The Ugandan government has made a first payment of 65 million dollars (64.2 million euros) in war reparations to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, part of the total of 325 million dollars (321.1 million euros) committed .
The figure has been imposed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial body of the UN to settle disputes between states. The court convicted Uganda for crimes committed on Congolese soil during the Second Congo War (1998-2003).
The first payment was made on September 1, according to the minutes of the Congolese Council of Ministers meeting on September 9, reports the Bloomberg news agency.
These funds would have been transferred to a transition account related to the Congolese Ministry of Justice. The DRC will create a fund “for compensation to the victims of illegal activities in Uganda” on Congolese soil, according to the minutes.
A spokesman for the Ugandan Ministry of Finance, Jim Mugunga, explained that he could not comment at this time on the status of the payment or confirm its payment.
The ICJ’s decision stems from the complaint filed in 1999 against Uganda for the occupation of the eastern part of the country. War reparations include $225 million for personal injury, $40 million for property damage and $60 million for natural resource damage, according to the February ruling.
Some 5.4 million people died as a result of the Second Congo War, most of them from starvation and disease. It is the largest conflict in the history of the African continent, in which up to nine States participated, as well as numerous irregular forces, and lasted from 1998 to 2003, when the Pretoria Agreements were signed. However, in the east of the DRC several armed rebel groups are still active in conflict with the Congolese Armed Forces.
Source: Europa Press
