7 Aug 2012

ICC / LUBANGA REPARATIONS

In the first decision of its kind, the International Criminal Court (ICC) today (7 August) announced that victims of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, convicted earlier this year for recruiting child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, will receive reparations. ICC / FILE

Posted at: August 7, 2012 6:05 pm

Duration: 01:12

Available in: SD

DOWNLOAD

Full script

STORY: ICC / LUBANGA REPARATIONS (v0005)
TRT: 1.12
SOURCE: ICC / UNICEF / IRIN
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: RECENT, THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – UNICEF – 24 JULY 2012, GOMA, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

1. Med shot, former child soldier painting man with a gun
2. Close up, former child soldier painting man with a gun

RECENT, THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS

3. SOUNDBITE (French) Pieter de Baan, Executive Director, Trust Fund for Victims:
"With this decision of the International Criminal Court in the Lubanga case, our mandate to implement reparations will be activated for the first time in the Fund's history."

FILE – ICC - 14 MARCH 2012, THE HAGUE

4. Wide shot, Court room
5. Med shot, Thomas Lubanga receiving verdict
6. Close up, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo listening to verdict

RECENT, THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS

7. SOUNDBITE (French) Cynthia Chamberlain, International Criminal Court (ICC):
"The Chamber has established in principle that the forms of reparations foreseen in the Statute, meaning restitution, compensation and rehabilitation, are all applicable to the case in point. It has also envisaged other forms of reparations, such as symbolic reparations."

FILE – IRIN – AUGUST 2006, BORDER BETWEEN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC) AND SUDAN

8. Med shot, armed child soldier sitting on ground
9. Med shot, Joseph Kony with other LRA members 
10. Med shot, very young soldiers talking 
11. Close up, gun barrel

STORYLINE:

The International Criminal Court (ICC) today (7 August) announced that former child soldiers who suffered at the hands of convicted Congolese war criminal Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, may receive reparations from the Court's donor-financed Trust Fund for Victims.

The Fund's Executive Director, Pieter de Baan noted this means the Trust Fund's mandate to implement reparations will be activated for the first time in history.

The ICC found Lubanga guilty earlier this year of war crimes for enlisting and conscripting children younger than 15. Last month he was sentenced to 14 years in prison – the first-ever sentence handed down by the Court.

The Court's Trial Chamer I today decided on the principles that will govern reparations to "direct and indirect victims who suffered harm following the crimes of enlisting, conscripting and using children under the age of 15 in Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), from 1 September 2002 to 13 August 2003", according to a press release issued by the Court. This includes the family members of direct victims, along with individuals who intervened to help the victims or to prevent the commission of the crimes. 
 
Cynthia Chamberlain, a jurist with the International Criminal Court (ICC), said the Court decided that the reparations could take the form of restitution, compensation and rehabilitation, but that "symbolic reparations" were also envisaged, such as an apology by Lubanga. The Court also considered Lubanga's conviction and his sentence as examples of relevant symbolic reparations, she said.

Other forms of reparations may include campaigns to improve the position of victims; issuing certificates that acknowledge the harm they suffered; and outreach and promotional activities, along with educational programmes.

In its press release, the Court stressed that the resources of the Trust Fund for Victims are limited, and for the reparations award to have effect, it will need to receive sufficient voluntary contributions. Lubanga himself has been declared indigent and no assets or property referable to him have been identified to date. 
 
The ICC is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.

Currently, twelve ICC suspects remain at large, including another alleged recruiter of child soldiers, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) Joseph Kony, whom the Court indicted in 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity.