Activists and Magistrates Join Forces to Tackle International Crimes in DRC

12/10/2015

In meeting spaces in Goma, Bukavu, and Bunia – the capital cities of the North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces in the Democractic Republic of Congo (DRC) – activists and magistrates are discussing ways that they can work together to improve the prosecution of international crimes in the region and address the concerns of local communities. The discussion is part of a series of workshops organized by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) in November 2015, bringing together military judicial authorities and national civil society groups in eastern DRC.

Over 5.4 million people were killed during the DRC’s civil war, during which international crimes including rape, pillaging of natural resources, and murder were committed on a large scale by various rebel groups and government forces. Intermittent violence has continued since the war’s end in 2003. The eastern provinces of Ituri and North and South Kivu have been particularly hard hit. Accountability for crimes has so far been limited. Judicial authorities point to poor documentation of crimes and difficulties in accessing remote areas where international crimes are most often committed as obstacles to efficient and effective prosecutions.

With their local knowledge and proximity to victims in hard to reach locales, civil society groups often have information that could prove helpful to investigations and prosecutions, but there is no framework for activists and magistrates to communicate and collaborate effectively. At ICTJ’s workshops, participants had initial discussions regarding improved interactions between the two groups.

“The integration of civil society into the Congolese judiciary’s selection of the crimes to investigate and prosecute would allow for the crimes prosecuted to reflect better the multitude of atrocities committed in the DRC and to respond to the concerns of the communities affected by these crimes,” said Myriam Raymond-Jetté, ICTJ’s Criminal Justice Program Officer in the DRC.

“With their local knowledge and proximity to victims in hard to reach locales, civil society groups often have information that could prove helpful to investigations and prosecutions”
    One possible area of collaboration mentioned by magistrates was the documentation of crimes. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights previously led an effort to map human rights violations in the DRC during the civil war, but no such map exists for violations committed after 2003, hindering prosecution of those crimes. “I believe it should be for the national civil society, that you represent, to lead this exercise,” said the head of the Provincial Division of Communications to civil society representatives at the Goma seminar, who nodded in agreement.

In signaling their willingness to assist investigators, activists cautioned that they need the requisite legal knowledge to do so. In particular, those collecting information on atrocities and documenting crimes must know the basic elements of crimes – the set of facts required for successful prosecution.

“As activists, when documenting violations, we can give firsthand information which can then be transmitted to the judiciary for judicial investigations,” said one participant in Goma. “Without appropriate knowledge of the elements of crimes, information provided may otherwise be misleading.”

Access to accurate information about investigations and judicial proceedings was another key issue for civil society. For example, one activist asked magistrates why a warlord accused of torture and using child soldiers in North Kivu was transferred to Kinshasa instead of facing trial in a Goma courtroom. Information about the case had not been available to civil society.

Workshop attendees also stressed the importance of reliable reporting on international crimes in the media. In a presentation, the director of Mandeleo Radio in South Kivu explained that listeners often treat radio reports as “sacred information,” making it crucial that the information provided is accurate. However, she said that the media often lacks technical knowledge of international crimes, leading to inaccurate reporting that can mislead the public.

The workshop series was intended to be the beginning of a longer undertaking. At the conclusion of each workshop, participants discussed concrete proposals for mechanisms that would allow activists to safely and effectively collaborate with judicial authorities, including additional meetings between the two. Both sides professed sincere wishes to move forward.

While responding to the question of why an accused warlord was transferred out of the region, a prosecutor at the Goma meeting shared his contact information with activists in order to improve communication on similar matters. It was a small but important step in a process that should enable civil society and judicial authorities to work together to better address the concerns of victims and communities affected by mass atrocities.


PHOTO: Members of civil society and the Congolese judiciary meet in Bukavu, DRC to discuss collaboration on investigating and prosecuting international crimes in eastern DRC. (ICTJ)