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A6 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 10 February 2022
U.N. court orders Uganda to pay Congo $325M for violence

By MIKE CORDER different militias in their bat-
Associated Press tles for influence.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands The hostilities also spread
(AP) — The Internation- west, including to the city
al Court of Justice on of Kisangani, where Dono-
Wednesday ordered Ugan- ghue said the fighting was
da to pay $325 million in between Ugandan and
compensation to Congo Rwandan forces.
for violence in a long-run- Donoghue said the Inter-
ning conflict between the national Court of Justice’s
African neighbors that be- December 2005 judgment
gan in the late 1990s. established that “Uganda
The compensation order had committed acts of
came more than 15 years killing among the civilian
after the U.N. court ruled population, had failed to
in a complex, 119-page distinguish between civilian
judgment that fighting by and military targets, had
Ugandan troops in Congo not protected the civilian
breached international population in fighting with
law. other combatants, and as
“The court notes that the an occupying power, had
reparation awarded to the failed to take measures to
DRC for damage to per- respect and ensure respect
sons and to property re- for human rights and inter-
flects the harm suffered by Congo’s President Laurent Kabila, left, is greeted by Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni upon his national humanitarian law
individuals and communi- arrival at the airport in Entebbe, Uganda on Jan. 23, 1998. in entry.”
ties as a result of Uganda’s Associated Press The 2005 judgment also
breach of its international found that Congolese
obligations,” the court’s es. to natural resources, includ- ternational affairs, was not armed forces violated a
president, U.S. judge Joan It assessed $225 million for ing the plundering of gold, immediately available for treaty on diplomatic re-
E. Donoghue, said. “loss of life and other dam- diamonds, timber and oth- comment. lations by attacking the
The sum awarded was well age to persons” that in- er goods by Ugandan forc- The case stemmed from Ugandan Embassy in Kin-
below the request for more cluded rape, conscription es or rebels they supported. years of bloody conflict in shasa and abusing Ugan-
than $11 billion in damages of child soldiers and the dis- The court ordered Uganda Congo’s mineral-rich east. dan diplomats at the
Congo had submitted to placement of up to 500,000 to pay the compensation A dispute over land esca- embassy and at an inter-
the court. people. in annual amounts of $65 lated and turned the Ituri national airport. Uganda
The court broke down the It assessed another $40 mil- million. region into the epicenter withdrew a compensation
compensation into differ- lion for damage to property Henry Oryem Okello, Ugan- of a regional war in which claim against Congo linked
ent categories of damag- and $60 million for damage da’s minister of state for in- Congo’s neighbors backed to those findings. q

Australia, Lithuania to unite in countering China pressures

By ROD McGUIRK Lithuania’s Foreign Minister covering coal, wine, beef, nitely not the last ones,” he Beijing of holding up goods
Associated Press Gabrielius Landsbergis and crayfish and barley that added. both from member na-
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) his Australian counterpart have coincided with dete- Payne said she agreed tion Lithuania and from EU
— The foreign ministers of Marise Payne met Wednes- riorating relations with Bei- with Landsbergis on the companies that use Lithu-
Australia and Lithuania day at Parliament House. jing. importance of like-minded anian components at Chi-
agreed Wednesday to step Australian exporters have Lithuania, a country of countries working together na’s borders.
up cooperation on strate- lost tens of billions of dol- 2.8 million in the Baltic re- with a consistent approach “We need to remind coun-
gic challenges, in particu- lars to official and unoffi- gion, more recently drew to maintaining the interna- tries like China or any other
lar pressures from China. cial Chinese trade barriers Beijing’s ire after breaking tional rules-based order, country that would wish
with diplomatic custom free and open trade, trans- to use trade as a weapon
by agreeing that Taiwan’s parency, security and sta- that like-minded countries
office in its capital Vilnius bility. across the globe . . . have
would bear the name Tai- “There are many col- tools and regulations that
wan instead of Chinese Tai- leagues with whom the for- help withstand the coer-
pei, a term used by other eign minister (Landsbergis) cion and not to give in to
countries to avoid offend- and I work and engage on . . . political and econom-
ing Beijing. these issues . . . the more I ic pressures,” Landsbergis
“For quite a while, Austra- think we are sending the said.
lia was probably one of strongest possible message Chinese Foreign Ministry
the main examples where about our rejection of co- spokesperson Zhao Lijian
China is using economy ercion and our rejection of said Tuesday that China
and trade as a political in- authoritarianism,” Payne was adhering to WTO rules
strument or, one might say, said. in its dealings with Lithu-
even as a political weap- Landsbergis welcomed ania.
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne, right, and on,” Landsbergis said. Australia to World Trade “The so-called ‘coercion’
Lithuania’s counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis hold a press “Now Lithuania joins this Organization consultations of China against Lithuania
conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, exclusive club . . . but it is over a complaint by the is purely made out of thin
Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022.
Associated Press apparent that we’re defi- European Union accusing air,” he said Tuesday.q