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211. Doing Justice to the Political: The International Criminal Court in Uganda and Sudan: A Rejoinder to Bas Schotel

Author:
Sarah Nouwen and Wouter Werner
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Is it possible for the ICC to become an actor in political struggles over the definition and labelling of friends and enemies? In our article 'Doing Justice to the Political: The International Criminal Court in Uganda and Sudan' we gave an affirmative answer to this question, based on empirical findings from Uganda and Sudan and a concept of the political derived from Schmitt, Kirchheimer and Shklar. Taking Schmitt's concept of the 'enemy of mankind' as his starting point, Schotel disputes our conclusions. Although 'parties to a violent/political conflict may try to mobilize the law in their struggle', Schotel argues, 'the structure of the law itself escapes the political: law cannot be “political” in the Schmittian sense'. He continues: 'If legal authorities are indeed in the business of defining the enemy of mankind, then they are not doing this through or with the help of the law. They may simply act against the law.' Schotel's main points of disagreement with our article concern (i) the way in which 'enemies of mankind' are created; (ii) the structure of international criminal law; and (iii) the difference between the law and the people applying the law.
Political Geography:
Uganda and Sudan

212. Uganda Election Report

Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
This Open Society Foundations report assesses Uganda's level of preparedness to hold elections in February 2011 and makes recommendations for electoral reform ahead of the elections, if 2011 polls are to be credible. It highlights the disconnect between Uganda's legal framework in theory and that of its implementation in reality, and points to a level playing field in Ugandan politics.
Topic:
Elections, Democracy, Election watch, Domestic Policy, and Polls
Political Geography:
Uganda

213. Ethnic Party Bans in East Africa from a Comparative Perspective

Author:
Anika Moroff
Publication Date:
04-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Since 1990 the banning of ethnic and other identity-based parties has become the norm in sub-Saharan Africa. This article focuses on Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as three East African countries that have opted for different ways of dealing with such parties. Using case studies, it traces the origins of the party bans in Tanzania and Uganda and explores the reasons for the absence of a ban in Kenya. The analysis shows that the laws on particularistic parties have actually been implemented by the appropriate institutions. However, these laws have only marginally influenced the character of the political parties in the three countries: A comparison of regional voting patterns suggests that bans on particularistic parties have not ensured the emergence of aggregative parties with a national following in Tanzania and Uganda. In Kenya on the other hand, where such a ban was nonexistent until 2008, parties have not proven to be more regional.
Topic:
Democratization, Ethnic Conflict, and Politics
Political Geography:
Uganda, Kenya, Africa, and Tanzania

214. LRA: A Regional Strategy beyond Killing Kony

Publication Date:
04-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has become a regional problem that requires a regional solution. Operation Lightning Thunder, launched in December 2008, is the Ugandan army's latest attempt to crush militarily the one- time northern Ugandan rebel group. It has been a failure. After the initial attack, small groups of LRA fighters dispersed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo), South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR), where they survive by preying on civilians. National security forces are too weak to protect their own people, while the Ugandan army, with U.S. support, is focused on hunting Joseph Kony, the group's leader. The Ugandans have eroded the LRA's numbers and made its communications more difficult. But LRA fighters, though disorganised, remain a terrible danger to civilians in this mostly ungoverned frontier zone. National armies, the UN and civilians themselves need to pool intelligence and coordinate their efforts in new ways if they are to end the LRA once and for all.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, International Cooperation, United Nations, Armed Struggle, Counterinsurgency, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, United States, and South Sudan

215. Who Are the MDG Trailblazers? A New MDG Progress Index

Author:
Benjamin Lee and Julia Barmeier
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
In September, world leaders will assemble in New York to review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Ahead of the ensuing discussions, we examine how individual countries are faring towards achieving the highly ambitious MDG targets. We outline a new MDG Progress Index, which compares country performance against the core MDG targets on poverty, hunger, gender equality, education, child mortality, health, and water. Overall, we find evidence of dramatic achievements by many poor countries such as Honduras, Laos, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Cambodia, and Ghana. In fact, these countries' performance suggests that they may achieve most of the highly ambitious MDGs. Moreover, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for many of the star MDG performers. Interestingly, poor countries perform nearly on par with middle-income countries. Not surprisingly, the list of laggards largely consists of countries devastated by conflict over the last few decades, such as Afghanistan, Burundi, the DRC, and Guinea-Bissau. Most countries fall somewhere in between, demonstrating solid progress on some indicators and little on others.
Topic:
Development, Human Welfare, Poverty, Third World, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, New York, Cambodia, Nepal, United Nations, and Ethiopia

216. Kampala June 2010 – A First Review of the ICC Review Conference

Author:
Hans-Peter Kaul
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
In the years and months before the ICC Review Conference, which took place in Kampala, Uganda from 31 May to 11 June 2010, there were, from the perspective of the International Criminal Court (ICC), quite a number of important if not crucial questions: What would be the course and what would be the outcome of the Review Conference? How would it affect the Review Conference that it would be held not only in Africa, but in an African situation country? Would there be only a narrow, maybe inappropriately narrow, examination of the institution of the Court? Or would there be a review of the entire ICC system as established by the Rome Statute? What about the stocktaking with regard to the four critical themes chosen for this Review Conference, namely cooperation, complementarity, impact on victims and affected communities, and the important question of the relationship between peace and justice? Which amendments to the Statute would be considered or adopted? Above all, would there be any progress or maybe even a breakthrough with regard to the very difficult, unresolved issues concerning the crime of aggression as referred to in Article 5(1)(d) of the Statute? It is against this background of questions, hopes and expectations that this contribution tries to briefly assess the Review Conference. The first part of this introductory comment (A) reflects the author's hopes and expectations prior to the Review Conference. It is based on a speech delivered by the author in May 2010.1 The second part of this comment (B), is a first analysis and review of the course and outcome of the Review Conference. The author hopes that this comparative approach may be an informative and interesting manner to provide in this Article a first summary of what was expected, what happened and what was actually achieved in Kampala. A.
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, and Kampala

