DRC victims pin hopes on ICC

2004-06-29 20:28

The Hague - The victims of atrocities committed in the Democratic Republic on Congo (DRC) "have high hopes" for the investigation opened by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Congolese non-governmental organisations told journalists in The Hague on Tuesday.

"The Congolese population has confidence in the independence of the court and knows that its international investigators will not be subject to the same pressure as local investigators," Nicole Odia of the Congolese organisation Against Impunity said.

Last week the prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno Ocampo announced that the court would open its first official investigation into atrocities committed in the DR Congo since July 1, 2002 when the new permanent war crimes court was established.

The court, based in The Hague, is the first permanent international court mandated to try genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

An ICC spokesperson said on Tuesday that investigators for the court would be on the ground in the DR Congo "fairly soon".

Millions of civilians have died during the five years of war (1998-2003) that ravaged the DR Congo and during the ongoing violence in the eastern part of the country.

"There will be no peace without justice but at the moment the issue of justice is not at the heart of the actions" of the transitional government, said Dimas Kitenge, president of human rights organisation Lotus.

This reluctance of the country's leaders to tackle the issue makes the ICC the victims only hope for justice, he added.

The representatives of the Congolese NGOs are in The Hague this week to meet ICC officials including the prosecutor.

- AFP