Updated information on programme activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Q1-Q2 2022
Highlights from reporting period (Q1 & Q2 2022)
During the reporting period, the TFV programme team in Bunia, supported by the TFV legal team, continued to work with the implementing partners for the Lubanga and Ntaganda reparations, reviewing and monitoring all approaches with respect to socio-economic rehabilitation services including professional training and school assistance, medical and psychological support provided to beneficiaries to ensure quality of reparative measures for the beneficiaries. More than 550 beneficiaries had entered the Lubanga programme by the end of the reporting period. Given the confidentiality that needs to be assured for the victims, the difficult security situation and the widely varying expectations of the victims, the programme continues to face many challenges that the Trust Fund addresses together with the implementing partners and in cooperation with the legal representatives. With regard to the implementation of the Lubanga symbolic reparations, the implementing partner continued community engagements with selected communities and with victims to ensure their participation and preparation for the symbolic reparation activities expected to start during the third quarter. For the Katanga reparations, the TFV programme staff continued the direct implementation of reparations providing funds for housing assistance, income generating activities and effectively monitoring the process with the victims. Victims are expected to receive individual and group counselling sessions with trained community members who will lead these sessions under the supervision of two psychologists. It is expected that the implementation of the Katanga reparations should end by March 2023. The TFV also conducted quality assurance missions for projects implemented by its partners under both reparations and assistance mandates, and a mission to Kinshasa to engage in visibility activities at various embassies. Capacity-building trainings were conducted for psychological care providers of reparations provided to beneficiaries in Katanga.
I. Context
The ICC investigations in the DRC have focused on alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed mainly in eastern DRC, in the Ituri region and the North and South Kivu Provinces, since 1 July 2002. The investigation led to a number of cases, which have involved charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In 2008, the Trust Fund launched the first phase of assistance programmes for victims of crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the ICC. Projects aimed at providing physical rehabilitation, socio-economic rehabilitation including professional training and school assistance, psychological rehabilitation as well as peace-building and reconciliation, allowing victims’ reintegration and protection in the DRC.
The DRC situation led to three convictions, in the Lubanga (2012, confirmed on appeal in 2014), Katanga (2014), and Ntaganda (2019, confirmed on appeal in 2021) cases, and to a case that ended with the acquittal of Mr Ngudojolo Chui. His trial was conducted together with the trial of Mr Katanga. Additionally, the Pre-Trial Chamber did not confirm the charges against Mr Mbarushimana; a warrant of arrest was issued for Mr Mudacumura but this was never executed.
The Trust Fund began to implement reparations in the Katanga case in 2017; to date, the individual symbolic compensations awards as well as the education modality have been fully implemented, with IGA support pending for four beneficiaries. Implementation of the housing and psychological support modalities is ongoing.
Implementation of reparations in the Lubanga case began in March 2021, when the contract with the implementing partner was finalised. The programme provides physical and psychological rehabilitation measures, as well as material support by way of assistance and training on income-generating activities, payment of school fees, and the provision of a pension, as required. To date, a total of 555 beneficiaries are currently benefitting from service-based collective reparations and, to date, the Trust Fund has referred a total of 764 beneficiaries to the implementing partner for intake.
Ntaganda reparations implementation for priority victims in urgent need began in January 2022. The IDIP programme provides reparative measures that respond to the urgent needs of eligible priority victims through physical rehabilitation, psychological support and/or socio-economic assistance, as required. Upon a positive eligibility determination, 28 beneficiaries in urgent need, all of them victims participating in judicial proceedings, started to receive initial reparations through this programme. In addition, all of the 19 Lubanga and Ntaganda former child soldiers with urgent needs are currently benefitting from the reparation programme in Lubanga.
II. Background on reparations cases: Lubanga, Katanga, Ntaganda
Three cases at reparations stage concern crimes committed in eastern DRC: Lubanga, Katanga, and Ntaganda.
Lubanga (ICC-01/04-01/06)
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the former president of the Union des Patriotes Congolais/Forces Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo (UPC/FPLC), was found guilty on 14 March 2012 of the war crimes of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 years and using them to participate actively in hostilities (conscription and use of child soldiers). The verdict and sentence (14 years of imprisonment) were confirmed on appeal on 1 December 2014. On 15 March 2020, Mr Lubanga was released.
Reparations proceedings
Following the conviction of Mr Lubanga in 2012, the Trial Chamber issued a decision on the principles and process to be applied for reparations to victims in the case. The decision was considered to be an incomplete reparations order by the Appeals Chamber, which proceeded to issue an (Amended) Reparations Order almost three years later, on 3 March 2015. The Amended Reparations Order recognised as victims of the case: former child soldiers, family members of the child soldiers, individuals who attempted to prevent the commission of crimes or suffered harm when helping or intervening on behalf of direct victims, and other persons who suffered personal harm as a result of the offences as victims.
