Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has handed down its first decision on reparations for victims. The decision is in the case against Thomas Lubanga, who was found guilty of war crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for enlisting, conscripting and using child soldiers.
The decision consolidates the right to reparation for victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC and also defines the principles of reparation for victims. The Trial Chamber held that, “reparations are to be applied in a broad and flexible manner, allowing the Chamber to approve the widest possible remedies for the violations of the rights of the victims and the means of implementation”. The Chamber also noted that there is critical importance of the victims being at the heart of the reparation process and that they should be able to express their “particular points of view and communicate their priorities”. Reparations are to be granted not only to the direct victims of Thomas Lubanga’s crimes, but also to indirect victims such as family members and people who suffered personal damage as a result of the crimes.
Vice President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said that, “this decision is also important because it establishes a right to reparation for victims who have not been able to participate in proceedings up to now because of the limitation of the charges presented by the Office of the Prosecutor. Hence the victims of crimes of sexual violence, who had been excluded from the proceedings, can obtain reparation; reparation measures should even pay a special attention to them”.
The reparation measures will be individual and collective. Possible forms of reparation suggested by the Trial Chamber include campaigns to improve the position of victims, outreach and promotional activities and educational programmes. The Chamber ordered the Trust Fund for Victims to collect the victims’ reparation proposals and present them to a newly-constituted Trial Chamber. The Trust Fund for Victims was established under the ICC Statute in 2002 with two mandates; to implement Court-ordered reparation awards and provide assistance to victims. Although the Trust Fund has carried out a lot of work under the mandate of providing assistance to victims, this is the first time it will be taking action under the mandate of implementing reparation awards.