Discover Top Posts Tagged with #ongwentrial

Monthly Roundup - December 2019

Ongwen Trial Update

Trial began on 6 December 2016.

The Prosecution and the Defence have completed the presentation of their evidence. The Legal Representatives of Victims also called witnesses to appear before the Chamber.

On 12 December 2019, the presiding judge declared the closure of the submission of evidence in the case.

Charity War Child Canada brings us a collection of artwork dedicated to celebrating education

“War Child Canada is a charity working to make this dream a reality. They work in places affected by war and conflict, giving children a chance at stability, justice, aid, and education. In particular, they host child-friendly spaces in Afghanistan. Recently, they asked children there to draw art that expressed what education meant to them.”

Art, a miracle remedy for peace?

“Art has considerable potential in peacebuilding, not only in the conflict resolution field but also in post-conflict reconciliation. Defying all linguistic boundaries, it is considered a universal language and therefore an ideal resource to understand the perspectives of others, particularly their perspective on a given conflict. Art can also directly nurture a peace process by providing a voice to marginalised or oppressed groups, whilst enhancing the relevance and legitimacy of the process itself. The use of art can be strategic, particularly during negotiations and mediation processes when verbal communication reaches its limits. Art is a powerful instrument for collective reconciliation between communities, and it can equally be useful for individuals to overcome any trauma linked to conflict.”

For any peacebuilding initiative, its effectiveness lies above all on the inclusion of social and cultural factors taken from the local context in which they operate.

Elephants of Tomorrow

“The Orphans is a sculpture exhibit featuring 21 life-size bronze elephants, a mother and 20 orphaned elephants, each orphan symbolises a real elephant currently in the care of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT), displayed in the centre of Marble Arch, London from 4th December 2019, for one year. Created by internationally acclaimed artists Gillie and Marc, the sculpture aims to raise funds and awareness for this next generation of elephants who will grow up into the healthy and supported elephants of tomorrow thanks to the SWT.”

Monthly Roundup - November 2019

Last blog post of 2019! Cheers to a wonderful holiday season and a fun & safe start to 2020.

December 3rd is Giving Tuesday. Consider supporting your favorite non profit, organization or group.

My pick for this year: Young Peacebuilders launched two fundraising campaigns in support of their Young Peacebuilders Clubs (YPCs)!

Help develop and improve YPC training materials. Donate HERE

Contribute to the distribution of YPC mini grants. Donate HERE

________________________________________________________________

Uganda: Presiding Judge Sets Date for Closing Statements in Ongwen Trial

March 10, 2020 is set as the day when lawyers will start making their closing statements.

Congo Warlord Gets 30 Years: Persistence Over Many Years Helps Bring Bosco Ntaganda to Justice

“Bosco Ntaganda, whose armed groups terrorized the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, was sentenced by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on November 7, 2019, to 30 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

UN General Assembly statement on Youth, disarmament and non-proliferation. Read HERE

________________________________________________________________

The Child Soldier Crisis: ‘Kids Are Cheap’

“Although by 2017 Kony’s force had shrunk to just 100 soldiers, from an estimated high of 3,000, the United Nations that year identified a list of 14 countries where armed paramilitary groups still use child soldiers—including Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, and more. Meanwhile, nongovernmental organizations such as Child Soldiers International continue to struggle due to donations “fatigue,” Mulroy said. Despite efforts to combat the phenomenon, the use of child soldiers “is a problem that keeps getting worse, because kids are cheap,” Mulroy said in a recent interview. “A lot of these countries sign up to not use child soldiers and then they do it anyway—that’s a fact.””

Opinion: Why are children still being recruited to fight in horrifying adult wars?

“At the Dallaire Initiative, we have seen how international laws and institutions must be complemented by a preventative, security-sector response that has the adequate tools, tactics, techniques and procedures to protect children and reduce risk. The recruitment and use of children has proven repeatedly to be an early warning indicator of mass atrocities, and the international community must now act with foresight.”

The story behind “El árbol del amor,” an animated documentary from Colombia’s indigenous Nasa community

“Sek (Sun) and A’te (Moon) are the main characters in the animation, el árbol del amor or The Tree of Love. The pair are fictional characters, but their stories are real, constructed from 25 testimonies elicited from former child combatants and young survivors of conflict in the remote indigenous Nasa reservation of Jambaló, Cauca in southwestern Colombia.”

Youth Peace Champions: Disarming the Minds

“With the project ‘Building peace through young adult peace champions in Uganda’, CECORE and GPPAC address both root causes as well as driving factors of conflicts in Ugandan communities. We provide young people skills in peacebuilding, while also training them to become entrepreneurs ... As youth leaders, they speak out against destructive ways and embrace dialogue for peace. And with much success: the young peace champions reconcile conflicting parties, support fellow youth and speak out against violence and practices like forced marriage. Another success is the steady decrease in cattle raiding across the region.”

