II. RECOMMENDATIONS

To the Ugandan, Rwandan and DRC Governments:
· Provide no military, financial, or other assistance to armed groups that have committed serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Ituri. This should include Lendu, Ngiti and Hema militias, parties such as the UPC and PUSIC, as well as the RCD-ML, RCD-N and the MLC. Use your influence with these groups to persuade them to halt these abuses.

To the Ugandan Government:
· Investigate alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by Ugandan forces and bring to justice those accused of having committed such crimes or of having facilitated or tolerated the commission of such crimes by local groups over which they exercised control.

To the DRC Government:
· Make the development of an effective, independent and impartial national justice system a priority, focusing efforts first in areas where grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law have been committed.
· Pass the necessary legislation implementing the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Request the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to conduct a preliminary examination of those cases within the jurisdiction of the court.
· Request that the U.N. Security Council establish a judicial mechanism to prosecute the most serious violations of international humanitarian law that are outside the jurisdiction of the ICC.

To the Hema, Lendu, Ngiti and Other Armed Political Groups:
· Direct your combatants to adhere to international humanitarian law in all military operations, particularly as it relates to the protection of civilians and the provision of humanitarian aid. Investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian law, including those described in this report, and hold combatants accountable for them.
· Stop the recruitment and training of children under the age of eighteen and disarm, demobilize, rehabilitate and return to their homes all such children.

To the United Nations:
· The UN Security Council should strengthen the MONUC mandate to one based on chapter VII that allows for the robust use of force by MONUC troops in protection of the civilian population throughout the DRC. Provide the force with adequate numbers of troops and the necessary resources and equipment so that it can fulfill its mandate, particularly with regard to the protection of civilians.
· Urge the commander of the Interim Emergency Multinational Force to interpret the mandate accorded by the Security Council in resolution 1484 to ensure the full protection of civilians both inside and outside of Bunia.
· In follow up to resolution 1468, the Security Council should establish a credible and effective international justice mechanism for the DRC to investigate and prosecute grave violations of international humanitarian law committed by all parties, including citizens of countries other than the DRC from 1996 to July 2002.
· The UN secretary general should establish a team of MONUC human rights investigators in Ituri with sufficient resources to document and publicly report on violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
· The High Commissioner for Human Rights should establish a field office in Bunia to assist the MONUC human rights team in monitoring and publicly reporting on human rights violations and to strengthen local human rights organizations.
· Within the context of the World Bank coordinated regional demobilization program, UNICEF should support the demobilization, disarmament and re-integration of child soldiers under the age of 18 from all armed forces or groups regardless of ethnicity and political affiliation.

To Donor Governments:
· Exert political, diplomatic, and economic pressure on the Ugandan, Rwandan and DRC governments to dissuade them from supporting local armed groups responsible for crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Publicly denounce violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including recruitment of child soldiers, by all local armed political groups and their backers in Ituri and insist upon accountability for the perpetrators of such crimes.
· Support efforts in the Security Council to establish a credible and effective international justice mechanism to investigate and prosecute grave violations of international humanitarian law by all parties to the DRC war, including those who are not citizens of the DRC.

To the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court:
· As set out under article 15 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, initiate an investigation proprio motu by undertaking a preliminary investigation of serious crimes committed in Ituri within the presumptive jurisdiction of the ICC for possible prosecution.