The long shadow of the ICC
Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost, has a short piece in the most recent issue of the Atlantic. He asks the question: What do Congolese make of Thomas Lubanga’s trial at the International Criminal Court? Lubanga is the first person to face trial at the ICC, and he is charged with the war crime of recruiting child soldiers.
The debate around prosecuting key figures in ongoing conflicts tends to revolve around the relationship between peace and justice — whether the pursuit of justice at the ICC is worth the potential damage to peace processes at a national level. This has been at the centre of controversy over the indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. In his reporting from the Ituri region in Congo, what Hochschild interestingly finds is that the ICC may actually be endorsing injustice that leads to peace.
Richard Pituwa is the founder of a Bunia community radio station, Radio Canal Revelation…: “The ICC has contribution to the diminution of violence,” he says in this cramped office… “I know people in the armed groups. I grew up with some of them. Now they begin to fear: if I become a big chief, they might come after me. During the worst of the atrocities, in 2002, no one ever dreamed anyone would come after them. Now they think twice.”
Most of those who stand accused of heinous crimes in Congo’s conflicts will never face justice, and decisions around who faces judgement at the ICC and who gets promoted in the new government can seem arbitrary and politically tainted. Nevertheless, the effects of prosecuting a handful of militia leaders among hundreds can generate a strong deterrent effect for others. It sends a clear message that crimes cannot be committed with the guarantee of impunity. The possibility of accountability may ultimately aid the processes of peace.
The “relationship between peace and justice” is key in this and all other issues before the ICC. The thing is, there will not be peace before justice… justice has to come first. “The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men…the well-being of mankind, its peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.” (Baha’u'llah) First justice, then unity, THEN peace. The vulnerable and oppressed need to be assured that justice is defending them before they can be safe to emerge into full social discourse. Examples should and must be made of those who have abused power, so that peace will be a day closer.