Advocating for Justice and Reparations in Uganda - discussion panel at University of Manitoba

Chair: Dr. Kjell Anderson, director, Master of Human Rights program, University of Manitoba

Speakers: Dr. Annie Bunting, project director, Conjugal Slavery in War partnership, York University Grace Acan, survivor, author and advocate Evelyn Amony, survivor, author and advocate Isabelle Masson, curator, Canadian Museum for Human Rights

A Voice for the Marginalized in Uganda

Listen to the Podcast with Patrick Bwire of the Center of Conflict Resolution in Uganda HERE

“Patrick shares some heart warming stories of successful reintegration. Whilst this transition can be so difficult, Patrick tells us how the medium of storytelling, sport and dance can rebuild bonds which once seemed unsalvageable.”

New art exhibits showcase role of art in social change

The Elephant Queen

“Embark on an epic journey of love, courage and coming home. Join Athena, the majestic matriarch of an elephant herd, as she is forced to lead her family across the unforgiving African savanna in search of water. This family-friendly adventure is a cinematic love letter to a threatened species. Narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, The Lion King), The Elephant Queen won the Cinema for Peace International Green Film Award of the Year.”

Weekly Roundup January 14 to 20

Dominic Ongwen trial resumes today at The Hague

“The trial of Dominic Ongwen, a former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), resumes today Monday 14th, at the Hague after a two-month break. Defense lawyers will be calling the next set of witnesses they hope will help convince the Trial Chamber IX that Ongwen, 44, is not guilty of the 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

I testified at the trial of one of Joseph Kony’s commanders. Here’s what the court didn’t understand.

Kristof Titeca (@KristofTiteca) is an assistant professor at the Institute of Development Policy at the University of Antwerp.

“In my research on the LRA, I have interacted with Otim for several years. His experiences may help us understand the story of another LRA soldier abducted as a child: Dominic Ongwen, who is now on trial for 70 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Kidnapped at the age of 9, Ongwen rose through the ranks of the LRA to become a senior commander. Much media attention has been given to the question of the responsibility of child soldiers: Should a former child soldier be held responsible for his actions after experiencing unspeakable trauma? Much less attention has been given to another striking issue of the trial, the role of spiritual elements: Is the ICC able to judge or understand the impact of the spiritual beliefs within the LRA?”

“And this is also where the spirits come in: Kony’s use of the spirits, the defense argues, allowed him to control Ongwen’s mind ... This highlights a central challenge for international criminal trials. They have a limited ability to fully and fairly consider non-Western norms of belief and behavior.”

Three years on: Girls returning from conflict in DR Congo find acceptance through education

“If we could go to school, the community would be nicer to us, we would get some consideration.”

“The findings from our research led to the creation of a research report and a Practical Guide in 2017. Focusing on low-cost community initiatives to eradicate stigma and improve community acceptance, the guide has since been shared in 46 local communities, leading to more girls being welcomed and accepted.”

“As of January 2019, our education projects have helped 245 girls formerly associated with armed groups and other vulnerable girls return to school or attend numeracy and literacy classes and five have started university.”

WORLD REPORT 2019

“World Report 2019 is Human Rights Watch’s 29th annual review of human rights practices around the globe. It summarizes key human rights issues in more than 100 countries and territories worldwide, drawing on events from late 2017 through November 2018.”

[PETITION] Don't let CITES delist Elephants and Rhinos as endangered animals!

“ In just a few months, on May 23, 2019 there will be a meeting of CITES. This organization is global and regulates wildlife and conservation efforts. They will meet to vote on proposals from four African countries that want to remove rhinos and elephants from appendix 1 (endangered status) and place them in appendix 2 (to be conserved and regulated status). Let us all stand together to tell CITIES we do not want hunting and the trade of rhino and elephant parts from the countries of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. Let's tell CITIES we do not need to expedite the extinction of elephants and rhinos!”

Weekly Roundup October 15 to 21

Give them a follow: The Elephant Protection Initiative!

“Africa's response to the elephant crisis - 19 countries working to end the ivory trade and build a sustainable future for elephants and people.”

Child Soldiers

Nigeria: Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Welcomes Release of 833 Children by Civilian Joint Task Force

“Nigerian authorities will provide reintegration services to all children released today, with support from UNICEF and partners.”

Victim, perpetrator, son? The other side of the ICC’s Ongwen trial

To forgive is divine: Is the church the key to reintegrating child soldiers?

