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The Hague, 29 April 2008
ICC-CPI-20080429-PR310-ENG
Situation: Democratic Republic of Congo
Case: The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda
On 28 April 2008, Pre-Trial Chamber I decided to unseal the
warrant of arrest against Bosco Ntaganda, 35 years old, also
known as “the Terminator”. Still at large, he is alleged to have
committed war crimes of enlistment and conscription of children
under the age of 15 and of using them to participate actively in
hostilities in Ituri, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
from July 2002 until December 2003. The warrant of arrest was
delivered on 22 August 2006 under seal.
Factual
allegations
The Chamber found that there were reasonable grounds to believe
that members of the Forces patriotiques pour la libération du
Congo (FPLC) repeatedly carried out, from July 2002 to
December 2003, acts of enlistment, conscription and active
participation in hostilities of children under the age of
fifteen, who were trained in the FPLC training camps of Bule,
Cantrale, Mandro, Rwampara, Irumu, Bogoro and Sota.
The Chamber found that there were reasonable grounds to believe
that Ntaganda, as former Deputy Chief of General Staff for
Military Operations of the FPLC, had during the mentioned period
of time, de jure and de facto authority over the FPLC training
camp commanders and used his authority to actively implement the
policy adopted at a higher level of the Union des Patriotes
Congolais (UPC)/FPLC of enlisting, conscripting and using
children under the age of 15 to participate actively in
hostilities. According to the judges, Ntaganda was
subordinated to Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, alleged FPLC
Commander-in-Chief, currently under the custody of the ICC.
There are also reasonable grounds to believe that Ntaganda, “often
visited the FPLC training camps where children under
the age of fifteen were trained to become FPLC
soldiers and that he took part directly in attacks in
which FPLC soldiers under the age of fifteen actively
participated”.
Reasons for
the unsealing
The warrant of arrest, issued in 2006 by Pre-Trial Chamber I,
remained under seal amongst other reasons, because ‘public
knowledge of the proceedings in this case might result in Bosco
Ntaganda hiding, fleeing, and/or obstructing or endangering the
investigations or the proceedings of the Court’.
According to the judges the circumstances that led to the
sealing have changed. Both the Prosecution and the Registry,
which is the competent organ of the Court to execute the Court's
warrants of arrest and is in charge of the Court's Witness
Protection Programme, agreed that ‘the unsealing of the warrant
of arrest for Bosco Ntaganda will not endanger the witnesses of
the DRC cases’ and that this was the ‘right moment’ to make it
public.
Background
information
The warrant of arrest against Ntaganda is the fourth issued by
the judges of the ICC in the situation of the DRC. Three persons
are currently into custody: Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Germain
Katanga and Mathieu Ndgudjolo Chui.
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the founder and leader of the UPC will be
the first person to stand trial at the ICC, scheduled to start
on 23 June 2008.
The confirmation of charges in the case The Prosecutor v.
Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui is scheduled to start
on 27 June 2008. |
