This dissertation seeks to explore the principle of complementarity, its advantages and its success so far through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) self-referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC). It seeks also to investigate whether there are loopholes in the principle of complementarity, especially with regard to referrals by the Security Council involving states that are not parties to the Rome Statute. In particular the dissertation seeks to explore whether states can use this principle to hamper the efforts of the ICC to bring justice to victims of the most serious crimes of international concern and to end impunity / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Dr Raymond Koen of the Faculty of Law, University of Western Cape, South Africa / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

<p>The first part of this study evaluates the historical events that led to the referral of the DRC situation to the ICC. This includes the background of the conflict and the extent to which international crimes have been committed. Both regional and domestic attempts and initiatives to address the conflict are discussed, with specific reference to peace agreements and restorative justice mechanisms. The second part of the study deals with the prosecution of the perpetrators by the ICC. It examines the approach of the Pre- Trial Chamber to two legal issues, the principle of complementarity and modes of criminal participation as part of the ICC Statute. In this regard, the study makes a critical evaluation of two preliminary decisions confirming the charges against Lubanga, Katanga and Chui before the cases proceeded to the trial stage.</p>

<p>The first part of this study evaluates the historical events that led to the referral of the DRC situation to the ICC. This includes the background of the conflict and the extent to which international crimes have been committed. Both regional and domestic attempts and initiatives to address the conflict are discussed, with specific reference to peace agreements and restorative justice mechanisms. The second part of the study deals with the prosecution of the perpetrators by the ICC. It examines the approach of the Pre- Trial Chamber to two legal issues, the principle of complementarity and modes of criminal participation as part of the ICC Statute. In this regard, the study makes a critical evaluation of two preliminary decisions confirming the charges against Lubanga, Katanga and Chui before the cases proceeded to the trial stage.</p>

Magister Legum - LLM / The first part of this study evaluates the historical events that led to the referral of the DRC situation to the ICC. This includes the background of the conflict and the extent to which international crimes have been committed. Both regional and domestic attempts and initiatives to address the conflict are discussed, with specific reference to peace agreements and restorative justice mechanisms. The second part of the study deals with the prosecution of the perpetrators by the ICC. It examines the approach of the Pre- Trial Chamber to two legal issues, the principle of complementarity and modes of criminal participation as part of the ICC Statute. In this regard, the study makes a critical evaluation of two preliminary decisions confirming the charges against Lubanga, Katanga and Chui before the cases proceeded to the trial stage. / South Africa

The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is recognized by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a threat to international peace and security, due to its impact on the entire Great Lakes region of the African continent. Therefore, for the stability of this region, any feasible solution should take into consideration the regional dimensions of this conflict. Many diplomatic initiatives undertaken in this regard have thus focused on how to end the hostilities in the region. The International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region was also convened to address the regional factor of the conflict and therefore prevent further conflict in the area. How this Conference addresses this regional dimension in order to prevent a return to violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and therefore to bring about sustainable peace in the region, is the main focus of this study. The basic premise on which this research is based, is that this Conference is the first gathering of all countries in the region to address the causes underlying the conflict in the region, thereby rendering it a framework around which to prevent violence from flaring up again in the DRC. A literature review of the theory behind preventive diplomacy is discussed in-depth throughout the study, chiefly applying the notion expressed by Lund (1996: 37) that alternative actions should be applied during periods of socio-economic, political or regional and international upheaval, in order to avoid the use of armed force and/or the manipulation of political disputes. The aim of this study is to apply this theory in the framework of the Conference, primarily because the diplomatic initiatives undertaken thus far have created an environment of unstable peace in which preventive diplomacy can work. / Dissertation (MA (Political Science))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