The Appeals Chamber recognised psychological, physical and material harm as having occurred to these victims, depending on their situation. The Appeals Chamber requested the Trial Chamber to set Mr Lubanga’s liability to ensure completion of the Reparations Order, and instructed the Trust Fund to submit a draft implementation plan. On 15 December 2017, around 2.5 years after the issuance of the Reparations Order, the Chamber issued its decision setting Mr Lubanga’s liability at USD 10 million, determining that 425 out of 473 victims identified at the time were eligible for reparations in the case, and requested the TFV to develop more detailed implementation plans for the different types of awards, taking into account the additional information about victims resulting from the Chamber’s victim identification process.
The TFV’s original draft implementation plan (November 2015) concerned both symbolic and collective service-based reparations for victims of the case. On 9 February 2016, the Chamber issued an order instructing the TFV to supplement the draft implementation plan, and the additional programme information was provided by the TFV on 7 June 2016. On 15 July 2016, the Chamber requested information on the feasibility of applying symbolic collective reparations, which the TFV filed on 19 September 2016. On 21 October 2016, Trial Chamber II approved the TFV’s plan for symbolic reparations and for victims in this case. On 6 December 2016, the Chamber instructed the Trust Fund to submit information regarding collective reparations, to which the TFV complied on 13 February 2017. On 6 April 2017, the programmatic framework for collective service-based reparations was approved, and the Trial Chamber also requested to approve the selected partner’s proposal which was subsequently submitted and approved in 2020. In the interim, the Trust Fund’s eligibility process was approved on 4 March 2019. Following the decision on eligibility, the Trust Fund proceeded to immediately commence with eligibility screening.
Reparations modalities
Collective reparations (service-based and symbolic) are implemented for victims in this case. The programme aims to contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic situation of victims, and their physical and psychological rehabilitation.
The contract to implement collective service-based reparations entered into force on 15 March 2021. As of July 2021, the 425 beneficiaries who were already found eligible by the Trial Chamber in 2017 were prioritised. Additional beneficiaries continue to be taken in, in particular those identified by the legal representatives as being in urgent need.
Psychological rehabilitation and mental health support includes: provision of effective treatment and medicines to remedy psychological difficulties; consultations, therapy and focus groups; support for families to help with reconciliation and organisation of discussion groups to enable victims to interact and share experiences; monitoring of the progress of treatments provided by the partner.
Physical rehabilitation measures include: organisation of screening and/or initial medical diagnosis of the beneficiaries in coordination with local health structures associated with the programme through partnership protocols; provision of treatment as close as possible to area of residence, where appropriate quality of care can be provided - beneficiaries requiring more complex treatments are treated in Bunia or Goma according to their specific medical needs; assistance provided with transport and admission of the beneficiaries to the hospitals, clinics or medical centres.
Socio-economic support provided includes:
- Educational support: Tuition is paid for beneficiaries, and refresher training, university scholarships or language courses are provided. School fees are also covered for dependants of certain victims;
- income generating activity (IGA) support: provision of vocational training to enable beneficiaries to conduct an IGA, material assistance in conducting the IGA, and support in organising group or cooperative activities as well as the creation of savings and credit associations;
- Pension: A periodic subsistence pension is provided to individuals who, due to their age or disability, are unable to participate in an IGA. For particularly vulnerable victims, such as those in a vulnerable situation due to their place of residence, relocation is arranged for and assistance with housing is provided for a period of two years. Indigent victims can access specific interventions: for example, housing support and food assistance.
The contract with the implementing partner for symbolic reparations, was signed on 1 November 2021. Victim communities have since been extensively consulted on the appropriate form of symbolic measures: symbolic structures in the form of commemoration centres will be constructed and mobile memorialisation initiatives are in development. The commemoration centres will host, for example, interactive symbolic activities, and the memorialisation initiatives will aim to raise awareness of the crimes an resulting harms, in order to facilitate reintegration, reconciliation, and memorialisation. In these consultations, beneficiary communities agreed on the modality of the construction of community centres.
Challenges
The biggest challenge is fundraising, given the TFV is not yet in a position to fully complement the payment of the liability amount. The complement to date covers the costs of the programme for the first two years. The second year of implementation is expected to start by 1 November 2022. Accordingly, funding is urgently required to move forward with the Lubanga programme.
