The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Uganda to pay $325 million to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as reparations for damages caused during the Second Congo War (1998-2003).
Ugandan troops had invaded this part of the DRC territory during the said war, and are responsible for the deaths of around 10,000 to 15,000 people, according to evidence in the file held by the highest UN court.
The sum of reparations is distributed as follows: 225 million dollars lost in human lives, 40 million for damage to property and 60 million for damage to natural resources, to stick to the words of the presiding judge of the Court, Joan Donoghue.
Kinshasa, which demanded 11 billion in reparations, should therefore stick to this amount. The ICJ has scheduled Kampala to service the debt on a schedule of payments in installments of $65 million on September 1 each year until 2026. Interest amounting to 6% annually will be imposed on Uganda. in case he did not pay his debt as expected.
However, relations between Uganda and the DRC do not seem to be completely blurred. Indeed, at the end of last November, Kampala and Kinshasa agreed to jointly fight the Ugandan armed group ADF (Allied Democratic Forces), author of numerous massacres of civilians in eastern DRC for years. Ugandan troops are deployed in Ituri within this framework.
The DRC has experienced two successive deadly wars that devastated its eastern part between 1996 and 2003. The second conflict involved up to nine African countries, including Rwanda, which supported rebel forces.
By OMA Newsletter N° 592 of 10/02/2022
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
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