Viernes, 14 de octubre de 2005

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  PRIMERAS ÓRDENES DE DETENCIÓN DE LA CPI

La Corte Penal Internacional

ordena la captura de 5 autores de
crímenes contra la Humanidad en
Uganda
EFE

LA HAYA.- La Corte Penal Internacional

(CPI), con sede en La Haya, ha hecho
oficial el anuncio de los nombres de los
cinco rebeldes ugandeses sospechosos de crímenes de lesa humanidad
y de guerra contra los que han sido emitidas sendas órdenes
internacionales de detención y entrega.

La lista del tribunal internacional incluye al máximo líder rebelde,

Joseph Kony, su lugarteniente, Vincent Otti, y a los comandantes
Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo y Dominic Ongwen, aunque este
último falleció recientemente en un combate con tropas
gubernamentales.

A pesar de que los nombres ya fueron divulgados la semana pasada por

el presidente ugandés, el fiscal jefe de la CPI, el argentino Luis Moreno
Ocampo, tuvo que esperar para dar a conocer los nombres de los
sospechosos, ya que la Corte quería asegurarse de que estaban
tomadas las medidas necesarias para proteger a los testigos.

Se trata de las primeras órdenes de detención que emite la CPI

desde que fue creada en julio de 1998 con el objetivo de poner fin
a la impunidad en los crímenes más graves contra la dignidad humana.

Ataques contra civiles en Uganda

La CPI alega que Kony ordenó a mediados de 2002 al Ejército de

Resistencia del Señor (LRA), un grupo que desde hace 19 años
combate en el norte del país, iniciar una campaña de ataques contra
civiles en Uganda.

Según el tribunal, durante los últimos tres meses de 2003, Kony dio
órdenes para matar, saquear y secuestrar a civiles, incluidos los
que viven en campamentos para personas desplazadas en su propio
país.

Por instigación suya, los comandantes del LRA, incluidos los cuatro
hombres contra los que la CPI lanzó órdenes de detención y entrega,
empezaron a atacar varias regiones en Uganda, añadió.
 La CPI asegura disponer de pruebas para demostrar la implicación
directa de Kony, Otti, Lukwiya, Odhiambo y Ongwen en los objetivos y
estrategias de la campaña.

Ya desde mediados del año pasado la Fiscalía General del CPI había
adelantado que el caso de Uganda podría ser uno de los primeros que
asumiría el tribunal internacional.

A pesar de ello, el diálogo de paz de diciembre último no dio frutos,

aparentemente porque los rebeldes pidieron más tiempo para
consultar con sus bases, y las órdenes del CPI sólo se han conocido casi
diez meses después de esa frustrada reunión.

El grupo rebelde LRA, que basa su lucha en preceptos bíblicos,

protagoniza una de las guerras más crueles de Africa.

Se cree que ha secuestrado entre 12.000 y 20.000 niños para

emplearlos como combatientes, porteadores o esclavos sexuales y sus
métodos brutales incluyen la mutilación y la tortura de civiles.

El conflicto bélico, además, ha obligado a 1,6 millones de personas a

abandonar su hogar y refugiarse en campos de desplazados.

Warrant of Arrest unsealed against five LRA

Commanders
The Hague, 14 October 2005

No.: ICC20051410.056-EN

On 13 October 2005, Pre-Trial Chamber II unsealed the warrants of arrest for five
senior leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) for Crimes against Humanity and
War Crimes committed in Uganda since July 2002. The Chamber concluded that “there
are reasonable grounds to believe” that Joseph KONY, Vincent OTTI, Okot
ODHIAMBO, Dominic ONGWEN and Raska LUKWIYA, “ordered the commission of
crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court”.

The warrants of arrest were issued under seal by Pre-Trial Chamber II on 8 July 2005 to
‘’ensure the safety or physical or psychological well-being of“ and to “prevent the
disclosure of the identity or whereabouts of any victims, potential witnesses and their
families‘’. The Chamber also issued requests for arrest and surrender of the five LRA
commanders named in the warrants and decided that they would be transmitted by the
Registrar of the International Criminal Court to the Government of Uganda.

Pre-Trial Chamber II decided on 13 October to unseal the arrest warrants, noting that
“the overall plan in respect of the situation in Uganda for the security of witnesses and
victims in the field has been completed and implemented; and that by the assessment
and advice of the Prosecutor and the Victims and Witness Unit the overall plans
provides the necessary and adequate protective measures for all concerned at this
stage’’.