Katanga (ICC-01/04-01/07)
On 7 March 2014, Germain Katanga, the former commander of the Force de résistance patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), was found guilty, as an accessory, of one count of crime against humanity (murder), and four counts of war crimes (murder, attacking a civilian population, destruction of property, and pillaging) committed on 24 February 2003 during the attack on the village of Bogoro, in Ituri, DRC. He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on 23 May 2014, and released on 18 January 2016.
Reparations proceedings and modalities
On 24 March 2017, the Trial Chamber issued an Order for Reparations against Mr Katanga, setting his liability at USD 1 million. The liability amount has been fully complemented by the Trust Fund with its voluntary contributions. The Trial Chamber ordered awards for reparations to 297 identified victims, comprised of an individual symbolic compensation award of $250 to each victim and of one collective award consisting of four modalities to all victims, in the form of (1) housing assistance, (2) education assistance, (3) income generating activities, and (4) psychological rehabilitation.
On 25 July 2017, the Trust Fund submitted its Draft Implementation Plan, developed in close collaboration with the LRV, proposing categorisations of the harms suffered by the victims with corresponding reparations awards packages per category, to maintain the proportional link between the reparations and the difference types and degrees of harm suffered by the individual victims, as demonstrated below. Psychological assistance is not accounted for in the victims’ personal budget, but should be accessible to all identified victims. Throughout the implementation process, victims have always been – and still are – free to decide how to make use of this budget, and can choose to invest it all into one modality or to split the budget into the different modalities (education, housing, or IGAs) as they see fit.
In the Katanga case, the Trust Fund directly implements reparations without the assistance of an implementing partner.
Individual reparations
The Trust Fund completed the implementation and disbursement of the individual symbolic payments of USD 250 to all 297 victims. The majority of the symbolic individual awards, specifically for the 266 victims residing in the DRC, had been distributed by the end of 2017. Missions were organised throughout 2018 to Uganda, Europe and the USA, in order to facilitate implementation of the awards in person to the 31 victims who had resettled and/or were located outside of the DRC.
Collective reparations
Since 2019, the TFV has been implementing the four modalities of collective reparations ordered by the Trial Chamber. Of the total USD 919,462 allocated to collective reparations, USD 775,500 was designated towards housing, education, and IGAs; USD 88,312 was set aside for psychological support; and USD 55,650 was provided to compensate victims living abroad, as only victims residing in the DRC are able to access the specific collective measures.
In July 2021, the implementation of the educational assistance modality ended. As a result, 338 dependants of beneficiaries have been supported with the payment of school fees for the total sum of USD 44,856.63.
Challenges
In the Draft Implementation Plan, the TFV proposed that reparations in this case should be implemented through implementing partners. The Trial Chamber, on request of the LRV, advised the Trust Fund to implement reparations directly, without the involvement of a partner organisation. This caused an unforeseen strain on the Trust Fund’s limited staffing capacity, and required unprecedented administrative processes to enable the TFV’s handling of significant disbursements to victims, still in line with the Financial Rules and Regulations of the Court.
In addition, the ability of victims to change modalities within their allotted budget, requites the TFV to be flexible in its administrative processes and requires time and resources to properly run such processes to the satisfaction of the victims.
Ntaganda (ICC-01/04-02/06)
On 8 July 2019, Trial Chamber VI found Bosco Ntaganda guilty of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed in Ituri, DRC, between 2002 and 2003. He was sentenced to a total of 30 years of imprisonment. Conviction and sentence were confirmed on appeal on 30 March 2021.
On 8 March 2021, the Trial Chamber issued its Reparations Order against Mr Ntaganda, ordering collective reparations with individualised components, and assessing the amount of Mr Ntaganda’s liability for such reparations at USD 30 million. The Chamber instructed the Trust Fund to submit a draft implementation plan for all victims, as well as an urgent plan for priority victims. On 8 June 2021, the Trust Fund submitted its initial draft implementation plan (IDIP) to address those within the group of victims described by the Trial Chamber as ‘Priority Victims’, who have urgent needs. On 23 July 2021, Trial Chamber II approved two projects proposed in the Trust Fund’s IDIP, subject to certain conditions. It also requested the TFV to report on the progress of implementation of the IDIP every two months.
The Trial Chamber held that the verification of beneficiaries must be carried out by the TFV, with the support of the Registry, and excluded a role of implementing partners in the determination that needs to be carried out. It mandated the TFV to liaise with the Registry and LRVs to establish an eligibility process for the Ntaganda case. The consultations proved fruitful, leading to the establishment of an eligibility process that concluded in July 2022 for the entire case through a joint filing by TFV and Registry, while an interim process had been established for the IDIP that was put to action as of December 2021.
