MJPC: the ICC Called to issue an Arrest Warrant Against Laurent Nkunda
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MJPC questions ICC waiting to issue an arrest warrant against Nkunda.
Kinshasaa, D.
R.
Congo, April 25, 2009 -- The Mobilization for Justice and Peace in
the D.
R.
Congo (MJPC) today called on the International Criminal Court (ICC)...
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MJPC questions ICC waiting to issue an arrest warrant against Nkunda.
Kinshasaa, D.
R.
Congo, April 25, 2009 -- The Mobilization for Justice and Peace in
the D.
R.
Congo (MJPC) today called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to
issue an arrest warrant against laurent Nkunda accused of multiple war crimes and
crimes against humanity which are well documented by various human right
organzations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Laurent
Nkunda, former leader of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP)
armed group, was arrested on 22 January and is detained at an undisclosed location
in Rwanda.
How long would it take for the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
(ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo to decide whether or not to issue an arrest warrant
against Nkunda? echoed Makuba Sekombo, Director of Community Affairs of MJPC.
The
ICC Prosecutor has been investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity
committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since since 2004, but the
ICC reportdely opened an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in the DRC
since 1 July 2002.
Nkunda has been repeatedly implicated in numerous serious war crimes and crimes
against humanity since 2002.
In September 2005, the Congolese government issued an
arrest warrant for Nkunda, accusing him of numerous war crimes and crimes against
human rights.
Human Rights Watch, for example, which has been calling for his
arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity since February 2006 and has
documented summary executions, torture and rape committed by soldiers under the
command of Nkunda in Bukavu in 2004 and in Kisangani in 2002.
Also armed groups
loyal to warlord Nkunda have been repeatedly accused of using rape as a weapon of
war and the recruitment of child soldiers, some as young as 12 after the abduction
from their homes.
In November 2008, the UN mission in the country (MONUC), Humn
Rights Watch many other organizations accused Nkunda of war crimes in November
2008; an estimated 150 people were killed innoncently in the town of Kiwanja by the
troups loyal to Nkunda.
The MJPC deplores the refusal by the Government of Rwanda to hand over Nkunda for
trial.
"How shocking that Rwanda which has been receiving assistance from the
International community to arrest genocide suspects and hand them over to the ICTR
or to Rwanda would not allow for the extradition of a war criminal accused of
massacring civilians, sexual violence, abduction of civilians, including children
forcibly recruited as fighters and then used to attack civilian communities" said
Mr.
Sekombo.
"While Nkunda is not the only one who committed war crimes and crimes against
humanity, the ICC arrest warrant would mark a major step in promoting
accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in DRC, added
Sekombo.
As part of its campaign to combat impunity in DRC, MJPC launched an online
petition in November 2008 whic can be signed at
http://www.
gopetition.
com/online/23604.
html calling for immediate arrest of Nkunda.
So far more than 1365 people from over 50 countries have signed the petition.
Press Contact:
Makuba Sekombo
The online petit MJPC
Kinshasaa, D.
R.
Congo
1 408 806 3644
info@mjpcongo.
org
http://www.
mjpcongo.
org
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