Germain Katanga, an ex-militia leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, should pay $1m (£800,000) to villagers targeted in 2003, judges ruled.

But as he was insolvent, the ICC Trust Fund for Victims should consider making the payment, the judges added.

Katanga followed proceedings via video link from jail in DR Congo.

The ICC sentenced him to 12 years in 2014 for aiding and abetting war crimes.

He was behind the 2003 massacre of hundreds of villagers in north-eastern DR Congo.

In total, the court ordered reparations of more than $3.7m.

“The chamber has assessed the scope of the prejudice to 297 victims as $3,752,620. The chamber sets the amount to be contributed by Mr Katanga towards the reparations as $1m,” said presiding judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut.

A “symbolic” sum of $250 (£200) should be given to each of the 297 victims and a further $1m in “collective reparations”, the judge said.

Lawyers for the victims set out a detailed list of losses, including the destruction of houses, furniture, and the killing of livestock.

They also said survivors had suffered psychological harm because of the loss of loved ones.

“The order provides for two types of reparations: individual reparations, awarded to individuals to repair the harm they have suffered; and collective reparations, consisting of long-term projects covering a whole community but still focusing on individual victims to the extent possible,” an ICC statement said.

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Source: BBC

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Burundi, the Gambia and South Africa have all served notice of their desire to leave the ICC, accusing it of unfairly targeting African leaders for prosecution.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6BaVSocyBmXTiH5AhmcVDeQ914FywAio”]The ICC in the past 14 years, has brought charges against African leaders for various crimes but according to Judge Sabutinde, who hails from Uganda, the allegation by the African countries are unreasonable.

Addressing a group of journalists who were at the Hague on the invitation of the Dutch government to stay abreast of the International Justice System, Judge Sabutinde said, “the accusations that have been made against it [ICC], in my view do not make sense to me.”

“I sit and I take each argument and I measure it against the fact on the ground, such as the common statement, the ICC is persecuting African leaders. I take that statement and measure it against the fact.”

“In fact, more than three out of four cases were not instituted by the ICC, but were instituted by individual African states themselves,” he said.

‘African countries withdrawing from ICC’

In October this year, Gambia accused the International Criminal Court of ignoring “war crimes” in other countries and targeting African leaders.

Gambia’s Information Minister, Sheriff Bojang, in announcing the country’s withdrawal said “This action is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called the International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans,” on state television.

“There are many Western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single Western war criminal has been indicted,” a government statement said.

South Africa and Burundi also withdrew their membership from the ICC in October this year.

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By: Eugenia Tenkorang/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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