The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict effectively ended for northern Uganda in 2006, after 20 years of suffering, when the LRA moved out of Uganda at the start of the Juba Peace Talks. Despite relative peace returning to the area, the multiple legacies of this conflict have still not been fully addressed. One of the most contentious issue is the question of how to deal with human rights violations committed by the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), as well as its predecessor, the National Resistance Army (NRA).
The gravity criterion of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (Rome Statute § 46) is an interesting principle: crimes must meet a certain standard, such as crimes against humanity and war crimes, and must be widespread and systematic government policy. This means that UPDF crimes in northern Uganda will go unaddressed at an international level, unless the ICC determines that both requirements are met.
For the rebuilding of the rule of law, ending the culture of impunity, in Uganda, these crimes will have to be addressed somehow, somewhere. If not at domestic courts, then where? While the ICC makes the valid argument that it must apply the law equally to all (its definition of an impartial Court), what happens to those crimes that will never be brought to court?
