By Rachael Najjuma
27th Jan 2023
The Former Commander of the Sinia Brigade of the Lord’s Resistance Army – LRA, Dominic Ongwen is yet to make a formal submission to the Presidency of the International Criminal Court – ICC of a preferred country where he will be serving his 25-years’ jail sentence.
Sant-Anna Dahirou, the International Cooperation Adviser in the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC while addressing journalists at Hotel Africana on Friday explained that the Presidency is one of the four organs of ICC that makes the decision on the location where the convicted person would go.
Before making the decision the Presidency would consider a request submitted by the convict of his or her country of choice.
The representatives of the victims and the prosecution team would also be able to provide their submissions on how to enforce the sentence which is done through willing state parties that have signed agreement with the ICC.
There are 123 possible country destinations including Uganda which are state parties to the Rome Statute that established the ICC on 1 July 2002 following a diplomatic conference held in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998.
They include; Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chad, Denmark, Germany, Ghana, DRC, Ireland, Liberia, Nigeria, Korea, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, Venezuela and Tanzania among others.
Ongwen was sentenced to 25 years in jail on 6th, May, 2021 by the ICC’s Trial Chamber IX after being convicted on 61 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The crimes were committed in Northern Uganda between July 1, 2022, and December 31, 2005.
Among the war crimes and crimes against humanity comprised murder and attempted murder; rape; sexual slavery; forced marriage; torture; enslavement; conscription and use of children under the age of 15 to participate actively in hostilities; pillaging; destruction of property and persecution, among others.
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