By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda was taken from the American Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda on Friday and placed on a flight to The Hague, where he faces charges in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The litany of charges includes ten counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, accusing him of conscripting and using child soldiers, using rape as a weapon of war, keeping women as sex slaves, and massacring at least 800 people in 2002 and 2003.

Ntaganda, whose nickname is “The Terminator” for his ruthless nature in battle, became a symbol of impunity in Africa in the last decade.

He shocked the international community when he entered the embassy on Monday, removed his disguise, and asked to be sent to the ICC.  The Court said it “was the first time that a suspect has surrendered himself voluntarily to be in the ICC’s custody.”

Since Monday, the United States has urged Rwanda to help facilitate Ntaganda’s passage to The Hague.  However, Rwanda and the United States are not parties to the Rome Statute, and therefore neither country is a member of the ICC.  Nevertheless the United States says it supports the Court’s work.

As such, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame publicly stated his support for Ntaganda’s expeditious transfer to the ICC.

The ICC first indicted Ntaganda in 2006 for conscripting and using child soldiers during a 2002-2003 Congo conflict.  A second indictment, issued July 2012, accused him of a range of crimes including murder, ethnic persecution and rape.

Despite these indictments, Ntaganda joined the Congolese army in 2009 pursuant to a peace deal that allowed for him and his men to integrate into the military.  As a result, he lived freely in the North Kivu capital of Goma.  He often dined in top restaurants and played tennis, seemingly without fear of arrest.

Reports state that last year, when the agreement between Ntaganda and the Congolese government deteriorated, he and his troops defected.  His faction became known as “M23,” battling Congolese government troops in the country’s mineral-rich east.

While unconfirmed, it is believed that Ntaganda surrendered due to recent vulnerability.  Reports state that the M23 rebel fractured into two parts last month over the decision to bow to international pressure and withdraw from Goma late last year.  Ntaganda and Jean-Marie Runiga, opposed the retreat.  However, another rebel leader, Sultani Makenga, ordered the retreat and initiated peace talks with the Congo government.

Some speculate that Rwanda’s cooperation in Ntaganda’s transfer may come at a cost.  His testimony before the ICC could potentially reveal details of Rwanda’s alleged support for M23 during the Congo conflict.

“This is a good day for victims in the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] and for international justice,” said Fatou Bensouda, the prosecutor at the ICC.  Likewise, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the transfer “an important moment for all who believe in justice and accountability.”

On Friday afternoon, the Court said in an e-mail that Ntaganda was “in the ICC’s custody.”

To learn more about Ntaganda’s crimes in interviews with his victims, please watch this short video uploaded by the Washington Post: “A Powerful Video on War Criminal Ntaganda”

For more information, please see:

AP News – International Court Detains Rwandan-Born Warlord – 22 March 2013

BBC – Bosco Ntaganda: Kagame Promises to Help Transfer to ICC – 22 March 2013

The Economist (blog) – A Surprising Surrender – 22 March 2013

The New York Times – War Crimes Suspect Leaves Congo for The Hague – 22 March 2013

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Cameroon has one of the most aggressive “homosexuality” prosecutions in the world, according to a report released Thursday by four human rights groups.

In cooperation with Alternatives-Cameroun, Association for the Defense of Gays and Lesbians (ADEFHO), and the Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS (CAMFAIDS), Human Rights Watch (HRW) conducted 10 case studies of arrests and prosecutions under article 347 bis of Cameroon’s penal code. Based on this statute, having sexual relations with the same sex is punishable by up to five years of imprisonment.

In their 55-page report, “Guilty by Association: Human Rights Violations in the Enforcement of Cameroon’s Anti-Homosexuality Law,” the human rights organizations revealed that at least 28 people have been prosecuted for same-sex conduct in Cameroon since 2010. Most of them were tortured, forced to confess, denied access to legal counsel, and subjected to “discriminatory treatment by law enforcement and judicial officials.”

The study also found out that most of the arrests were based solely on suspicion, while most of the convictions were based on little or no evidence.

One man from Limbre who was accused of being gay was beaten with an iron belt, in addition to being forced to swim in the gutter. Local police also burned plastic bags on his chest. Another detainee told the human rights groups that authorities had him “sleep naked on the floor and [they] beat him with clubs on his feet so severely that his toenails fell out.” Other men arrested for homosexuality were subjected to anal exams before being sent to jail.

According to the human rights groups, Cameroon’s anti-homosexual laws “violate international human rights standards and Cameroon’s own constitution”. In the first place, Cameroon ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that protects the rights to privacy and non-discrimination. Secondly, as pointed out by HRW, Cameroon is a member of the Commonwealth, which has a charter that opposes discrimination on all grounds.

“Our government and our courts need to recognize that when it comes to Cameroon’s international human rights commitments, they cannot pick and choose on the basis of personal biases,” said Alice Nkom, president of ADEFHO.

Last month, the Association of Cameroon Roman Catholic jurists, a group of lawyers affiliated with the Catholic Church in Cameroon, expressed their support for the country’s anti-gay laws. According to the group, such laws prevent same-sex relationships which they, along with Archbishop of Yaoundé Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot, describe as “a serious crime against humanity”.

The group’s chairperson, Sandrine Soppo, said that fighting homosexuality “is not a question of human rights violations . . . the question was about human dignity.”

 

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Report: Cameroon Officials Torture Gay Suspects – 21 March 2013

Huffington Post – Cameroon Officials Torture Gay Suspects, Says Human Rights Watch Report – 21 March 2013

Human Rights Watch – Cameroon: Rights Abuses in ‘Homosexuality’ Prosecutions – 21 March 2013

LGBTQ Nation – Report: Cameroon most aggressive country in prosecuting suspected gays – 21 March 2013

Africa Review – Cameroon Catholic lawyers vow to uphold anti-gay laws – 25 February 2013