November 1, 2012 | Kinshasa, DRC

In the context of a difficult political and security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and of the ongoing efforts to equip it with the tools to fight impunity, this round-table provided a platform to sensitize and create political will among parliamentarians on the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Indeed, in light of the prevailing climate of impunity in the DRC, the full implementation of the Rome Statute of the ICC within the Congolese legal order is vital to implement the principle of complementarity in support of the fight against impunity through genuine domestic investigations and prosecutions. Since 2008, PGA members have continuously expressed their commitment to submit and amend the legislation under consideration at both Chambers, and PGA has been providing technical assistance and support to the legislative-prerogatives of Parliament and the relevant Parliamentary Committees on Justice and Public Administration. In September 2012, Hon. Balamage, MP (PGA member) endorsed and re-introduced in the National Assembly the comprehensive ICC Implementation Bill as it resulted from the deliberations of a special session (co-sponsored by PGA in June 2011) of the Sub-Committee on ICC Implementing Legislation of the National Assembly’s Justice Committee. Due to the significant renewal of Parliament in December 2011 and the joining of a great number of newly elected MPs with limited knowledge on the ICC and related issues, the round-table provided an opportunity for many MPs to better understand and fully comprehend the issues surrounding the full implementation of the Rome Statute, which entails the application of the principle of complementarity.

The round-table, organised by PGA in collaboration with International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), brought together over 70 Lawmakers from the DRC National Assembly and Senate who committed to create better conditions for the fight against impunity in the DRC.

The first panel on national justice and complementarity chaired by Hon. Dieudonné UPIRA SUNGUMA, President of PGA DRC group, saw the intervention of Professor BALANDA (University of Kinshasa and President of the Permanent Council for Congolese Law Reform) who recalled the obligation of all States to prosecute the authors of gross human rights violations under international and national law. Professor Paul-Gaspard NGONDANKOY (Coordinator of the Cabinet of the President of the Senate; Universities of Kinshasa and Kisangani) reaffirmed the obligation to integrate the provisions of the Rome Statute into the national legislation of Member States to the Rome Statute.

The second panel on the implementation of the Rome Statute in the DRC was chaired by Mr. Armel LUHIRIRI, Francophone Africa Situations Liaison of the Coalition for the ICC. Hon. Boniface BALAMAGE, MP, author of the ICC bill and member of PGA, presented the bill that he had introduced at the National Assembly in September 2012. He informed the MPs gathered for this round-table of the different laws and codes that is necessary to amend so as to bring the Congolese order into conformity with the Rome Statute and allow more efficient and coherent domestic prosecutions of international crimes as well as enhance cooperation with the ICC. The round table was concluded by the intervention of Mr. Guy MUSHIATA, ICTJ, who completed Hon. Balamage’s intervention by identifying the potential legal issues raised by the implementation of the Rome Statute and their solutions.

During the entire day, the round table saw the active and intense interaction of MPs who insisted on the need to enable the DRC to end impunity notably by preventing the commission of international crimes through the implementation of the Rome Statute of the ICC. As a result of these deliberations, a Monitoring Committee composed of MPs in charge of sensitizing other MPs on the fight against impunity and domestic prosecutions of international crimes was set up.