217. Uganda and the International Criminal Court Review Conference: Some Observations of the Conference's Impact in the 'Situation Country' Uganda

Author:
Sabine Klein
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
The International Criminal Court Review Conference took place in a 'situation country' of the International Criminal Court (ICC), meaning in a Country the ICC is currently investigating. Therefore, the Conference had a dimension, which arose besides the factual conference and its outcomes. This article pictures observations of developments in Uganda due to the Conference and shows how issues of International Criminal Law have been increasingly recognized and discussed within the regional society. The meaning of the Conference's venue in a 'situation country' in the Rome Statute system is to be assessed, whereby reference is made to the ICC's outreach and (positive) complementarity.
Political Geography:
Uganda

218. Complementarity After Kampala: Capacity Building and the ICC's Legal Tools

Author:
Morten Bergsmo, Olympia Bekou, and Annika Jones
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
Twelve years after the creation of the first permanent International Criminal Court and eight years since the entry into force of its Statute, the first ever Review Conference took place in Kampala, Uganda. Besides successfully introducing aggression as one of the crimes under the Court's jurisdiction and expanding the coverage for war crimes, the Review Conference provided a timely opportunity to reflect on some of the key aspects of the Court's regime. An integral part of the Review Conference was the “stocktaking exercise”. The exercise provided a platform for the participants at the Review Conference to reflect on the successes and the failings of the ICC following the first few years of its operation and to consider measures that could be taken to enhance and strengthen the Court's functions in the years to come. The stocktaking exercise focused on four themes: complementarity, cooperation, victims and affected communities and peace and justice. These themes represent major aspects of the ICC's operation which will continue to warrant consideration as the Court matures as an institution. The theme of complementarity is of particular importance because of its uniqueness to the ICC. The ICC's complementarity regime places a primary obligation on States to investigate and prosecute international crimes. It does so by limiting the jurisdiction of the ICC to situations where States are shown to be unwilling or unable genuinely to investigate and prosecute, in respect of cases of sufficient gravity to justify action by the Court. The principle of complementarity was an innovation, specifically tailored for the ICC. The Review Conference therefore provided an important opportunity to reflect on the effectiveness of the principle and steps that could be taken to strengthen it. This piece will consider the tenor of the debate concerning complementarity during the Review Conference and the emphasis that was placed on strengthening national capacity for the investigation and prosecution of core international crimes. In particular, it will highlight a significant shift in the use of the term “positive complementarity”. The term, which had originally been used to refer to the ICC's role in the construction of national capacity, was used throughout the Review Conference to refer to the involvement of States, international organisations and civil society in strengthening justice at the national level. It will also draw attention to the efforts that were made during the Conference to identify means to put positive complementarity into practice with the hope of overcoming some of the problems that States had faced in the investigation and prosecution of serious international crimes within their national systems. The article will go on to discuss the relevance of the ICC Legal Tools Project, a unique collection of legal databases, digests and applications designed to facilitate the application of international criminal law, to the discussions that took place in Kampala. It will be concluded that the ICC's Legal Tools provide an important means of supporting the principle of complementarity, positive or otherwise.
Political Geography:
Uganda and Kampala

219. Deterrence, Democracy, and the Pursuit of International Justice

Author:
Leslie Vinjamuri
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
In recent years efforts to hold the perpetrators of mass atrocities accountable have become increasingly normalized, and building capacity in this area has become central to the strategies of numerous advocacy groups, international organizations, and governments engaged in rebuilding and reconstructing states. The indictment of sitting heads of state and rebel leaders engaged in ongoing conflicts, however, has been more exceptional than normal, but is nonetheless radically altering how we think about, debate, and practice justice. Arrest warrants for Sudanese president Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, Liberian president Charles Taylor, and the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, Joseph Kony, have not only galvanized attention around the role of international justice in conflict but are fundamentally altering the terms of debate. While a principled commitment continues to underpin advocacy for justice, several court documents and high-profile reports by leading advocacy organizations stress the capacity of international justice to deliver peace, the rule of law, and stability to transitional states. Such an approach presents a stark contrast to rationales for prosecution that claim that there is a moral obligation or a legal duty to prosecute the perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Instead, recent arguments have emphasized the instrumental purposes of justice, essentially recasting justice as a tool of peacebuilding and encouraging proponents and critics alike to evaluate justice on the basis of its effects.
Topic:
Crime, Genocide, Government, and War
Political Geography:
Uganda and Sudan

220. The International Criminal Court in Africa: challenges and opportunities

Author:
Makau Mutua
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
Norway's five-year experience as the lead nation of the Provincial Reconstruction Team This policy paper is a practically-oriented comparative analysis of the work of the International Criminal Court in Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, and the Central African Republic, and the policy implications for its work for Norway, States Parties, civil society, and key states. The paper argues that all actors, including Norway, should more seriously engage these African states – and key stakeholders within them – to facilitate the work of the ICC to stem impunity. Without such support, the paper concludes, the ICC's objectives in Africa will not be realised.
Topic:
Crime, Genocide, Human Rights, International Law, and Law
Political Geography:
Uganda, Kenya, Africa, Sudan, and Norway