(In)Justice at the ICC
Last week, I had the chance to attend an appeal at the International Criminal Court. But what I imagined would be a grand demonstration of swift justice turned out to be the complete opposite. In 2016, the ICC had convicted Jean-Pierre Bemba, a Congolese citizen, of two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes for the atrocities committed by his militia from October 2002 to March 2003 in the Central African Republic. Prior to its decision, the court had heard 5,229 survivors recount the gruesome campaign of rape, murder, and pillaging led by Bemba’s Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC) troops.
Last Friday, however, his original 18-year sentence—the longest ever handed down in the court’s history—was overturned. At the word “acquitted,” Bemba’s supporters in the audience rose as one, overjoyed, while victims despaired. The court cleared Bemba on the technicality that he was a “remote commander,” who had limited control over his troops. While the court did not deny that Bemba’s private militia had committed atrocities, its decision to acquit him represents a significant departure from its previous jurisprudence. As many human rights activists fear, this judgment sends the message to warlords worldwide that they can let their troops rape, murder, and pillage entire nations without being held accountable. As long as they are not on the scene, warlords will walk away scot-free. Bemba’s trial was also the first ICC case with a major focus on the use of rape as a weapon of war. For all these reasons, the court’s decision constitutes a giant leap backwards.
After ten years in custody, Bemba is now free to return to the Democratic Republic of Congo where he wields tremendous power. In 2011, he had pushed his own candidacy to the nation’s presidential elections from his ICC jail cell. His legal team had also petitioned the court to grant him exceptional release in order to travel to Kinshasa (on his private jet) for the elections. Today, those opposing the current president, Joseph Kabila, rejoice at the idea of Bemba possibly taking the country back. The DRC will be holding presidential elections this coming December, and many fear that Bemba will be allowed to run. One can only hope now that the DRC will prosecute Bemba and redress what can only be seen as a flagrant injustice.