The warrants of arrest are the first to be issued by the International Criminal Court since
its creation by an international treaty, the Rome Statute adopted on 17 July 1998. The
aim of the Court is to help end impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the
international community. 

BACKGROUND

According to the allegations set out in the warrants of arrest, the LRA is an armed group
which “has established a pattern of brutalization of civilians by acts including murder,
abduction, sexual enslavement, mutilation, as well as mass burnings of houses and
looting of camp settlements; that abducted civilians, including children, are said to have
been forcibly recruited as fighters, porters and sex slaves and to take part in attacks
against the Ugandan army (UPDF) and civilian communities”. 

The specific allegations are that in mid-2002 Joseph Kony ordered LRA forces to begin
a campaign of attacks against civilians in Uganda. 

It is alleged that during the last quarter of 2003 Kony issued orders to kill, loot and
abduct civilian populations, including those living in camps for internally displaced
persons (“IDP”). In response, senior LRA commanders and all of the brigade
commanders, including the persons named in the warrants of arrest, began attacking
several regions in Uganda. The direct involvement of the persons whose arrest and
surrender are sought in the objectives and strategies of the campaign is supported by
evidence submitted by the Prosecutor.

THE COUNTS

The warrant of arrest for Joseph Kony lists thirty-three counts on the basis of his
individual criminal responsibility (Articles 25(3)(a) and 25(3)(b) of the Statute)
including:

 Twelve counts of crimes against humanity (murder - Article 7(1)(a);

enslavement - Article 7(1)(c); sexual enslavement – Article 7(1)(g); rape -
Article 7(1)(g); inhumane acts of inflicting serious bodily injury and suffering -
Article 7(1)(k)), and;
 one counts of war crimes (murder - Article 8(2)(c)(i); cruel treatment of civilians
– Article 8(2)(c)(i); intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population
– Article 8(2)(e)(i); pillaging - Article 8(2)(e)(v); inducing rape – Article 8(2)(e)
(vi);  forced enlisting of children - 8(2)(e)(vii)).

The warrant of arrest for Vincent Otti lists thirty-two counts on the basis of his
individual criminal responsibility (Article 25(3)(b) of the Statute) including: 

 Eleven counts of crimes against humanity (murder - Article 7(1)(a); sexual

enslavement – Article 7(1)(g); inhumane acts of inflicting serious bodily injury
and suffering - Article 7(1)(k)), and;
  Twenty-one counts of war crimes (inducing rape – Article 8(2)(e)(vi);
intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population – Article 8(2)(e)(i);
forced enlisting of children - 8(2)(e)(vii); cruel treatment of civilians – Article
8(2)(c)(i); pillaging - Article 8(2)(e)(v); murder - Article 8(2)(c)(i)).

The warrant of arrest for Okot Odhiambo lists  ten counts on the basis of his individual
criminal responsibility (Article 25(3)(b) of the Statute) including: 

 Two counts of crimes against humanity (murder - Article 7(1)(a); enslavement -

Article 7(1)(c)), and;
 Eight counts of war crimes (murder - Article 8(2)(c)(i ); intentionally directing
an attack against a civilian population – Article 8(2)(e)(i); pillaging - Article
8(2)(e)(v); forced enlisting of children - 8(2)(e)(vii)).

The warrant of arrest for Dominic Ongwen lists seven counts on the basis of his
individual criminal responsibility (Article 25(3)(b) of the Statute) including: 

 Three counts of crimes against humanity (murder - Article 7(1)(a); enslavement

- Article 7(1)(c); inhumane acts of inflicting serious bodily injury and suffering -
Article 7(1)(k)), and;
 Four counts of war crimes (murder - Article 8(2)(c)(i)); cruel treatment of
civilians – Article 8(2)(c)(i); intentionally directing an attack against a civilian
population – Article 8(2)(e)(i); pillaging - Article 8(2)(e)(v)).

The warrant of arrest for Raska Lukwiya lists four counts on the basis of his individual
criminal responsibility (Article 25(3)(b) of the Statute) including:

 One count of crimes against humanity (enslavement - Article 7(1)(c)), and;

 Three counts of war crimes (cruel treatment of civilians – Article 8(2)(c)(i);
intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population – Article 8(2)(e)(i);
pillaging - Article 8(2)(e)(v)).