Goma, 25 November 2015 – The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) held a series of workshops in Goma, Bukavu, and Bunia, Eastern DRC, from November 13 until November 20 to discuss opportunities for greater interaction and collaboration between civil society and criminal justice officials to advance the prosecution of international crimes in the Congo, in order to better address the concerns of affected communities.
The workshops brought together prosecutions and judicial authorities from the military courts and tribunals who have been working on these kinds of cases and representatives of national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in the justice field from the different territories of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri.
Since 1993, civilian populations in the DRC have suffered the consequences of major political crises and the violence they spawn, with large numbers of incidents that may constitute international crimes. While Congolese military courts and tribunals have produced some important results in handling international crimes cases, several obstacles still hinder the efficient prosecution of these crimes.
The majority of cases opened in the Eastern DRC from 2009-2014 remain in the investigation stage and are not yet ready to be tried. Criminal justice authorities regularly cite as obstacles to further progress the poor documentation and difficulties in accessing remote areas where international crimes are most often committed.
National NGOs, due to their proximity to communities of victims in inaccessible places where international crimes are committed, often hold information essential to the investigation and prosecution of these crimes.
"The collaboration of national NGOs with the Congolese criminal justice authorities could be very helpful in many ways. They can continue to actively participate in proceedings on behalf of victims and help to identify cases where evidence may be the strongest to develop despite difficulties in accessing the areas where the crimes were committed; NGOs can submit to judicial police officers complaints, denunciation and reports on the crimes committed that would allow for prosecutions to better reflect the multitude of crimes committed in the DRC and respond to the concerns of affected communities," said Myriam Raymond-Jetté, ICTJ Criminal Justice Program Officer in the DRC.
This series of workshops was groundbreaking in initiating constructive exchanges between magistrates and NGO representatives and in valuing their respective roles in their common objective of the fight against international crimes in the DRC. "NGOs could play a bigger role in monitoring the trials of international crimes in Eastern DRC to generate pressure on the national courts and justice partners in DRC to encourage the completion of the judicial process," added Jean De Dieu Alingwi, ICTJ Media and Civil Society Officer in the DRC.
Participants discussed and suggested practical recommendations on the best ways to facilitate greater cooperation between national NGOs and the judiciary for information sharing on the needs and expectations of communities affected by international crimes and on the progress of court proceedings.
The seminar was organized by ICTJ, in cooperation with Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), with the financial support of the European Commission.
Contact
Myriam Raymond-Jetté, Criminal Justice Program Officer, ICTJ E-mail: mraymond-jette@ictj.org
PHOTO: Onlookers watch the trial of 11 Congolese soldiers from outside of a courthouse in South Kivu, DRC. (Some rights reserved OSISA)