On 23 July 2021, the Trial Chamber granted the Trust Fund’s request for an extension of time to submit the Draft Implementation Plan (DIP) for the implementation of reparations for all Ntaganda victims. The TFV submitted the DIP on 17 December 2021. A second version of the DIP was filed on 24 March 2022, responding to queries from the LRVs and the Defence.
The Defence and one of the LRVs appealed the Reparations Order. The Trust Fund submitted on 22 June 2021 a request to the Appeals Chamber to make observations as an amicus curiae on certain aspects of the appeals. The request was granted by the Chamber on 9 September 2021, setting out specific questions to be answered by the TFV. On 30 September 2021, the TFV submitted its observations by responding to the Appeals Chamber’s questions, making observations on its role in the implementation process. Upon delivery of the judgment of the Appeals Chamber on the appeals against the reparations order, the TFV may need to make adaptations to the DIP before the final approval of the Trial Chamber can be provided.
III. Report on reparations implementation in Q1&2 - 2022
Lubanga
Eligibility decisions
The identification process for victims in Lubanga ended on 1 October 2021. In this period, over 900 additional applications were submitted before that final cut-off date. Trial Chamber II has set a deadline for the TFV to render administrative decisions on all applications, including the final batch to be submitted by VPRS, as soon as practicable as and no later than 1 October 2022. Assessments are ongoing. 425 victims were considered eligible by the Trial Chamber in their 15 December 2017 decision. Between October 2019 and August 2022, 1214 additional victim applications have been verified by the Board of Director’s focal point and the related decisions have been approved by the Trial Chamber, bringing the total number of eligible victims to 1547.
Status of implementation
Collective service-based reparations: As of today, in accordance with the TFV’s last progress report to the Trial Chamber, a total of 555 beneficiaries are currently benefitting from service-based collective reparations. Moreover, to date, the Trust Fund has referred a total of 764 beneficiaries to the implementing partner; 209 remain unreachable, likely due to the security situation in Ituri.
Symbolic reparations: In the reporting period, following community consultations, the implementing partner proceeded to create committees within each locality, constituted by members of the community, including in particular victims, civil society and local authorities, to monitor the construction of the community centres. In parallel, a separate committee made up of community members is envisioned to monitor the overall progress of implementation of symbolic reparations.
Multiple exchanges between the Trust Fund and the implementing partner have taken place in the reporting period to determine an agreeable timeline for the construction of the community centres. The timeline has since been adjusted and a new proposal has been presented to the Trust Fund. Construction is expected to commence shortly and end in March 2023. To this effect, the implementing partner envisages to organise a launch ceremony within the communities led by the communities themselves, in line with local customs and practices. The Trust Fund will communicate the final dates to the LRVs in order to ensure that victims wishing to participate may do so. The Trust Fund is currently considering an appropriate way in which it may participate in the ceremony on behalf of the Court. Mobile memorialisation activities are planned to start in in the last quarter of 2022.
|
Lubanga (Total liability: USD 10 million) |
Q1/22 |
Q2/22 |
As of 31/08/22 |
|
Number of victims reached by IP |
431 |
555 |
680 |
|
Number of beneficiaries receiving psychological rehabilitation |
431 |
498 |
680 |
|
Number of beneficiaries receiving socio-economic support (training) |
183 |
307 |
434 |
|
Number of beneficiaries receiving medical and physical rehabilitation |
159 |
421 |
533 |
|
Number of beneficiaries who received university scholarships |
63 |
69 |
157 |
|
Number of beneficiaries receiving education reintegration in primary and secondary education |
364 |
796 |
796 |
|
Number of beneficiaries supported to start small business |
120 |
238 |
277 |
Activities & results in the reporting period – Lubanga reparations
In the context of improving the quality of care provided by the Trust Fund's reparations project, a number of decisions were taken on factors that tended to compromise the project's timeline and the quality of care provided to beneficiaries.
The first observations related to the difficulty of locating victims for admission to the project.
Indeed, the security context in Ituri being very complex and unstable, the search for and location of beneficiaries at the beginning of the project was a major challenge for the TFV and its implementing partner, which resulted in the late start of the beneficiary care activities as well as an under-spending of the budget by the implementing partner in the first and second quarters of the implementation of the project.
In response to the late start and the under-spending of the budget, the TFV approved two no cost extensions of the project with its implementing partner, namely from 15 April to 30 June 2022 and from 30 June to 31 August 2022, in order to reach the targets and spend the project budget.
