combined forces and acted in close co-operation while fighting against the Congolese army.

It was then concluded that Uganda, “in addition to providing decisive military support for several Congolese rebel movements, has been extremely active in supplying these movements with a political and diplomatic framework”.xvii

With all these violations by Uganda, the DRC asks the Court to indicate the following provisional measures against the Government of Uganda:

(1) the immediate withdrawal of its armed forces from ;

(2) the immediate cessation of all fighting or military activity on the territory of the

DRC and the immediate and complete withdrawal from that territory;

(3) the adoption of "all measures in its power" to desist from the commission or

inciting the commission of war crimes;

(4) the discontinuance of any act "having the aim or effect of disrupting,

interfering with or hampering actions intended to give the population of the

occupied zones the benefit of their fundamental human rights";

(5) the immediate cessation of "all illegal exploitation of the natural resources" of

the DRC and

(6) respecting the sovereignty of the DRC and its people.xviii

6 Additionally, the DRC also asks the Court to exercise what it called the

"substantial power of discretion" conferred by Article 41 of its Statute:

At this preliminary stage of a request for the indication of provisional measures, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is not asking the Court to condemn Uganda, to require it to pay compensation by way of reparation, or even to declare-at any event not in the operative part of the order for the indication of provisional measures-that Uganda has violated international law. The withdrawal of troops, or the ending of support for irregular armed groups, are required not as consequences of a finding that Uganda has violated international law, but simply as measures preserving the rights of the Democratic Republic of the Congo until the Court is able to decide the dispute on the merits.xix

There were several human rights violations against the DRC that were perpetrated by Uganda since 2 August 1998, and the Ministry of Human Rights prepared the First and Second White Papers which includes a six-part summary of these violations.

By way of illustration, the Democratic Republic of the Congo would cite the following incidents, which in no sense constitute an exhaustive list, and which are evidence of a deliberate policy operated by the Ugandan Government against the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, and they are as follows.xx

1. Massacres: There was a mass murder of about 38 officers and up to 100 soldiers in the Congolese Armed Forces at Kavumu airport on Monday 3rd August 1998.

In addition to that, a total of about 856 people were massacred at Kasika, in Lwindi chieftaincy and in the territory of Mwenga, which are main localities based in the

Province of Sud-Kivu of the DRC.

There were many bodies found dead between Kilungutwe and Kasika over a distance of about 60 kilometers, and most of these were women and young children.

The people that were killed were unarmed and incapable of bearing arms. Between

7 December 31st, 1998 to January 1st 1999, about 633 persons were massacred in

Makobola.

2. Rape: During these conflicts, there were extremely high cases of rape that were reported, mostly the rape of women and children. More specifically, there were numerous cases on August 29th, 1998 in Kasika and on September 22nd in Bukavu.

3. Abductions and murders of human rights activists: When the Ugandan forces invaded Sud-Kivu withing the first few months, it is reported that a good number of human rights activists and members of the Associative Movement of Sud-Kivu were either abducted and/or murdered.

4. Arrests, arbitrary detentions, inhuman and degrading treatment: There have been murders and massacres of the civilian population in and around Bukavu area, as well as abductions, illegal detentions, rape, extortion, arbitrary arrests and torture.

5. Systematic looting of public and private institutions, theft of property of the civilian population: On 15 September 1998, the Mumba Health Centre was looted by

Ugandan soldiers. In Bukavu, the Provincial Headquarters of Customs and Excise, the

Office of the National Inspectorate (Office congolais de contrôle), and the Provincial

Taxation Office, all revenue-generating public undertakings, had their safes ransacked.

In Kalemie, Ugandan troops sabotaged port installations and various other undertakings (including dismantling of the Filtisaf factories), looting and carrying off handling and loading equipment and certain privately-owned items of floating plant.

6. Human rights violations committed by the invading Ugandan troops and their

“rebel” allies in the major cities of Orientale Province: Ugandan troops forced all international humanitarian organizations, in particular the HCR, ICRC, UNICEF, the

8 WHO and MSF, to leave the area, and they did this to ensure that there would be no witnesses to their actions.xxi

Ugandan troops systematically destroyed or disconnected all telecommunications facilities, so as to ensure that their actions would not come to the notice of national and international public opinion; at the same time they confiscated the passports of human rights activists.xxii

The Lusaka Peace Agreement

It was rather difficult to create the Lusaka agreement and to get involved parties to sign this agreement. The delay of this process was due to a split in the RCD as both sides refused to acknowledge the other's assumed status at the peace talks as well as their authority to sign.

Another factor that led to the delay was when the former head of the RCD,

Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, sat down in the seat reserved for the RCD representative, claiming his right to do so as leader of the movement. xxiv

There were intensified demands for changes to the Lusaka agreement, which threatened the basis of the peace process. A lot of hurdles had to be overcome before the preparatory talks in Gaborone could successfully take place. Most of them were created by Laurent Kabila, who signed the Lusaka agreement only under extreme military pressure. xxv

Kabila had been forced to negotiate and this was due to the fact that there was a weakening commitment of his allies to continuing the war, as well the growing pressure

9 on his regime. During the time of the signing of the Lusaka ceasefire, he faced the threat of imminent military defeat.

