Accused #2

A surprise in the office last week: the Prosecutor issued an indictment against Germain Katanga, a Congolese militia leader. He was handed over to ICC authorities last week and had his first appearance at the Court today. Somehow, I managed to negotiate a front-row seat for the hearing. It was packed with media representatives and Court staff, all eager to see our second accused in the flesh. It all felt a bit circus-like, this diminutive young man in the courtroom fishbowl. Part of me felt badly for him… He is only 27 years old and has never even met his second child, who was born while he was imprisoned in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, once the presiding judge started reading the list of charges against him, most of my pity dissolved. He is accused of forcibly enlisting child soldiers, of kidnapping young women and girls as sexual slaves, as well as several other war crimes and crimes against humanity. As I listened to some of the details of the charges, I could not help but think back to my experiences in East and Central Africa, meeting former child soldiers in Uganda, visiting a war-torn town in Eastern Congo, hearing witness testimony at the ICTR… While man’s inhumanity to man remains shocking and disheartening, the dedication and perseverance that I have witnessed here at the Court can only bring optimism.