In a sobering revelation, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has disclosed that not a single country has contributed to the reparations fund for the victims of Ugandan warlord Dominic Ongwen. This comes despite the court awarding a record €52.4 million (£44 million) in February to approximately 50,000 survivors of Ongwen’s atrocities.
Justice Delayed for Ongwen’s Victims
The landmark reparations order followed a 2021 ruling that found Ongwen, a former commander of the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), guilty of numerous war crimes committed between 2002 and 2005. These included murder, torture, sexual enslavement, conscripting child soldiers, and vicious attacks on four camps for internally displaced people in northern Uganda.
Ongwen was sentenced to 25 years in prison, which he is currently serving in a Norwegian jail. However, the court’s efforts to secure reparations for his victims have hit a major roadblock.
States Reluctant to Fund Reparations
According to Deborah Ruiz Verduzco, executive director of the ICC’s Trust Fund for Victims (TFV), the primary issue is that states are questioning why they should bear the cost of Ongwen’s crimes. Ruiz Verduzco emphasized that states established the ICC with a vision of justice that includes victims, and failing to deliver on reparations jeopardizes the court’s legitimacy.
The reason these crimes were prosecuted is that they shatter the conscience of the international community as a whole. [The reparations] are a symbolic way in which the court, and therefore the international community, is recognising that what happened to the victims should not have happened.
– Deborah Ruiz Verduzco, Executive Director of the ICC Trust Fund for Victims
Survivors Left in Limbo
Many survivors of Ongwen’s brutality have waited over two decades for justice. Some passed away before or during the trial, while others continue to grapple with the physical and psychological scars of their ordeals. The lack of reparations funding prolongs their suffering and denies them the closure they desperately need.
The bulk of the €52.4 million would provide symbolic payments of €750 to each victim. The remaining funds would support community rehabilitation programs, including access to education and healthcare, as well as memorials and remembrance activities for the victims.
Funding Woes Hamper ICC’s Work
Ruiz Verduzco noted that the absence of proper policies on reparations funding hinders the TFV’s work. To date, only one out of the five reparations orders issued by the court has been fully implemented. The Ongwen case, with its unprecedented scale and complexity, poses a significant challenge to the ICC’s ability to deliver meaningful justice to victims.
The magnitude [of the Ongwen reparations] has [forced] us to ask, is this manageable, and how can it be achieved? We believe that it’s possible but it requires us to construct a lot of bridges that are not there yet.
– Deborah Ruiz Verduzco, Executive Director of the ICC Trust Fund for Victims
A Test for the ICC’s Credibility
Legal experts view the Ongwen case as a crucial test of the ICC’s capacity to translate reparations orders into tangible benefits for survivors. Renata Politi, a legal adviser for the UK-based rights group Redress, emphasized that the case will determine whether the court can make reparations a reality for those who have suffered unimaginable atrocities.
As the ICC grapples with this funding crisis, the lives of thousands of survivors hang in the balance. The international community must rally behind the court’s mission and ensure that the victims of Dominic Ongwen’s heinous crimes receive the justice and support they so desperately deserve. Failure to do so risks undermining the ICC’s credibility and betraying the trust of those who have already endured far too much.
