The Registrar of the International Criminal Court meets affected communities in Ituri

On the final leg of her visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Registrar of the International Criminal Court, Ms Silvana Arbia, travelled to Ituri District from 18 to 20 March 2009, where she held interactive outreach sessions with affected populations, local authorities, religious leaders, NGOs and journalists.

More than six hundred people came to meet Ms Arbia in Kasenyi, a village 55 km to the south of Bunia, Ituri’s capital. Following her opening address, a video summarising hearings in the Lubanga trial and footage of his defence counsel’s opening statement were screened. After the screening, participants outlined their concerns to the Registrar of the Court. Questions focussed mainly on the Lubanga trial, the rights of the defence and prosecutions of the sponsors behind the crimes committed in Ituri.

Ms Arbia then travelled to the village of Bogoro, the scene of armed clashes which resulted in numerous casualties and which is situated 25 km from Bunia. More than three hundred people attended this public meeting. The population as a whole, and particularly the victims, listened attentively throughout to all of the Registrar’s answers to the various concerns raised in relation to developments in the Lubanga trial, assistance to victims, the start of the Katanga and Chui trial and questions on reparations to victims, amongst others.
The meeting ended with an audio programme produced by the Court with members of the Bogoro listening club, showing the population’s involvement and interest in the Court’s work.

During both visits, the Registrar of the ICC stressed that justice does not exclude peace. According to Ms Arbia, justice, and therefore the Court’s mandate, is an essential ingredient for healing the wounds caused to the population by the commission of serious crimes. In addition, she encouraged the population to take ownership of the Court’s mandate, which is there to serve and benefit them.

Today, in Bunia, the Registrar met the District Commissioner, local judicial authorities, NGOs from the réseau des associations de défense des droits de l’Homme en Ituri [network of human rights organisations in Ituri] (RADHIT) and journalists.

For further information, please contact the Outreach Unit in Ituri by telephone on: + 243 998 011 418 or by e-mail at: [email protected]