On September 18, 2020, Genocide Watch partnered with The Antiquities Coalition and Blue Shield International to submit an Amicus Curiae brief to the ICC. The observations were submitted in the appeal for the Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda case.
Bosco Ntaganda, the Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Commander of Operations for the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), was accused of 13 counts of war crimes and 5 crimes against humanity committed in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Ntaganda's charges for crimes against humanity included murder and attempted murder, rape, sexual slavery, persecution, forcible transfer and deportation. His war crimes charges included murder and attempted murder, intentional attacks on civilians, rape, sexual slavery, displacement of populations, conscription of children under the age of 15 for armed combat, and destruction of protected objects and property.
On July 8, 2019, the ICC found Bosco Ntaganda guilty of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ituri, DRC from 2002-2003. He was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on November 7, 2019. The verdict and sentence is currently subject to appeals.
Amicus Curiae Brief
Genocide Watch's Dr. Gregory H. Stanton collaborated with individuals, Dr. Patty Gerstenblith, Ms Tess Davis, and Ms Haydee Dijkstal, from The Antiquities Coalition and Blue Shield International to submit an Amicus Curiae brief to the ICC. The brief concerns the ICC Trial Court's dismissal of charges against Ntaganda for the destruction of a church and a hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Amicus brief addresses how ‘attack’ is defined under international humanitarian law, particularly in the context of cultural property. The brief submits that the Article 8(2)(e)(iv) definition of “attack” should not be narrowly interpreted and should instead recognize the continuous nature and duration of acts of violence carried out in continuing pursuit of an overall military objective.
Crimes committed under Ntaganda’s command, both during and after the immediate “conduct of hostilities”, occurred in the context of continuing UPC/FPLC operations and thus, were part of a continuing attack. Destruction of the church at Sayo and pillaging of the Mongbwalu hospital resulted from the same orders to attack that came directly from Ntaganda.
Read the entire Amicus Curiae Brief here.
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