Unfortunately, the Lusaka Agreement collapsed almost immediately. By October

Kabila's forces had begun to push eastwards, while Rwanda and the RCD-Goma tightened their grip on the strategic town of Mbuji-Mayi.

Both sides insisted they were merely responding to violations by the enemy. The stalemate lasted almost a year and a half. The manner in which the Lusaka agreement was reached contributed significantly to its failure, because it mainly put the armies to a temporary halt in their positions but did not stop the fighting.

The Lusaka agreement therefore failed to satisfy the aims of all its signatories and was severely weakened by this circumstance. xxvi

Recent Developments

On 7th and 8th August 1998, the Victoria Falls Summit was held, and it is stated that “member countries of the SADC (Southern African Development Community), following the submission of an application by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, unequivocally condemned the aggression suffered by the Congo and the occupation of certain parts of its national territory”. xxvii

On 18 April 1999, the Sirte Peace Agreement was concluded, in the framework of the Lusaka peace process, between President Kabila of the DRC and President

Museveni of Uganda.

The DRC explains that, under this Agreement, Uganda undertook to “cease hostilities immediately” and to withdraw its troops from the territory of the DRC. xxviii

10 The Lusaka Agreement was signed by the Heads of State of the DRC, Uganda and other African States (namely, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda and Zimbabwe) on 10 July

1999 and by the MLC and RCD (rebel groups) on 1 August 1999 and 31 August 1999, respectively.

The Lusaka Agreement provided for the cessation of hostilities between the parties’ forces, the disengagement of these forces, the deployment of OAU verifiers and of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to be followed by the withdrawal of foreign forces. xxix

On April 8th 2000 and December 6th 2000, Uganda signed troop disengagement agreements known as the Kampala plan and the Harare plan. According to the DRC, following the withdrawal of Ugandan troops from its territory in June 2003, Uganda has continued to provide arms to ethnic groups confronting one another in the Ituri region, on the boundary with Uganda.

The DRC further argues that Uganda “has left behind it a fine network of warlords, whom it is still supplying with arms and who themselves continue to plunder the wealth of the DRC on behalf of Ugandan and foreign businessmen”. xxx

Summary

The DRC requests that Uganda cease continuing internationally wrongful acts and also requests for specific guarantees and assurances of non-repetition of the wrongful acts.

11 The DRC respectfully requests for the indication of provisional measures to put a stop to all military activity and violations of human rights and of the sovereignty of the

DRC by Uganda.

Endnotes

i International Court of Justice, “Latest Developments: Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda): International Court of Justice.” Accessed October 26, 2020. https://www.icj- cij.org/en/case/116.

ii Ibid.

iii ASIL “Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo: The ICJ Finds Uganda Acted Unlawfully and Orders Reparations.” January 9, 2006. https://www.asil.org/insights/volume/10/issue/1/case-concerning-armed-activities- territory-congo-icj-finds-uganda-acted.

iv Ibid.

v Ibid.

vi International Court of Justice, Latest Developments: Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo

vii Gathii, James Thuo. “Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda).” The American Journal of International Law, vol. 101, no. 1, 2007, pp. 142–149. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4149829. Accessed 26 Oct. 2020.

viii “ICJ, Democratic Republic of the Congo/Uganda, Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo.” Online casebook. Accessed October 26, 2020. https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/icj-democratic-republic-congouganda- armed-activities-territory-congo.

ix Gathii, Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo.

x Ibid.

12 xi “Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo.” International Court of Justice. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case- related/116/7151.pdf. xii Ibid. xiii “ICJ, Democratic Republic of the Congo/Uganda, Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo.” Online casebook. Accessed October 26, 2020. https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/icj-democratic-republic-congouganda- armed-activities-territory-congo. xiv Ibid. xv Ibid. xvi Ibid. xvii Ibid. xviii Kritsiotis, Dino, and Malcolm D. Evans. “Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda): Provisional Measures.” The International and Comparative Law Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 3, 2001, pp. 662– 670. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/761711. Accessed 28 Oct. 2020. xix Ibid. xx “Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo.” International Court of Justice. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case- related/116/7151.pdf. xxi Ibid. xxiii Ibid. xxiv Hussein Solomon, “Conflict in the DRC: A Critical Assessment of the J; Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement.” The South African Institute of International Affairs. xxv Ibid. xxvi Ibid. xxvii “ICJ, Democratic Republic of the Congo/Uganda, Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo.” Online casebook. Accessed October 26, 2020. https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/icj-democratic-republic-congouganda- armed-activities-territory-congo.

13 xxviii Ibid. xxix Ibid. xxx Ibid.

14