The second finding raised by the beneficiaries and their legal representatives in February and April 2022 concerned the absence of adequate communication of the medical, psychological and socio economic packages provided to victims by the implementation partner in the framework of the implementation of this project. The months of February and March were particularly agitated because of repeated complaints and a number of demonstrations by beneficiaries demanding that all their wishes, requests and grievances be taken into account. The demands of the victims ranged from the delays program implementation, inadequate communication on the services provided by the program, questioning the need for professional training before cash payments for income generating activities, cash payments only in lieu of a rehabilitation package, increase in amounts for school assistance and income generating activities and the periodicity of these payments. To address these issue, the Trust Fund in collaboration with the implementing partner reviewed the implementing strategy to make it more efficient, reviewed the budget for the program to included more flexibility on the periodicity of payments, revised the amount allocated for the income generation activity and developed a more effective communication strategy to engage with victims. Throughout this process, the Trust Fund together with its implementing partner also consulted with victims and with the legal representatives
In March 2022, the TFV programme team in Bunia was strengthened by an additional Associate Field Programme Officer, whose core responsibility is the monitoring of the Lubanga and Ntaganda programmes. This allowed the TFV to considerably improve its ability to closely supervise the work of its partner and to be available for the partner on a day-to-day basis to address the diverse issues arising in the challenging circumstances of this programme. The monitoring of the partner has been also reinforced by the establishment of weekly meetings to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the TFV, as well as unannounced visits to check the quality of the services.
As a result, since March to June 2022, the TFV programme team in Bunia held a series of meetings with the implementing partner and its subcontractors, to address challenges, identify solutions, lessons learnt, way forward and recommendations Three workshops were also organised to revise the approach of psychological, physical and socio-economic rehabilitation service delivery by the implementing partner to the victims between the 30 of May to the 7th of June 2022
With regard to communication, the project staff received training on the service provision (package) for victims and soft skills on interpersonal communication adapted to the project context. Refresher training sessions are organised every quarter for both old and new staff of the project.
With regard to the victims’ holistic care, a complaint mechanism has been put in place to manage victims' complaints and the implementing partner’s financial procedures have been thoroughly reviewed in order to accelerate prompt payment to victims for different services. The relevance of the services offered by the implementing partner’s subcontractors has been evaluated and the project's multi-actor operating model has been revised in order to strengthen the synergy and complementarity of actions between the implementing partner and its two subcontractors.
A communication strategy was developed to manage the referral system and eliminate possibilities of duplication of services and conflict. Recommendations also focused on reorganising screening and appointment scheduling to avoid the influx of beneficiaries, thereby avoiding long waiting hours for victims and promoting better mental and physical health diagnosis. The capacity of agents and nurses has been reinforced to respect the beneficiary/health agent or social worker ratios in the provision of psychological rehabilitation services to beneficiaries. Diagnostic forms have been translated into Lingala and Swahili, to facilitate the understanding of beneficiaries, and all diagnostic and management tools and methods have been revised to integrate a victim centred approach. Emphasis was also placed on the need to systematically organise follow-up appointments and care, monthly case management and closure meetings as well as experience sharing meetings on lessons learned and best practices.
With regard to the demonstrations of the victims, two recommendations were made. These include capacity building for victims on peace education, citizenship and life skills, in order to instil in them more civic and moral notions, and the reinforcement of the security at the offices of the implementing partner and its subcontractors. The TFV recommended that the implementing partner and the sub-contractors strengthen their security system to anticipate and manage victims’ emotions, in particular if they express feelings of dissatisfaction through actions, an occurrence that has been was reported by the implementing partners and sub-contractors during this reporting period. The implementing partner and sub-contractors have adapted to the situation that some victims may become aggressive given the trauma they suffered as former child soldiers. The implementing partner and sub-contractors face the challenge of finding in each case the adequate response, weighing the security of its staff and the needs of the victims. As a result of one such event, the headquarters of one of the sub-contractors of the implementing partner were relocated. An incident reporting and management mechanism has also been put in place, not excluding the use of law enforcement in case of serious incidents.
In terms of improving communication and access to information by the communities, the TFV in collaboration with local radio stations started an information campaign in May on the Lubanga and Ntaganda reparation programmes to inform the victims and community of the implementation of the projects. A media plan was developed for this purpose and five radio stations were selected to broadcast information to the populations of Kpandroma, Nizi, Mahagi, Bunia, Mungwalu and their surroundings. This campaign provided information to the communities in the different languages of the region about the actions of the ICC in the DRC and more particularly about the reparation and assistance mandates of TFV and increased the visibility of TFV's actions in the DRC.
