Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi
Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi (
i/æbduːˈlaɪ ɪndoʊmbɑːˈsiː jɪˈroʊdjə/; born January 15, 1933) is a high official in the current government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo which was led first by Laurent-Désiré Kabila and now by his son, Joseph Kabila. He was foreign minister under Laurent from March 14, 1999 until late 2000. In 2003 he became one of the four vice-presidents of Congo under the transitional government as mandated by a peace settlement with rebel groups and opposition parties, after having been nominated in April of that year by Joseph Kabila, as the vice-president representing the Kabila government.[1]
The Arrest Warrant Case (Congo vs. Belgium)
Yerodia was involved in a precedent-setting case by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In 1998, Yerodia publicly encouraged the Congolese population to kill members of a rebellion against the government, primarily ethnic Tutsis. In response, the Kingdom of Belgium issued an international arrest warrant based on a new Belgian law (known as the Belgian Universal Jurisdiction Law, since repealed) allowing Belgian courts to prosecute international crimes, charging Yerodia with inciting genocide. The Democratic Republic of the Congo responded by filing an application against Belgium to the ICJ, claiming that Belgium did not have jurisdiction and that Yerodia, as foreign minister enjoyed diplomatic immunity. This case, known as the Warrant Case, was decided in Congo's favor. During the proceedings of the case, the Congo dropped its jurisdiction arguments and the case was decided solely on Yerodia's diplomatic immunity as foreign minister. However, some human rights groups saw this decision as a blow to universal jurisdiction.[2][3]