By Willy Chowoo
Gulu, Uganda – April 8, 2025 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has upheld reparations for 49,722 victims of war crimes committed in Northern Uganda, following the dismissal of an appeal against the trial chamber’s earlier decision. The Appeal’s Chamber found no legal or procedural errors in the Trail Chamber’s ruling.
This landmark ruling paves the way for implementation of both individual and collective reparations for victims, many of whom endured atrocities during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency.
Presided over by the judge Solomy Balungi Bossa, the Appeal Chamber found that the Trail Chamber acted within the legal bounds by withholding Victim’s identities from Dominic Ongwen’s defence team due to Security concerns. It ruled that this did not compromise the Defence’s ability to review victims’ dossiers.
The Chamber also dismissed the Defence’s arguments regarding potential overlaps between reparations at the ICC and compensation claims before Ugandan tribunals. It clarified that reparations ordered by the ICC differ in nature and purpose from national compensation efforts. The judges further noted the Defence failed to adequately justify how Acholi traditional justice mechanisms could be integrated into the ICC’s legal reparations framework.
Several arguments presented by Ongwen’s legal team were found to have been previously addressed during earlier appeals against his conviction and sentence
Speaking at a press briefing in Gulu City on Tuesday, Maria Mabinty Kamara, the ICC Field Outreach Coordinator for East Africa, confirmed the Appeals Chamber’s unanimous decision, stating that all 14 grounds raised by the defense were dismissed. “The Appeals Chamber confirmed the reparations order in full. This means that we are now ready to begin the next phase, which is implementing reparations to the victims,” she said.
Mabinty noted that the ICC’s reparation framework is not limited to financial compensation. “We are not just handing out money. This is a comprehensive effort that includes rehabilitation, symbolic gestures of acknowledgment, and community rebuilding,” she explained.
Each of the identified 49,722 victims will receive a symbolic payment of €750 as individual reparations. The court emphasized that this gesture is meant to recognize the harm suffered, even as more substantial support will be provided through community-based collective reparations, such as psychosocial support, education, health services, and livelihood programs.
Despite the lack of resources from the convicted individual, who was found indigent, the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) has committed to raising over €52 million to finance the reparations. “The Trust Fund has already submitted a draft implementation plan, which was approved in February 2025. They are actively engaging governments, development partners, and the private sector to mobilize resources,” Mabinty said.
Registration of the War Victims.
Mabinty announced the registration and validation exercise for the war victims is due to begin in two weeks. To ensure credibility and transparency, the ICC is working with local leaders and stakeholders. “We are still in the process of putting together the structures, recruiting, training, and ensuring that all the consultations are done to make sure the process is flawless when it starts rolling out,” she noted.
Mabinty also underscored the importance of patience and understanding during the process. “We understand that expectations are high. But our commitment is to deliver justice, not only through convictions but through a process that restores dignity and trust.”
The VFT has recruited and trained 35 clerks that would help in the registration exercise that is expected to take two years. They are using members of victim’s associations or victims themselves or former camp leaders to vet and identify those who are potentially might be victims. “But as I said earlier, let us be very clear, the role of this clerk is to register, is to identify, is to look for potential victims and fill the scoring,” she notes.
The targeted beneficiaries shall further be validated or assessed by another team of ICC staff chiefly in compliance with the eligibility criteria to determine who falls within the scope of the scheme and who is outside to ensure the right people benefit from the reservation.
She added that some victims may not be satisfied with the symbolic amount, but emphasized the deeper value of the reparations. “This is about acknowledging that harm was done and that the international community is standing with the survivors,” she said.
As implementation begins, the ICC continues to engage with community members to manage expectations and provide information. “This is your reparation. The victims should be at the center of it,” Mabinty affirmed.
The ruling marks a critical step in transitional justice in Northern Uganda and reflects the court’s continued effort to deliver restorative justice in post-conflict settings.
Background:
Dominic Ongwen, a former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), was convicted on 4 February 2021 of 61 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Northern Uganda between 2002 and 2005. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison on 6 May 2021, a sentence upheld by the Appeals Chamber in December 2022. Ongwen is currently serving his sentence in Norway, having been transferred on 18 December 2023.
On 28 February 2024, the ICC set Ongwen’s financial liability at €52.4 million and ordered community-based collective reparations, including rehabilitation programs and symbolic measures. Each eligible victim is to receive a symbolic €750 award.