Next steps
The Trust Fund will continue to issue eligibility decisions with a view to complete the eligibility assessment for all applications by 1 October 2022, at the latest, as instructed by the Trial Chamber. The progressive integration of eligible beneficiaries into the programme will continue; it is expected that just over 500 additional beneficiaries will be integrated into the programme between the months of September 2022 to April 2023.
The next steps will also include the continuation of the monitoring and verification missions initiated during the second quarter and in particular the verification of the costs of its implementing partner.
Finally, the next quarter will see the transition of the Lubanga project from year 1 to year 2. Year 1 of the project will end on 31 October after a cost extension and the TFV programme team in Bunia is working with its partner to finalize the evaluation of year 1 and the budget for year 2.
The TFV has commissioned an external evaluation team by the end of 2021, commencing the monitoring and evaluation process in Lubanga.
Katanga
Status of implementation
Individual reparations have been fully implemented.
Collective reparations: As of July 2022, only four remaining beneficiaries await the implementation of the IGA awards, as they have recently changed their preference to this modality. The completion of awards for housing and psychological support are pending and expected to end by March 2023.
For the housing support modality, the Trust Fund has provided reparations to 29 beneficiaries so far.
For the psychological support modality, the Trust Fund contracted the psychologist who had been appointed as an expert in the Katanga proceedings in 2015, and who assisted in the development of the implementation plan. In February and March 2022, the psychologist held interviews, together with the LRV. Theoretical and practical training sessions on the management of post-traumatic stress disorder were provided by the psychologist. Victim beneficiaries participated in induction meetings, organised together with the LRV and TFV, with a view to introduce the psychological assistance modality, to enable them to voice any views and concerns they may have about the implementation process.
The TFV has commissioned an external evaluation team by the end of 2021, commencing the monitoring and evaluation process in Lubanga.
|
Katanga (Total liability: USD 1 million) |
Q1/22 |
Q2/22 |
As of 31/08/22 |
|
Number of beneficiaries who benefitted from income-generating activities on one given occasion |
0 |
Approximately 365 |
|
|
Number of beneficiaries who benefitted from at least one income-generating activity |
At least 250 |
||
|
Number of dependants of beneficiaries who received education support |
338 |
||
|
Number of beneficiaries who received education support for their dependants at least for one school year, and up to three school years |
90 (90 in 2018/2019, 48 in 2019/2020 and 14 in 2020/2021) |
||
|
Number of beneficiaries who received housing support |
9 in full and 9 partially |
15 in full (including 10 beneficiaries who received final instalments) and 1 partially |
29 in full and 3 partially |
Activities and results in the reporting period - Katanga reparations
From 18 March to 27 June 2022, a team of psychological care providers of the Katanga case, composed of 15 participants, were trained in the use of psychological support tools in order to better assist victims who so desire to better manage the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The training was provided online by a team of international and national psychology consultants, who provided close coaching to the psychological care providers. This high-level training is timely, as it will not only enable the supervisors to be more operational in the field, but will also contribute to improving the mental health of the victims of the Katanga reparation project.
Next steps
The psychological care of these victims is planned for October 2022.
Ntaganda
Eligibility decisions
In order to facilitate the IDIP programme for priority victims in urgent need, an eligibility process is conducted by the Trust Fund, with the support of its implementing partner. The first phase of identifying victims for intake into the IDIP programme has concerned victims that participated in the judicial proceedings. In this respect, the Legal Representatives of Victims indicate which of their clients require priority access to the programme due to their level of vulnerability, and continue to provide to the TFV, on a rolling basis, information on victims they represent that they have been able to contact. The Trust Fund, upon gathering information through the implementing partner, proceeds to an eligibility assessment which includes a determination of whether the individual was indeed a victim of one of the crimes for which Mr Ntaganda was convicted, and an urgency screening. Once the Trust Fund has determined that the individual is eligible for the IDIP measures, the implementing partner proceeds with their intake into the programme.
Status of implementation
The two projects approved by the Chamber are run by two separate implementing partners, one for former child soldiers, and one for victims of the attacks, respectively.
Six progress reports on the implementation of the IDIP have been submitted to date, setting out the eligibility assessment and urgency screening procedure for IDIP intake purposes, providing clarification in response to observations submitted by the parties and participants, and updates on the implementation process.
Upon a positive eligibility determination, 28 beneficiaries in urgent need, all of them victims participating in judicial proceedings, started to receive initial reparations through this programme. In addition, all of the 19 Lubanga and Ntaganda former child soldiers with urgent needs are currently benefitting from the reparation programme in Lubanga.
