[refugee-rights] Refugee Law Project's statement on the ICC investigation in N. Uganda

Now available at www.refugeelawproject.org: Refugee Law Project's
statement on the International Criminal Court (ICC) commencing formal
investigations of suspected war crimes by the Lord's Resistance Army
(LRA).

While the announcement in January 2004 that the Chief Prosecutor of the
ICC would undertake preliminary investigations of the LRA was
enthusiastically welcomed by many international human rights organisations
and other activists for international justice outside Uganda, it was
coldly received by most local and international NGOs working in northern
Uganda and groups advocating a negotiated settlement to the conflict. The
Government's own Amnesty Commission expressed fears that the announcement
by the ICC could make a peaceful resolution of the 18-year conflict
impossible. Regardless, on 28 July 2004 it was publicly reported that the
ICC would commence a formal investigation into alleged crimes against
humanity committed by the LRA.

The Refugee Law Project (RLP), based on its study of the war in northern
Uganda, Behind the Violence: Causes, Consequences and the Search for
Solutions to the War in Northern Uganda, believes that, although the ICC
investigation is in principle a positive initiative, the initiation of an
investigation while the conflict is ongoing, is ill conceived. This
position is based on two major reasons: first, the announcement of the
investigation will increase the incentive for the LRA to fight,
exacerbating the existing cycle of violence and violation of human rights;
and second, it will most likely obliterate any opportunities for a
peaceful end to the war. In addition, we believe the announcement raises a
number of practical and legal issues, which the drafters and supporters of
the Rome Statute never envisaged and which undermine the legitimacy of the
ICC at the grassroots level.

To read the full RLP statement on the launch of the ICC investigations,
please go to our website www.refugeelawproject.org and click on the link
to the full statement. For further information, contact: Zachary Lomo,
Director, The Refugee Law Project, 041-343556 or 077-659731. If you do not
wish to receive future announcements of our publications, please send us
an email with "remove from distribution list" in the subject line.

Please note that our research department's email,
research@refugeelawproject.org, has had difficulty receiving messages for
the past few months. While we are working to correct the situation, if you
have continued difficulties reaching us, please use the alternative
addresses info@refugeelawproject.org or director@refugeelawproject.org.

__________________________
Research Department
Refugee Law Project
Faculty of Law, Makrere University
P.O. Box 33903
Kampala, Uganda
T: +256 41 343 556
F: +256 41 346 491
Email: Research@refugeelawproject.org
www.refugeelawproject.org



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