International Court of Justice orders Uganda to pay a sum of $325 million in reparations to DR Congo for the crime of aggression
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On 9 February 2021, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) passed a judgement on the case ‘ARMED ACTIVITIES ON THE TERRITORY OF THE CONGO (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO v. UGANDA)’ in relation to the effects of a brutal 1998-2003 war.
. This case was filed at the Registry of the ICJ on 23 June 1999 by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) against the Republic of Uganda in respect of a dispute concerning “acts of armed aggression perpetrated by Uganda on the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and of the Charter of the Organization of African Unity” (emphasis in the original). In order to found the jurisdiction of the Court, the Application relied on the declarations made by the two Parties accepting the Court’s compulsory jurisdiction under Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Court.
Following the Judgment of 9 February 2022, Uganda will pay a sum of $325 million to DR Congo. The total sum is to be paid in annual instalments of US$65,000,000, due on 1 September of each year, from 2022 to 2026. The Court decides that, should payment be delayed, post-judgment interest at an annual rate of 6 per cent on each instalment will accrue on any overdue amount from the day which follows the day on which the instalment was due
According to Court Verdict as presented by Judge Joan E. Donoghue, the ICJ president, said reparations were compensatory and not meant to be punitive. The amount includes $225 million to be paid for “loss of life and other damages to persons” that included rape, conscription of child soldiers and the displacement of up to 500,000 people. The ICJ added another $40 million for damage to property and $60 million for damage to natural resources, including the plundering of gold, diamonds, timber and other goods by Ugandan forces.
It is worthy to note that, DR Congo earlier demanded $11 billion from Uganda following the accusation of committing serious crimes between the 1998-2003 war.
Below is the judgement or you can have or read the original publication HERE
The Court fixes the amounts of compensation due from the Republic of Uganda to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. You can have the publication below or read or through the ICJ website.
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
