The International Court of Justice ruled on Wednesday (9) that Uganda must pay US$325 million in damages to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the invasion of the country during the Second Congo War, between 1998 and 2003.
The amount must be paid in five annual installments of US$ 65 million each, starting in September this year. The total, however, is far from the more than US$ 11 billion that the DRC had requested. In hearings in April, the Ugandan government argued that its economy would be ruined if the amount were granted, and the court rejected most of the DRC’s claims, which included ample compensation for damage to the Congolese economy.
The long-running dispute was first brought to the United Nations’ highest court in 1999. After lengthy initial procedures, the court ruled in 2005 that Uganda had violated international law by occupying parts of the eastern province of the DRC with military troops and supporting groups armed in the Second Congo War.
The conflict involved nine African countries, including Uganda and Rwanda, which supported rebel groups in the mineral-rich east of the country. The two successive wars, between 1996 and 2003, devastated the country and left hundreds of thousands dead.
Uganda argues that its troops entered Ituri province at the invitation of the local government. The court rejected that argument in 2005 and ruled that the country was an invading power in the province.
African neighbors were supposed to negotiate reparations, but in 2015 the Democratic Republic of Congo returned to court, saying negotiations had stalled. On Wednesday, the court ruled on the final amount of compensation.
The amount breaks down to $225 million in damages to victims of the war, including the estimated 10,000 to 15,000 deaths attributed to Uganda during the conflict, but also to victims of rape and children forced to fight. For property damage, the court awarded US$40 million, and another US$60 million was given to compensate for the loss of natural resources such as diamonds and coltan mined in Ituri.
In previous hearings, representatives from Congo said that the reparations awarded would be placed in a fund and distributed fairly to people who have suffered directly from Uganda’s actions. The decisions of the ICJ, which deals with disputes between states, are final. Therefore, there is no recourse.
