International Criminal Court investigation in Uganda

Situation in Uganda

The seal of the International Criminal Court
File no.	02/04
Referred by	Uganda
Date referred	16 December 2003
Date opened	29 July 2004 (2004-07-29)
Incident(s)	LRA insurgency
Crimes	Crimes against humanity: · Enslavement · Inhumane acts · Murder · Rape · Sexual enslavement War crimes: · Attacks against civilians · Cruel treatment · Enlisting of children · Inducing of rape · Murder · Pillaging
Joseph Kony	Fugitive
Raska Lukwiya	Deceased
Okot Odhiambo	Fugitive
Dominic Ongwen	Captured and extradited to the International Criminal Court in 2015. Charges confirmed in 2016. Trial due to start.
Vincent Otti	Fugitive, possibly deceased.

The International Criminal Court investigation in Uganda or the situation in Uganda is an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency which has been taking place in northern Uganda and neighbouring regions since 1987. The Lord's Resistance Army is a Christian-based group led by Joseph Kony that is accused of numerous human rights violations including massacres, the abduction of civilians, the use of child soldiers, sexual enslavement, torture, and pillaging. Following the referral of the situation to the ICC by the government of Uganda in December 2003, warrants of arrest were issued in 2005 for Joseph Kony, Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen, and Vincent Otti, becoming the first people to be indicted by the Court. The proceedings against Lukwiya were terminated in July 2007 following his death on 12 August 2006.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a Christian-based rebel group that has been active in Uganda and neighbouring countries since 1987. The LRA is led by Joseph Kony, a former faith healer who founded the group on the theology of Alice Auma's failed Holy Spirit Movement. Kony claims to communicate with and receive instructions from spirits and God. He also claims that his insurgency is for the betterment of the Acholi people, although he has been quoted as saying, "if the Acholi don't support us, they must be finished".

The government of Uganda referred the situation to the Court on 16 December 2003. The referral was communicated via a letter sent by President Yoweri Museveni to the Prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno Ocampo. The two met following the referral to establish the methods of cooperation between the Office of the Prosecutor and the government of Uganda. The two held a press conference in London on 29 January 2004 to publicly announce the referral. On 5 July 2004 the situation was assigned to Pre-Trial Chamber II by ICC President Philippe Kirsch. Moreno Ocampo announced the beginning of an official investigation on 29 July 2004.