"With the entry into force of the Rome Statute in July 2002 and the election of judges and prosecutors of the Court in 2003, there is need for states parties to the Rome Statute to enact laws to incorporate the crimes defined in the treaty. Currently, 92 states are parties to the treaty. The success of the ICC will depend not only on widespread ratification of the Rome Statute, but also on states parties' compliance with obligations under the treaty. For almost every state this will require some change in national law in accordance with existing laws and proceedings in a given legal system. The experience of most states parties to the treaty is that the Rome Statute will require some form of domestic implementing legislation, even if this is not the normal practice of the state. There is need for co-operation between the Court and state parties on the administration of justice. For the Court to function properly, the immunity of its personnel should be guaranteed and provisions in national constitutions that are incompatible with the Rome Statute should be amended to bring them in conformity with the provisions of the treaty. ... Thus far, South Africa is the only African country that has adopted an implementing legislation domesticating the Rome Statute. Other African countries such as Congo, DRC, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal have draft bills. There is, therefore, the need for African countries that are state parties to the treaty to positiviely confront the above challnges while incorporating the provisions of the Rome Statute into national law. ... The first chapter is an introduciton. It sketches the background of the study and reviews the materials that will be used for the study. It focuses on several hypothesis and research questions that the study is set out to answer. It highlights the dearth of materials on the implementation of the Rome Statute in Africa. The second chapter analyses the ICC and the emerging international legal system. It discusses the complementarity principle of the Rome Statute and analysis the crimes under the jurisdiction of the Court. The effect of the bilateral immunity agreements signed by states parties to the Rome Statute with the United States of America is also highlighted. The third chapter deals with the ICC and indernational approaches to the implementation of the Rome Statute. This involves discussions on compatibility of the Rome Statute with national constitutions. Approaches adopted by states with regards to specific issues of implementation will also come into focus, followed by discussions on the amendment of constitutions and purposive interpretation as adopted by various states parties to the Rome Statute. The fourth chapter will discuss implications of the Rome Statute for domestic constitutions in Africa. The discussion will focus on immunity from prosecution granted to heads of state and government by constitutions, the surrender of persons to the ICC and sentencing of persons convicted by the Court with regards to their relationship in the implementation of the Rome Statute in Africa. The fifth chapter will be a comparative analysis of impelementation strategies adopted by South Africa, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There will be an analysis of the relationship between the Rome Statute and African human right system. The last chapter is the conclusion with recommendations and arguments on the need for a comprehensive domestic implementation strategy of the Rome Statute in Africa." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2003. / Prepared under the supervision of Professor Lovell Fernandez at the Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The mini-dissertation analyses the international law obligations of the government and nonstate actors regarding the protection of internally displaced children living with HIV in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The war and armed conflicts in the Eastern DRC have exacerbated the vulnerability of children, causing them to be separated from their families, to experience sexual violence and forced conscription into armed groups, to experience the violent deaths of a parent or friend, resulting in insufficient adult care. They further are subject to a lack of safe drinking water and food, insufficient access to health care services, discrimination and stigmatisation, and so on. These factors increase their risk of contracting HIV and, if they are already living with HIV, they adversely affect their welfare. The mini-dissertation illustrates that international, regional and domestic human rights instruments protecting children can be applied in situations of armed conflicts to supplement humanitarian law instruments. It demonstrates that the government of the DRC has not implemented and fulfilled its international obligations to ensure these children adequate access to health services and to humanitarian assistance for displaced persons living with HIV; security and protection within displaced persons camps; and that children are protected from abuse and human rights violations. The dissertation recommends the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes tied to the conflicts which have targeted children, as well as the ratification by the DRC of regional instruments such as the African Union Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, and the African Charter on the Rights and the Welfare of the Child, as this may enhance the legal protection of displaced children in the DRC. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

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This study focuses on sexual violence in Goma and aims to study the significance of women, and perpetrators' mentality. To conduct this study, I have used a narrative method, and collected my data through several interviews and healthcare documents. The data consisted of narratives from rape survivors in Goma. This study has answered two research questions, RQ1: Do the women convey their stories in such a manner that gives indications of insignificance? RQ2: Could this mentality have existed before the First Congo War starting in 1996, and not only, as a consequence of the conflict? These questions are based on two hypotheses, H1: Women’s lives in Goma are seen as insignificant and H2: The mentality of seeing women as insignificant in Goma, existed before the First Congo War in 1996. Based on my data, I have concluded that these hypotheses have evidence to be true, with H1 having the most evidence. That said, there is still evidence that H2 is true, but I believe that further research is required to gather more detailed and reliable evidence. Previous research focused on the mentality during the conflict in Goma, and argued that this mentality emerged as a consequence of the conflict, whereas I have argued that the mentality existed before. The rapes in Goma are complex, and there is reason to believe that the topic is in a need of a study that will, at a fundamental level, analyse the lived lives of the women, and when a mentality that claims them not to have it, emerged. Therefore, the hypotheses and research questions were studied based on three main concepts: insignificance, lived life and mentality.

"Although the United Nations (UN) has often been pivotal in forging the international response to serious human rights crimes in such settings, the justice gap in countries such as the Democratic Republic [of] Congo (DRC) (the focus of this study) underscores the need for more systematic UN efforts. The war in the DRC has resulted in one of the world's worst humanitarian crisis with over 3.4 million displaced persons scattered throughout the country. An estimated 3.5 million people have died as a result of the war. The armed conflict has been characterised by appalling widespread and systematic human rights violations, including mass killings, ethnic cleansing, rape and the destruction of property. The most pressing need to be addressed is the question of justice and accountability for these human rights atrocities in order to achieve a durable peace in the country and also in the Great Lakes region (Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Angola and the DRC, to name just a few). In this respect, this study will address the grave human rights violations committed in the DRC and the mechanisms for dealing with them. It is particularly true in post-conflict situations where justice systems have been either partially or completely destroyed, that national courts are not capapble of arriving at a uniform stance, or willing to provide justice for atrocities in the immediate future. As a result, international justice seems to be a crucial and last resort that must continue to be fortified against efforts to undermine it. ... Chapter one will set out the content of the research, identify the problem and outline the methodology. Chapter two will discuss the state obligations in international law to prosecute gross violations of human rights and gives a summary of the human rights violations situation during the Congolese war. Chapter three will discuss the available naitonal mechanisms for accountaiblity in the DRC. It will discuss if national courts and TRC are able to deal with these atrocities committed in the DRC. Chapter four will analyse the extent to which the ICC could deal with the Congolese case and challenges. Chapter five will discuss the trends towards accountability in the DRC and the way forward. Chapter six will draw a conclusion on how to break the cycle of impunity in the DRC." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2004. / Prepared under the supervision of Prof. Boukongou Jean Didier and Dr. Atangcho Akonumbo at the Catholic University of Central Africa, Yaounde, Cameroon / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM