“Collective reparations in the form of services granted to victims of the crimes tried in the case of The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda ”
Introduction – The Victims’ Benefit Fund
The Trust Fund for Victims (“TFV”) is provided for by the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (“ICC”). Its mandate is to mobilize resources and implement Court-mandated reparations and other programs for the benefit of victims of crimes in situations within the jurisdiction of the ICC (“Assistance”).
The Trust Fund for Victims is governed by a Board of Trustees, appointed by the Assembly of States Parties and supported by a Secretariat headed by an Executive Director and staffed at the ICC’s headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands (the seat), and in countries where the Court has jurisdiction, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”).
The Trust Fund currently has programmes and a presence in seven situations (countries) under the Court’s jurisdiction, as well as three reparations programmes ordered by ICC judges for the benefit of persons affected by the acts of persons convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Trust Fund is about to launch a fourth programme and has just concluded a fifth.
In the DRC, the Fund has been conducting an assistance programme in the provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu since 2008 and, through these activities, has provided support for the rehabilitation of more than xxx victims of crimes committed in eastern DRC since 2002.
For more information about the Trust Fund for Victims, please visit: http://www.trustfundforvictims.org/en .
- The Ntaganda affair
Since 2004, the International Criminal Court has conducted investigations into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in eastern DRC and issued arrest warrants.
In the case of The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda, Trial Chamber VI found Mr. Bosco Ntaganda guilty on 8 July 2019 of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Mr. Ntaganda was found guilty:
- on the one hand, crimes committed against former child soldiers; and
- on the other hand, of crimes committed during two attacks carried out by Bosco Ntaganda and his group (the UPC/FPLC) against Lendu-majority villages, namely a “First Operation”, which involves assaults launched against a number of villages in the Banyali-Kilo community in November and December 2002, and a “Second Operation”, which refers to assaults launched against several villages in the Walendu-Djatsi community in February 2003. This group of victims is commonly referred to as the “Victims of the Attacks”.
With regard to the victims of the attacks specifically, Bosco Ntaganda was convicted of multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, attempted murder, rape, sexual slavery, persecution, intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population, directing attacks against protected objects, pillaging, destruction of property, forcible transfer of population and displacement. All of these crimes were committed in certain localities in Ituri (DRC).
- Reparations ordered by judges in Ntaganda case
Following this conviction, the judges issued a reparations order in March 2021, which they supplemented in July 2023, assessing Mr. Ntaganda’s liability for reparations at USD 31,300,000 in total, with approximately 2/3 of this amount being dedicated to the victims of the attacks that are the subject of this call for expressions of interest and 1/3 to former child soldiers. Considering that Mr. Ntaganda is considered indigent by the Court, it is incumbent on the Trust Fund for Victims to mobilize the necessary funds to implement the reparations order. The judges also provided guidance on who should receive these reparations and what measures they were entitled to (see below) to redress the harm suffered.
This call for expressions of interest is exclusively for the provision of services to victims of the attack, as part of reparations. A separate programme to address the harm suffered by former child soldiers is currently in place. This call for expressions of interest concerns services to be provided to other victims, known as victims of the attack.
Activities will be carried out under the authority and on behalf of the ICC/Fund on the basis of the implementation plan developed by the Fund and approved by the ICC. Activities will be funded by voluntary contributions from States and other donors to the Fund.
Beneficiaries of the remedial measures
The beneficiaries of the reparations programme will be individuals identified as victims of Mr. Ntaganda’s crimes by the ICC/Registry and deemed eligible for reparations. This process is ongoing. The partner will not be responsible for identifying beneficiaries; the list will be provided to them by the Trust Fund.
In total, so far nearly 2,000 victims have participated in the procedure, but it is expected that the approximate number of direct and indirect victims of the attacks is at least 7,500 people.
It is expected that the beneficiaries will be geographically dispersed and will now reside in localities other than those where the crimes were committed. Thus, the programme will have to be implemented beyond the specific localities recognised by the judges, that is to say in the territory of Ituri.
