On February 28, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges delivered the largest reparation order (see summary here) in the Court's history, awarding over 56 million dollars to the nearly 50,000 victims of Ugandan war criminal Dominic Ongwen. 

Ongwen, one of the top commanders of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, was convicted in 2021 on 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, murder, and child abduction. He is currently incarcerated in Norway, serving a 25-year sentence. 

The Court concluded that Ongwen's direct victims, including those subjected to sexual and gender-based crimes, children born from those crimes, and former child soldiers, have suffered serious and long-lasting physical, moral, and material harm, with indirect victims of these crimes suffering moral and material harm. In its decision, the judges acknowledged the broad reach of such crimes, including all victims as a community and children born out of sexual and gender-based crimes in the list of victims. 

To address the extent of harm suffered, the ICC judges ordered collective community-based measures and programs for reparations focused on rehabilitation, symbolic awards of €750 to each victim, and other community satisfaction measures, including acts of apology and monuments. 

Finding Ongwen indigent for the purposes of reparations, the judges turned to the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV), a separate fund created to implement reparations issued by the ICC, to cover the compensation. The Court acknowledged the challenges faced by the TFV given the "overwhelming number of eligible victims," recognizing the substantial fundraising efforts it will need to undergo in order to fulfill the Court's order. 

With the ICC having opened the case in 2004, victims have waited over two decades to access measures to assist in moving on with their lives. This order presents the opportunity to deliver reparations to at least some victims of the conflict.