The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed to States Parties and other donors to increase contributions to support reparations for victims of former Lord’s Resistance Army commander Dominic Ongwen and former Congolese militia leader Bosco Ntaganda, saying current resources remain insufficient to meet the court’s reparations orders.
The appeal follows an additional €25,000 (about Shs106 million) unrestricted contribution from Italy, a State Party to the Rome Statute, to support the fund’s programmes for victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
The fund is seeking to raise at least €10 million (41.9 billion shillings) annually to finance court-ordered reparations and rehabilitation programmes, including the implementation of the landmark reparations programme for thousands of Ongwen’s victims in northern Uganda.
In 2024, the ICC approved a €52.4 million (about Shs218 billion) reparations programme for victims of Ongwen, who was convicted in 2021 on 61 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in northern Uganda between 2002 and 2005.
The implementation of that programme depends largely on voluntary contributions mobilised by the Trust Fund.
Kevin Kelly, a member of the TFV Board of Directors, welcomes Italy’s latest contribution but urged other States Parties to increase their support.
By URN
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