Challenges and next steps
Due to ongoing security concerns, and the active conflict in eastern DRC, the Legal Representative of participating former child soldiers has informed the Trust Fund that it is becoming increasingly difficult to contact the remaining priority victims as they seem to be displaced. The Trust Fund has therefore begun to liaise with the Registry to gather information on potential former child soldiers who have not participated in proceedings.
IV. Assistance programme
The TFV has been active in DRC since 2008, providing reparative measures by way of its assistance mandate for victims of crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the ICC in the Ituri, North and South Kivu provinces. The first cycle under the assistance mandate ran up until 2017 with projects implemented by numerous local and international organisations, for more than 230,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries. The programme in its second cycle which began in2020 launched ten new projects in collaboration with 10 implementing partners working in the regions of Ituri, North and South Kivu.
As of 1 May 2022, seven assistance projects in the eastern DRC provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu form the TFV’s assistance programme in the DRC. Due in particular to budget constraints, three projects were not extended into the third contractual year and came to an end by 30 April 2022. The projects range across a number of sectors, including providing physical rehabilitation support to mutilated victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, psychological rehabilitation, income-generating activities, and community peacebuilding and reconciliation as well as non-violent conflict resolution.
|
Partner, project title & location |
Beneficiaries & activities (Q2 / 2022) |
Project amount & duration |
|
Association des mamans Anti-Bwaki (AMAB)
Psychological rehabilitation, medical and socio-economic support for victims of mutilation and torture in Ituri
Ituri, Territories of Djugu, Irumu, Mahagi, Aru and Bunia town
Total beneficiaries to date: 150 |
|
€750 000 (approximately €150,000/year)
Y1: USD 150,000 Y2: USD 143,317 Y3: USD 143,317
5 year project from 5/2020 to 4/2025, renewable at annual intervals.
|
|
Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI)
Psychosocial and socioeconomic reintegration of girl-mothers who are victims of wars in Ituri
Province of Ituri, Territory of Irumu and town of Bunia
Total beneficiaries to date: 242 |
|
€750 000 (approximately €150,000/year)
Y1: USD 150,000 Y2: USD 143,317 Y3: USD 143,317
5 year project from 3/2020 to 2/2025, renewable at annual intervals.
|
|
Appui aux Femmes Démunies et Enfants Marginalisés (AFEDEM)
Psychosocial support and socio-economic reintegration project for 550 young women victims of sexual violence in Walungu
South Kivu Province, Walungu Territory
Total beneficiaries to date: 312 |
|
€750 000 (approximately €150,000/year)
Y1: USD 149,736 Y2: USD 143,190 Y3: USD 143,126
5 year project from 5/2020 to 4/2025, renewable at annual intervals. |
|
Missionaires d’Afrique
At the school of peace
Provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu
Total beneficiaries to date: 34486 students (Primary & secondary schools) |
420 peace education sensitisation and peace training sessions for 15390 community members, including 15050 student beneficiaries.
|
€750 000 (approximately €150,000/year)
Y1: USD 150,000 Y2: USD 143,317 Y3: USD 143,317
5 year project from 05/2020 to 04/2025, renewable at annual intervals.
|
|
World Relief
Physical rehabilitation of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Eastern DR Congo
Province of Ituri, Territory of Irumu, town of Bunia
Total beneficiaries to date: 805 |
|
€750 000 (approximately €150,000/year)
Y1: USD 149,985 Y2: USD 149,995 Y3: USD 149,995
5 year project from 2020 to 2025, renewable at annual intervals.
|
|
Medecins du Monde
For quality psychological rehabilitation of survivors of sexual violence in south Kivu as part of the holistic care offered within the HGR Panzi
South Kivu and city of Bukavu
Total beneficiaries to date: 5860 (SGBV and other victims affected by the war crime and crime against humanity) |
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€750 000 (approximately €150,000/year
Y1: USD 130,000 Y2: USD 124,208 Y3: USD 124,208
5 year project from 2020 to 2025, renewable at annual intervals.
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Solidarité pour la Promotion Sociale et la Paix (SOPROP)
Assistance and rehabilitation of survivors of sexual violence and other crimes against humanity in the province of North Kivu
Province of North Kivu, Territory of Nyiragongo and city of Goma
Total beneficiaries to date: 663 |
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€750 000 (approximately €150,000/year)
Y1: USD 150,000 Y2: USD 143,317 Y3: USD 143,317
5 year project from 2020 to 2025, renewable at annual intervals.
