This archive report was first published on 18 July 2019.
On July 18, 2019, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) Appeals Chamber confirmed the charges against Ugandan rebel leader Dominic Ongwen, dismissing his challenge of the case.
Ongwen, once a kidnapped child soldier, will be the first Ugandan to face trial at the ICC. He is accused of crimes against humanity committed in northern Uganda when he was deputy leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
The charges against Ongwen include seventy counts of crimes against humanity, as well as additional charges of murder, attempted murder, torture, cruel treatment, and other inhumane acts. He is also accused of leading attacks against the civilian population, enslavement, outrages upon personal dignity, pillaging, destruction of property, and persecution.
Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda initially charged Ongwen with crimes related to his role in the LRA on December 21, 2015. The charges were later expanded to include sexual and gender-based crimes committed between 2002 and 2005 in Sinia Brigade.
The Appeals Chamber decision upholds the Trial Chamber's ruling that Ongwen had not filed an objection at the commencement of the trial despite being given opportunity to do so.
