Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) affirmed the conviction of Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army Commander Dominic Ongwen on war crimes and crimes against humanity charges.
Ongwen is charged with 61 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in northern Uganda after 1 July 2002, according to the ICC.
US State Department Spokesman Ned Price praised the verdict.
“The conclusion of Ongwen’s appeal, filed against the February 2021 verdict that sentenced him to a 25-year prison term, confirms his culpability for violence resulting in the horrific and irreversible destruction of thousands of lives and scars upon multiple generations,” Price said in a statement.
Price said he hoped the verdict sent a message to thousands of young women LRA abducted as sexually assaulted and those tortured and subjected to forced labor that justice was possible.
Ongwen was part of Joseph Kony’s LRA, a rebel and separatist group fighting the Ugandan government and parts of Sudan and Congo.
Human Rights Watch (HRC) described LRA as a brutal rebel group.
“The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is a Ugandan rebel group that has abducted, mutilated, and killed thousands of civilians in northern Uganda and across the region. The LRA has long engaged in particular brutality against children,” HRC said on its website.
Kony remains at large and is wanted by the US and ICC to face similar charges. The US has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Kony’s arrest.
Here’s the appeals ruling.
