Warlord who led boy soldiers faces jail

Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga was yesterday convicted by the International Criminal Court of using child soldiers, a verdict hailed as a legal landmark in the fight to bring war criminals to justice.

Human rights advocates said the guilty verdicts against Lubanga – the first judgment in the court’s ten-year history – should stand as a clear deterrent to armies around the world that conscript children.

“In this age of global media, today’s verdict will reach warlords and commanders across the world and serve as a strong deterrent,” said UN special representative for children and armed conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy.

Lubanga will be sentenced following a hearing later this year and could be jailed for life.

The judgment came at a time when the court is under scrutiny for its inability to arrest key war crimes suspects – in the light of the Kony2012 internet campaign to track down Ugandan guerrilla Joseph Kony – and its impotence in not being able to intervene in the conflict raging in Syria.

It took six years from the time Congo handed over Lubanga to his conviction, but ultimately the three-judge panel was unanimous in finding him guilty.

“The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that Thomas Lubanga is guilty of the crimes of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 years and using them to participate actively in hostilities,” said presiding judge Adrian Fulford.

Lubanga sat with his hands clasped listening to the verdict and showed no emotion as Judge Fulford declared him guilty. As he left court, flanked by guards, he smiled to supporters.

Actress and activist Angelina Jolie watched the verdicts being delivered and called them a victory for former child soldiers. “This is their day – where these children will feel there is no impunity for what happened to them, for what they suffered,” Ms Jolie said.

The case almost collapsed on two occasions because of prosecutors’ failure to disclose evidence to defence lawyers.

Judge Fulford said three intermediaries used by prosecutors to approach witnesses in Congo “persuaded, encouraged or assisted witnesses to give false evidence” and struck out evidence from three witnesses.

Rights activists also criticised prosecutors for not charging Lubanga with crimes of sexual violence, despite allegations that women and girls were raped by his paramilitary forces.

“The prosecutor’s office must review its limited investigation strategy adopted in the Lubanga case,” said Michael Bochenek of Amnesty International. “Lessons need to be learned.”

Lubanga led the Union of Congolese Patriots political group and commanded its armed wing, the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo, which pressganged children into its ranks in a brutal ethnic conflict in the Ituri region of eastern Congo.

The trial, which began in January 2009, was the first at an international court to focus exclusively on the use of child soldiers.

The UN estimates there are still tens of thousands of child soldiers.

“The guilty verdict against Lubanga is a strong warning to commanders in Congo and elsewhere: using children as a weapon of war is a serious crime that can lead them to the dock,” said Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner of Human Rights Watch.