A second delegation of 10 religious and cultural leaders from Acholi sub region will once again visit the seat of the International Criminal Court in the Hague this year.
They are also expected to interact with former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) warlord Dominic Ongwen, a native of Amuru district who is standing trial at the Court for 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Martin Denis Okwir, an Outreach Assistant for the ICC in Uganda, says the delegation will be accompanied by five journalists interested in transitional justice. Okwir says arrangements for the monitoring trip are in final stages. He says another delegation will be dispatched in the second half of the year.
According to Okwir, the delegation will interact with court officials to understand the progress of the trial of Dominic Ongwen in view of ensuring transparency and fairness of the process to the accused and affected communities the leaders will represent.
Eric Odong, another outreach assistant in charge of Victims’ Participation and Reparation says so far, 62 prosecution witnesses have testified against Ongwen in the trial which commenced in December 2016. He says another ten prosecution witnesses are yet to testify.