“Religious rituals provide acceptance of the child, assuage the ill spirits associated with the child soldier’s actions during the conflict, and reconcile the child with ancestral spirits.”

AT UNGA, WORLD LEADERS COMMIT TO STRENGTHENING SUPPORT FOR FORMER CHILD SOLDIERS

“On September 24, 2018, world leaders came together on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to pledge their support for children formerly associated with armed forces and groups. At a side event co-organized by the Kingdom of Belgium and the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (OSRSG-CAAC), policy makers discussed the challenges to reintegrating these girls and boys back into society and ways to overcome these obstacles. Each of the panelists highlighted the need for sustainable, long-term support for reintegration.”

“WILL YOU HEAR US?” CIVIL SOCIETY BRINGS CHILDREN’S VOICES TO THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

“On September 27, 2018, Watchlist’s Executive Director Bukeni Waruzi moderated a panel discussion on children affected by war organized by World Vision International and the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (OSRSG-CAAC). Under the title “Hear Our Voices: Listening to Children Affected by Conflict,” the event brought together international experts to discuss children’s perspectives on protection and rights. Held during the opening week of the UN General Assembly’s 73rd session, the panel discussion sought to increase the attention of high-level policy makers on the situation of children affected by armed conflict.”

“The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG-CAAC), Ms. Virginia Gamba, presented a proposal to create a global fund to support the reintegration of children around the world.”

United for the Future: Supporting the Reintegration of Former Child Soldiers

“The Special Representative further called for the creation of a global coalition on reintegration to provide the best possible reintegration programmes to former child soldiers by ensuring broad support and knowledge sharing. Despite the global agreement on the importance of reintegration to help former child soldiers, assistance cannot reach everyone and more needs to be done to ensure that the thousands of children who are in dire need of help receive an appropriate support, she pleaded.”

Watch the event: Funding the Future: Challenges and Responses to the Reintegration of Child Soldiers (video at bottom of page HERE)

Join us for Red Hand Day 2019!

“Participating in [Child Soldiers International] global Red Hand Day Campaign is easy:

Download one of the templates from our website

Decorate the hands – here are a few ideas:

Younger students: Paint inside the hands – or students can even make their own hand print if you’re eager to get messy with hand paints!

Older students: Write a message for children around the world who are affected by conflict

Simply sign their names (best to be done on the actual ‘Red Hand’)

Send finished materials in one of two ways:

Post them to our office (28 Grayston Centre, Charles Square, London N1 6HT, United Kingdom)

Scan them in and email to us to print out ([email protected])”

Weekly Roundup January 9 to 15

Ongwen’s trial resumes this week: Prosecution begins presenting case on 16 January. Follow any news at https://www.icc-cpi.int/uganda/ongwen

The LRA is Finally Weakening in Central Africa. Defection Messages Could Dismantle It

“Our friends and LRA experts, Ledio Cakaj and Paul Ronan, discuss the opportunity that effective defection efforts, like Invisible Children’s ‘Come Home’ Messages present to efforts to end LRA violence in central Africa. Based on extensive research and hours of interviews with former LRA combatants, Cakaj and Ronan conclude that, as LRA-leader Joseph Kony becomes increasingly brutal and erratic, targeted messages to LRA commanders from family members and recent defectors, has and can continue to undermine fears that prevent defections.”

______________________________________________________________

ELEPHANT ORIGAMI CHALLENGE

“For the official Guinness World Records ™ title count, we received 204,481 pieces of origami—far more than we had the ability to process for this record. Still, the final display of all your hard work was impressive. And we shattered the previous record of 33,000-plus!”

More good news from this week!

Tech giants pledge to keep children out of cobalt mines that supply smartphone and electric-car batteries

“Apple, HP, Samsung SDI and Sony have joined an effort known as the Responsible Cobalt Initiative. Members of the initiative pledged to follow OECD guidelines for mining supply chains, which call for companies to trace how cobalt is being extracted, transported, manufactured and sold. Any abuses would require immediate correction.”

This is at least a step in the right direction and marks a successful move in Amnesty’s #notinmyphone campaign

Refugees helping refugees: how newcomers are empowering one another

Somalis cheer fellow refugee's cabinet post

“Winnipeg’s Somali community and refugee advocates are hailing the appointment of the first Canadian refugee to become an immigration minister.”

Yahya Samatar reaches out to frozen friend

“Yahya Samatar, the Somali man who grabbed international headlines a year and a half ago when he swam across the Red River to come to Canada, is reaching out to a fellow refugee with a remarkably similar story.

Seidu Mohammed is a Ghanaian man who trekked across the same North Dakota fields as Samatar to enter Manitoba.”