NO institution has been more misunderstood than the International Criminal Court (ICC). From a peasant in an IDP camp in Gulu to the BBC Hard Talk, everybody is now echoing the same view: The ICC is the last obstacle to peace in northern Uganda.

Such is the power of communication and manipulation in the world today.
The truth is much more subtle. Most people forget that before the ICC came in, the LRA enjoyed amnesty for five years through the 1999 Amnesty Act.

Thousands of rebels, including many LRA commanders, accepted the offer and are now living normal lives in Uganda. The LRA top leaders stayed put and continued their atrocities. When they failed to come out for five years, what then guarantees they will do so if the ICC indictments were withdrawn?

Another misconception is that the ICC came in because the Government of Uganda asked them to come in. Cases can be referred to the ICC by state and non-state actors. By the time Uganda referred the case to The Hague, the ICC was already assessing the situation, having received reports from non-state actors, including human rights groups. In other words, the ICC would most likely have come in anyway, whether Uganda had appealed to them or not.

Thirdly, it is believed that, because the Government referred the case, it also has the power to withdraw the case. Wrong again. Twelve international investigators, who carried out 50 missions in Uganda, registered a total of 2,200 killings and 3,200 abductions between July 2002 and June 2004.

Based on these findings, Kony and four commanders were indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. These crimes will not go away. And as long as justice has not been done, the indictments will not go away.

The only way for the LRA to escape international justice is to go through national proceedings. Whatever local system is being used to hold the LRA accountable would need to be assessed by the ICC on its genuineness. Up to now, the LRA leadership has denied the killings and abductions, blaming instead the UPDF.

Denying justice to the victims would be bad enough. Allowing for history to be rewritten would be a disaster.