Repair terms
The judges ordered that the reparations take the form of rehabilitation services provided to the victims, in the form of physical support, psychological support and material support. Some measures, including socio-economic support, may consist of cash transfers.
- Request for information (
The Trust Fund for Victims is seeking expressions of interest from relevant organizations with experience and capacity in eastern DRC to implement programs providing services to victims including victims of sexual and gender-based violence, children and the elderly.
The Fund is seeking organizations that are able to provide, under the authority of the Fund, medical, psychological, and even psychiatric treatment, psychosocial services, socio-economic support measures and other relevant services and initiatives aimed at addressing the harm suffered by victims individually or in groups, or at empowering victims individually or in groups. In addition, organizations that are able to provide cash transfer services, in addition to other services, are also strongly encouraged to participate.
The information provided by the organizations responding to this request will enable the Trust Fund to invite eligible organizations to participate in the next stage of submitting project proposals. The Trust Fund for Victims is particularly interested in receiving information that will enable it to assess the skills and capacities available in the DRC and Ituri province for the implementation of these programs.
- Minimum requirements
The Fund invites non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations (IOs) and private companies active in the DRC that meet the following criteria:
a) Minimum requirement 1
• Certificate of registration in the DRC in accordance with the laws governing non-profit organizations and/or private companies in force in the DRC (to be annexed to the AMI).
b) Minimum requirement 2
Proof of solid experience in the DRC and more particularly in the province of Ituri for a minimum of 2 years in project management in one or more of the following areas:
- Medical and psychological activities, including for adults, children, the elderly and/or victims of sexual and gender-based violence, such as
- All kinds of medical services, including surgery, physiotherapy, drug administration, as well as diagnosis and treatment,
- Trauma-Informed Counseling (Individual, Family, and Group)
- Transgenerational therapies,
- Psychosocial support such as music, dance, drama, arts and sports, through storytelling or other techniques
- Socio-economic measures for individuals, groups and communities, such as:
- Livelihood activities, socio-economic programming, improved agricultural activities,
- Vocational training
- Microcredit initiatives,Small Business Development
- Commemoration, monuments, memorialization, community reconciliation, cultural and traditional practices, peacebuilding measures, community dialogue and any other relevant mechanisms aimed at redressing the harm suffered by the community of eligible victims.
- Cash transfers, cash and voucher assistance or other monetary interventions.
Please do not submit proposals if your experience is limited only to the fourth intervention area, namely cash transfers, cash and voucher assistance or other cash-based interventions.
Please select two projects, each worth at least $500,000, and complete the following forms (Past Experience Form and Past Donor References and Track Record Form).
(c) Minimum requirement 3:
The organization must have a strong governance structure as well as a sound financial, administrative and decision-making structure. Please provide a signed copy of an external audit report dated less than two years ago. The full audit report must be provided. Incomplete audit reports, such as excerpts or sections, will not be accepted. Additional documentation may be required by the Fund to demonstrate a sound financial structure.
Additional Information
• Indicate whether the organization has experience in Ituri.
• Indicate whether the organization provides for-profit activities or is a non-profit organization.
Procedure
Eligible candidates who meet the selection criteria will be invited to respond to a Request for Proposals (RFP) when it is issued. Issuance of a Request for Proposals is subject to the availability of funding.
The “Expression of Interest” should include the following information: name of the organization, address, telephone/fax, email address and contact within the organization. Interested organizations are requested to indicate their supplier number if they are registered on the UN Global Supplier Portal. Please use the form at the end of this document.
No obligation for the ICC-TFV
This request for expression of interest does not in any way commit the Fund/ICC. There is no obligation to subsequently publish a request for proposals (RFP) for the selection of implementing partners or to sign a contract.
How to apply
Only organizations that meet the conditions to submit a tender will be able to consult the detailed description contained in the invitation to tender that they will receive.
Interested organizations are invited to send an “Expression of Interest” accompanied by the required documents under the minimum requirements by e-mail to Tender.7@icc-cpi.int and to mention “EOI 13273” in the subject line.
