Secretary-General Welcomes Trial Judgement by German Criminal Court against Rwandans Aiding War Crimes in Democratic Republic of Congo

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General takes note of the trial judgement handed down on 28 September 2015 by the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart, Germany, against Rwandan nationals Ignace Murwanashyaka and Straton Musoni, President and Vice‑President, respectively, of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR).  Mr. Murwanashyka and Mr. Musoni were sentenced to 13 and 8 years of imprisonment, respectively, for holding a leadership role in a foreign terrorist organization and for aiding in the commission of war crimes in the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Secretary-General commends Germany for conducting this trial, and thereby heeding the Security Council’s repeated call on all States to prosecute FDLR elements in their territories.

This judgement is the first one of its kind and represents an excellent example of how national criminal courts and the United Nations can work together, in accordance with the principle of complementarity, to fight impunity and ensure that those alleged to have committed serious international crimes are held accountable.

The Secretary-General reiterates the importance of swiftly neutralizing the FDLR and other armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to bring stability to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region.