ICC path to justice tested in Congo
Investigations for the International Criminal Court's first trial face serious logistical and security obstacles as well as charges of selective justice.
from the May 24, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
Detaining suspects a tough issue
The ICC will probably face similar questions about selective justice – and logistics and security obstacles – as it moves into other war-torn countries.
But there will also be another, arguably greater, challenge for the ICC: actually detaining its suspects for trial.
Because it has no marshal service or enforcement authority of its own, the ICC is often powerless to act on its warrants, especially in ongoing conflicts.
Some people also say that without effective enforcement, the Court can actually exacerbate some conflicts by scaring the accused into more entrenched positions.
In 2005, for instance, the court charged five Ugandan rebel commanders with crimes against humanity. But Ugandan officials have been unable to arrest the men, and many involved in Ugandan politics – including Betty Bigombe, a former cabinet minister who has been mediating peace-treaty discussions – criticize the ICC warrants as undercutting peace efforts.
"It was her view and the view of other people that if indictments are issued against the leaders ..., then there would be no incentive for them to enter a peace agreement," said Richard Goldstone, chief prosecutor of the international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, at seminar about the ICC in South Africa last year.
The situation in Uganda has prompted much debate about how the ICC should coordinate with countries that might want to grant amnesties for the sake of ending conflict.
Back in Bunia, Agoyo says she wonders why these foreigners are still so concerned about Lubanga. More important, she says as her neighbors nod in agreement, are daily concerns such as access to water. After years of war and instability, infrastructure in this dreary city of about a quarter-million is poor to nonexistent, and people still must walk to a distant, dirty stream if they want to drink or bathe.
Analysts agree the court's actions will mean little if development concerns such as Agoyo's are not addressed.
The tensions in Bunia, says Dicker, are no surprise. "We have to understand," he says, "that as important as it was to bring the court into being, it will not be a panacea."
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