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INFORMATION ON PROJECTS DISCONTINUED AS OF 30 APRIL 2022
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Partner, project title & location |
Beneficiaries & activities between 1 January 2022 and 30 April 2022 |
Project amount & duration |
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Fleuve d’Eau Vive qui Coulent aux Autres (FLEVICA)
Support project for the peaceful cohabitation and socio-economic reintegration of victims of armed conflicts in Djugu and Mahagi in the province of Ituri
Province of Ituri, Territories of Mahagi and Djugu
Total beneficiaries to date: 250 |
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€750 000 (approximately €150,000/year)
Approved budget for 24 months: USD 293,317 (Y1: USD 150,000 and Y2: 143,317).
Start: June 2020, end: 30 April 2022. |
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Transcultural Psychological Organisation (TPO)
Support for psychosocial care and socio-economic reintegration of survivors of sexual violence in South Kivu in eastern DR Congo
Province of North Kivu, city and territory of Beni
Total beneficiaries to date: 4387 |
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€750 000 (approximately €150,000/year)
Approved budget for 24 months: USD 293,317 (Y1: USD 150,000 and Y2: 143,317).
Start: May 2020, end: 30 April 2022. |
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Observatoire des Droits Humains (ODH)
Media of Ituri for the promotion of the culture of peace and social cohesion
Province on Ituri, Territories of Djugu, Irumu, Mahagi and Aru
Total beneficiaries to date: 4139 |
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€750 000 (approximately €150,000/year)
Approved budget for 24 months: USD 293,317 (Y1: USD 140,600 and Y2: 134,328).
Start: July 2020, end: 30 April 2022. |
Activities & results in the reporting period
In order to ensure that projects are in compliance with TFV standards, procedures and processes, and that periodic reports are consistent with actual data on the ground, the TFV programme team in Bunia undertook, in addition to daily bilateral discussions, a monitoring and verification mission, between the 6 June 2022 to the 4 July 2022 in the Ituri, North and South Kivu regions for a total of 13 projects including 3 ongoing reparations projects. Reports of these checks have been finalised for some partners while others remain ongoing as some partners needed to provide some missing receipts which in a majority of cases were filed in the headquarter office and not field office. These verifications mission are an opportunity for the TFV programme team in Bunia to continue developing the capacity of the implementing partners on the procedures and standards of the Trust Fund and to engage with the partner on challenges, possible solutions, lessons learned, results and perspectives. Several recommendations were made to the partners during the debriefings, in order to strengthen the quality of their interventions and increase the impact of the projects. The mission reports are being shared with the relevant TFV sections as they are finalised.
Decision making in relation to the continuation of some DRC assistance projects have been based on performance, availability of funds and accessibility to project site as a result of security constraints as well as the span of control that can be exercised by the TFV programme staff by reference to the combined volume of sizeable reparations and assistance programmes. Of the 10 projects carried out by the implementing partners during the year 2021/2022, three projects were discontinued by the Trust Fund as a result of availability of funds, security and impact on victims.
As part of its fundraising activities to support the implementation of its reparation and assistance programs, the TFV programme team in Bunia conducted an important mission to Kinshasa with the embassies of Japan, the European Union, the Netherlands, Canada and Germany from 24 to 27 May 2022. The mission focused on presenting the TFV's mandates and results in the DRC since its establishment in the country in 2008. The embassies were very appreciative of the relevance and results of the TFV in the DRC, which bodes well for future partnerships. They particularly appreciated the changes in the lives of victims during and after project implementation, as well as the large number of victims reached. A group mission of several embassies is planned for November 2022 in Bunia, to come and see for themselves the TFV interventions and programs in DRC, particularly in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.
Challenges
As a result of the current security situation in eastern DRC physical visits to all the localities where the projects are implemented and where the victims live are usually not possible. However, together with implementing partners, the field staff have developed strategies to monitor implementation and have direct communication with some victims as well. It is important that, given the number of implementing partners, the density of reparation projects and the geographical spread of the assistance programme in the three provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu, verification missions take place at least twice a year, thus ensuring adequate time is allocated for each organisation.
The distance between Bunia and the DRC capital Kinshasa has greatly affected the ability of field staff to carry out visibility on our programmes with national government officials as well as visibility and fundraising state parties on a regular basis. This long distance and sometimes the unreliable nature of UN flights has also impacted staff to participate regularly in national initiatives/meetings on reparations and other activities for victims of Rome Statute crimes.
What’s next
Two major activities are planned for the last quarter of 2022, including a mission of ambassadors from donor countries to Bunia, as well as the continuation of supervision missions and visits to project sites and beneficiaries in Goma.