And he won’t be the last…

Given the nature, magnitude, and duration of the violence, the twenty-year conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has surpassed even the Darfur genocide as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. But for many of the war-wary and displaced people of the DRC, justice, not violence, was the order of the day yesterday.

Acting under a sealed warrant issued back in July by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I, the DRC government arrested and transferred Congolese rebel fighter Germain Katanga to the Court to face nine counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in accordance with the Court’s Rome Statute. Mr. Katanga is the alleged leader of the Force de Resistance Patriotique en Ituri (Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri, FRPI), a rebel militia group accused of committing massacres and other human rights violations in Eastern DRC’s war-ravaged Ituri region. Specifically, the charges against Mr. Katanga include three counts of crimes against humanity: murder, inhumane acts, and sexual slavery, and six counts of war crimes: willful killing, cruel or inhumane treatment, using children under 15 years of age to participate actively in hostilities, sexual slavery, intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population, and pillaging.

Yet after two decades of a brutal conflict that has been called the “African World War,” it seems like impunity is losing its grasp on the DRC—Mr. Katanga is the second suspect from the DRC to be handed over to the ICC in less than two years. The first Congolese suspect is a name you should be familiar with—Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, leader of the Union des Patriotes Congolais (Union of Congolese Patriots), who was the ICC’s first ever suspect in custody and is accused of conscripting child soldiers. His trial is set to start in early 2008.

Mr. Katanga and Mr. Lubanga Dyilo have much in common: both are violent militia commanders with the blood of innocent Congolese men, women, and children on their hands, knives, and machetes. But don’t expect them to become friends: the two men are from rival militia groups—a detail not lost on many who have criticized the ICC for failing to investigate other DRC militia leaders aside from Mr. Lubanga Dyilo, particularly those committing unspeakable atrocities in the Ituri region.

Undoubtedly, the ICC’s DRC investigation still has a long way to go—notwithstanding the gravity of conscripting child soldiers, the ICC faced criticism this past January for not charging Mr. Lubanga Dyilo with additional crimes. Some critics also argued that given the high number of violent militia factions in the DRC, only charging and trying one leader of one faction makes the Court seem biased and politicized.

This was, of course, before Mr. Katanga’s arrest and transfer to the Hague—ICC critics and advocates alike cannot deny that yesterday’s events mark a new chapter in the progress and future success of the five-year old ICC. The Court’s Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has made it very clear that he is far from finished with investigating the brutal impunity that has led experts to call the DRC conflict one of the worst in the last 100 years—Mr. Moreno-Ocampo reiterated what his office has said from the beginning of the investigation: “When Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was surrendered to the Court we said, ‘This is our first case in the DRC, not the last.’ Today a second person from the DRC is in custody, and he will not be the last one to face justice in the ICC. We are selecting a third case…the ICC is at work in the DRC.” It seems Mr. Lubanga Dyilo and Mr. Katanga can expect more company in The Hague.

Additional Resources:

• Official ICC Press Release on Germain Katanga’s arrest and transfer to ICC
• Pre-Trial Chamber I’s arrest warrant decision for Germain Katanga
• ICC decision scheduling the first appearance of Germain Katanga befor the Court
• Human Rights Watch Press Release on Germain Katanga’s arrest and transfer to ICC
• News stories about Germain Katanga’s arrest on IJ Wire