Judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague have ruled that witnesses giving evidence at the court have the right to seek asylum under Dutch law.

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By Richard Walker

Four witnesses giving evidence in defence of Germain Katanga, a Congolese rebel on trial at the ICC for atrocities, have asked to stay in the Netherlands, claiming they fear persecution if they return to the DRC. Representing the witnesses, lawyers Sluiter and Schuller said they were pleased with the development.

“The reason people are here is because they can give relevant evidence… witnesses should always be welcome in the Netherlands… and of course once they are here they have rights… they are entitled to protection.. and cannot be sent back to serious rights violations,” according to lawyer Goran Sluiter.

Parallels with the Mediterranean?

Asylum seekers leaving North Africa in recent months and years have exacerbated an over-burdened processing centre on the Italian island of Lampedusa. Italy’s geographical proximity to the jumping off point for many African migrants is the simple cause of its asylum dilemma. Could the ICC’s decision create an, albeit smaller but similar, problem for the Netherlands as the new natural first port of call for a different category of asylum seekers?

“The Netherlands was very keen to have the court here… and it is very proud of it. There are many benefits to having the court here, it attracts many people and a lot of income for the city of The Hague… so this is another aspect of being the host state. Nobody has forced the Netherlands to be the host state, so if this is one of the consequences they should simply accept it,” says Goran Sluiter.