Prosecuting International Crimes in Africa - PULP - University of ...

220 Chapter 9
5 Conclusion
The situation in Northern Uganda and the attempts to bring to an end the
two decade-old war raise a number of questions from which lessons may
be learnt as the international campaign takes root to end impunity by
punishing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The
Ugandan experience illustrates how deep-rooted causes of tensions leading
to armed conflicts may be, and the necessity to deal with them
comprehensively. The situation in Uganda illustrates some of the
challenges African countries could face in trying to punish international
crimes, dealing with impunity and finding lasting peace in armed conflict
situations. One of the challenges is balancing traditional mechanisms of
dispute resolution based on restorative justice, on the one hand, and the
formal retributive and punitive justice mechanisms, on the other. It is
unfortunate that neither system has been put to test. The viability of each
as a vehicle of peace has remained a matter of academic discussion.
Nonetheless, it is apparent that traditional mechanisms of dispute
resolution are an important mechanism of accountability and have a role
to play in ending conflict and healing the wounds of those affected.
The Uganda experience also illustrates how perpetrators of
international crimes can elude both international and domestic judicial
processes. In spite of the ICC’s warrants, the international community has
failed to arrest and surrender Kony and his accomplices to the ICC. In the
same way, the War Crimes Division of the High Court of Uganda,
established in anticipation of signing peace agreements, in the absence of
accused persons remains idle.
The adoption of the ICC Act is commendable, considering that
Uganda has ratified a number of treaties but incorporated only a few. This
is a clear indication that the days of impunity are over as perpetrators can
be apprehended in any part of the world and prosecuted. In spite of this,
the constitutional petition challenging the provisions of the ICC Act raises
fundamental issues regarding the processes of ratification and
domestication of international treaties. The petition unveils a fundamental
flaw – the fact that processes of ratifying international treaties are neither
followed up with nor preceded by a comprehensive process of reviewing
domestic laws to ensure their consistency with international treaties. At the
time of writing this chapter the petition had not been set down for hearing.
It remains to be seen how the Constitutional Court deals with the petition.