SUDAN/UGANDA/DRC: LAWYER BRIEFS LRA,S KONY ON ICC

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 002701

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/SPG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2016
TAGS: PGOV CASC MARR SU CG UG
SUBJECT: SUDAN/UGANDA/DRC: LAWYER BRIEFS LRA,S KONY ON ICC

REF: KHARTOUM 2694

Classified By: P/E CHIEF ERIC WHITAKER FOR REASON: 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) Ugandan human rights lawyer Barney Afako held a
detailed one-hour discussion with LRA leader Joseph Kony
November 14 about the role of the International Criminal
Court (ICC) and the legal consequences of ICC indictments.
Afako is a consultant to the UN mediation team assisting
peace talks between the Government of Uganda (GOU) and the
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Afako said Kony, accompanied
by LRA second-in-command Vincent Otti, listened intently to
his explanations, but asked few questions. Kony, Otti, and
two other LRA commanders are under indictment by the ICC for
mass murder and other crimes. Afako described his
conversation with Kony and Otti to Poloff on November 16.


2. (C) During the current peace talks, LRA representatives
have repeatedly pressed for removal of the ICC indictments.
This is the first occasion, however, Kony has been presented
with a detailed and neutral explanation of the ICC issue,
Afako believes.


3. (C) Although the Government of Uganda (GOU) brought the
case to the ICC, it has no power to direct that the
indictments be lifted, Afako explained to the two LRA
leaders. The ICC is a powerful court with broad
international support, he added. However, it does not have
exclusive jurisdiction over the acts of the LRA and others in
northern Uganda. He advised Kony and Otti to remain engaged
in the peace process, and stressed that positive steps by the
LRA toward ending the war would be viewed favorably by the
ICC and the broader international community. Afako also
explained that the parties to the current negotiations had
agreed in principle on the concept of "alternative justice,"
but that this concept had yet to be defined. At the end of
their conversation, Kony indicated he wanted to reflect on
what he had heard and discuss the issues further at a
follow-on meeting.


4. (SBU) Afako accompanied UN Under Secretary General Jan
Egeland to the Sudan-DRC border November 13. He and two UN
officials remained behind after Egeland's brief visit for
further consultations with LRA leadership.


5. (SBU) Meanwhile, the senior UN official in Juba informed
donors November 17 that the UN will set up a "more permanent
camp" at Nabanga, the village 8-9 kilometers away from the
LRA's Ri-Kwangba assembly point at the Sudan-DRC border.
According to UN OCHA chief David Gressly, the camp will
facilitate more direct consultations between negotiators and
LRA leadership, and possibly the provision of humanitarian
assistance to the LRA in the assembly area. Those returning
from Ri-Kwangba describe the situation there as fairly
dismal. There are significant quantities of food on hand,
loosely monitored by the SPLA. Much of it is exposed to the
elements, however, and some of it is rotting. The UN is also
pressing to set up programs to provide humanitarian support
to women and children in the area. There is no agreement yet
from the LRA to allow these programs, but Gressly reports
"positive indications so far." He said OCHA is running out
of funds to support the peace talks and called on donors to
follow up their pledges with actual transfers of cash.
HUME