The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Uganda must pay the Democratic Republic of Congo $325m in compensation for invading and occupying Ituri province between 1998 and 2003.
ICJ chief judge Joan Donoghue broke down what the reparations were for:
- $225m for damage to persons
- $40m for damage to property
- $60m for plundering natural resources – including gold, diamonds, tungsten and timber.
The amount is a tiny fraction of the $11bn demanded by the Congolese government.
The case goes back many years.
In 2005 the ICJ ordered the neighbours to negotiate mutual reparations – but they were unable to reach an agreement, with DR Congo pushing the case back to the court in 2015.
This ruling is final but the ICJ doesn’t have any powers to enforce it.
