UN security council insists on LRA, Kony punishment
Nov 14, 2007
UNITED NATIONS<br><br>The UN Security Council insists that people responsible for serious human rights crimes in war must be brought to justice as part of an effort to complete a negotiated peace in northern Uganda.
UNITED NATIONS
The UN Security Council insists that people responsible for serious human rights crimes in war must be brought to justice as part of an effort to complete a negotiated peace in northern Uganda.
The issue is crucial in peace talks between the Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels, whose leaders, including Joseph Kony, have been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
The security council on Tuesday issued a statement backing the negotiations for a swift conclusion to the peace process, but warned that anyone responsible for atrocities should face justice.
“Council members also reiterated that those responsible for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law must be brought to justice,†the statement added.
In addition, the council urged the rebels to release women, children and other non-combatants they are holding in jungles in northeastern DR Congo and southern Sudan.
The statement followed a council briefing by UN Special Envoy Joaquim Chissano, the former president of Mozambique, who led his country to peace after a long civil war.
Chissano told reporters that the peace talks focused on whether those responsible for atrocities on both sides should face a national process of justice “which normally ends up with some sort of pardon, but consented to by the victims.â€
“There’s a lot of discussion about what is just, what is justice,†he said.
“I think they will find the answers on what is good for the country, for this permanent peace and for reconciliation and the unity of the country.â€
Delegates of the LRA met with government officials in Kampala this month in their first visit since peace talks began in neighbouring South Sudan in July 2006.
The talks have raised hopes of an end to the war, in which tens of thousands of people have been killed and two million displaced.
The LRA has been accused of terrorising villagers for two decades, killing, beating and burning their victims and stealing children for recruits and as sex-slaves.
The LRA has argued that Kony and others indicted by the ICC should be subject to Uganda’s national laws. Kony is accused of killing civilians, hacking body parts off victims and kidnapping children.
Chissano said the Government had initially asked the ICC to get involved but now it was seen as a “hindrance†to a quick solution.
Asked about Ugandan media reports that Kony had killed his second-in-command, Vincent Otti, about a month ago following a dispute, Chissano said it was impossible to confirm whether Otti was alive or not.
Gulu district chairman Norbert Mao quoted Kony last week as saying Otti was in detention.
Reuters
The UN Security Council insists that people responsible for serious human rights crimes in war must be brought to justice as part of an effort to complete a negotiated peace in northern Uganda.
The issue is crucial in peace talks between the Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels, whose leaders, including Joseph Kony, have been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
The security council on Tuesday issued a statement backing the negotiations for a swift conclusion to the peace process, but warned that anyone responsible for atrocities should face justice.
“Council members also reiterated that those responsible for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law must be brought to justice,†the statement added.
In addition, the council urged the rebels to release women, children and other non-combatants they are holding in jungles in northeastern DR Congo and southern Sudan.
The statement followed a council briefing by UN Special Envoy Joaquim Chissano, the former president of Mozambique, who led his country to peace after a long civil war.
Chissano told reporters that the peace talks focused on whether those responsible for atrocities on both sides should face a national process of justice “which normally ends up with some sort of pardon, but consented to by the victims.â€
“There’s a lot of discussion about what is just, what is justice,†he said.
“I think they will find the answers on what is good for the country, for this permanent peace and for reconciliation and the unity of the country.â€
Delegates of the LRA met with government officials in Kampala this month in their first visit since peace talks began in neighbouring South Sudan in July 2006.
The talks have raised hopes of an end to the war, in which tens of thousands of people have been killed and two million displaced.
The LRA has been accused of terrorising villagers for two decades, killing, beating and burning their victims and stealing children for recruits and as sex-slaves.
The LRA has argued that Kony and others indicted by the ICC should be subject to Uganda’s national laws. Kony is accused of killing civilians, hacking body parts off victims and kidnapping children.
Chissano said the Government had initially asked the ICC to get involved but now it was seen as a “hindrance†to a quick solution.
Asked about Ugandan media reports that Kony had killed his second-in-command, Vincent Otti, about a month ago following a dispute, Chissano said it was impossible to confirm whether Otti was alive or not.
Gulu district chairman Norbert Mao quoted Kony last week as saying Otti was in detention.
Reuters