By James Owich
The Trust Fund for Victims under the International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched an appeal for € 5 million (approximately UGX 19.5BN) to kick- start the reparations programme for victims who suffered as a result of atrocities committed by the ex-LRA rebel’s Commander, Dominic Ongwen.
The Fund says in a press statement that it needs voluntary contributions for the expeditious delivery of reparations to victims of sexual and gender-based violence, former child soldiers, and victims of attacks on four camps for internally displaced persons in the case of The Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen.
It has since asked States, organisations, corporations, and private individuals to urgently contribute EUR 5M to allow for a start to the delivery of reparations to prioritise victims in line with the decision of the ICC judges in the reparations order.
According to the fund’s board, the fundraising strategy will enable the implementation of the Trial Chamber’s EUR 52.4 million Reparations Order of February 24, 2024, which seeks to benefit more than 40,000 victims.
Ongwen was found guilty of 61 crimes comprising crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed in Northern Uganda between July 1, 2002, and December 31, 2005.
On May 6, 2021, Trial Chamber IX sentenced Ongwen to 25 years of imprisonment. He has since been transferred to a jail in Norway to serve his jail term.
Currently, the Trust Fund secretariat is undertaking the 5th week of victim-centered, participatory consultations with more than 2,000 potentially eligible victims of attacks in Northern Uganda.
The consultations are taking place in the former Internally Displaced People’s Camps in Abok in Apac District, Lukodi in Gulu District, Odek in Omoro District, and Pajule in Pader District.
According to the Trust Fund for Victims, the consultation will also cover potentially eligible victims of sexual and gender-based violence and former child soldiers who were abducted from all over northern Uganda within the scope of the conviction.
