New Vision (Kampala) | OPINION |28 July 2008
By Chris Magezi, UPDF Spokesperson
HUMAN Rights Watch, a human rights body based in the US, claimed in its latest report that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had been "compromised and biased" and deliberately omitted to investigate the UPDF for suspected atrocities committed in northern Uganda alongside the LRA.
It is belittling to the ICC to suggest that their independence, competence and impartiality can be compromised by mere provision of "armed escorts" for travel in the region. One of the constitutional mandates of the UPDF and other security agencies is to protect the lives of our people and their property. During the years of terror by the LRA, the UPDF escorted civilians and foreign aid workers operating in the region, including ICC staff.
Uganda is one of the over 100 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute and was the first to refer a case to them because the LRA mass killers and abductors were out of our jurisdiction in Sudan and the DRC. Therefore, the ICC will enjoy our continued cooperation.
A team of 12 international investigators and trial lawyers from 10 countries collected evidence in over 50 missions over a period of nine months in northern Uganda.
During this time, 2,200 killings and 3,200 abductions in over 850 attacks by LRA rebels from July 2002 to June 2004 were established. Some 12 counts of crimes against humanity and 21 counts for war crimes including rape, murder, enslavement, sexual enslavement and forced enlisting of children into armed activities were found to have been committed by the LRA. The ICC has up to now not found any evidence of crimes committed by UPDF.
The UPDF has in the past publicly executed some of its soldiers for capital offences. Many others are serving long jail sentences, while several others have been dismissed with disgrace.
The UPDF has carried out its constitutional duty of protecting Ugandan citizens and their property well. Due to pressure from the UPDF, the LRA released women and children who had been subjected to various forms of abuse during captivity. Hence the country is now peaceful.
Uganda has a fully functioning Judiciary. Anybody with evidence against the UPDF should direct it to the Government's investigative agencies for inquiry.
The writer is the acting UPDF spokesperson
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