Today, on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague is set to issue a crucial order regarding immediate reparations for victims in the case involving Dominic Ongwen, a former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army.
The order, slated to be announced during a public hearing in Courtroom I at the ICC headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, will be attended by Dominic Ongwen himself, along with his legal defense team, representatives of the victims, and the common legal representative of the victims, either in person or remotely.
Background:
On February 4, 2021, Trial Chamber IX found Dominic Ongwen guilty of a total of 61 crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed in Northern Uganda between July 1, 2002, and December 31, 2005. Subsequently, on May 6, 2021, Trial Chamber IX sentenced Dominic Ongwen to 25 years of imprisonment. The Appeals Chamber confirmed the decisions of Trial Chamber IX on December 15, 2022, making the conviction and sentence final. Mr. Ongwen was transferred to Norway on December 18, 2023, to serve his sentence.
Dominic Ongwen, conscripted into the Lord’s Resistance Army by rebel Leader Joseph Kony, surrendered to US forces in the jungles of the Central African Republic in 2015 before being transferred to the ICC.
Joseph Kony, who remains at large, faces 36 charges and is likely to have his case proceeded with in absentia, while Ongwen confronted a total of 71 charges during his trial.
Although Joseph Kony faces fewer charges, experts caution against assuming that this would lead to a lighter sentence upon conviction for his alleged crimes.
Tomorrow: The order for reparations to victims in the #Ongwen case will be delivered at 15:00 (CET).
🎥 Live on the #ICC website and Facebook
📖 More info ➡️ https://t.co/SiYYlGogfQ #Uganda pic.twitter.com/xx1xu8zdVp— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) February 27, 2024
