Warlord convicted of arming children

Jolie hails court’s first judgment

THE NETHERLANDS: Britain is offering to act as jailer for a Congolese warlord convicted yesterday by the International Criminal Court of abducting children and conscripting them as soldiers.

Thomas Lubanga, 51, the former leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots, faces a life sentence for arming children and sending them into battle during the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002-03, when about 50,000 people were killed.

Lubanga, wearing an ivory cap and robes, sat impassively in the dock with his eyes lowered as he listened to a translation of the verdict in The Hague.

The conclusion of the case marked a historic moment for the world’s first permanent war crimes court that has cost an estimated US$900 million (NZ$1.1 billion) since it was set up in 2002.

Although the trial did not run smoothly, the court’s supporters hope its first verdict will send a powerful message around the world that children can no longer be used in conflict with impunity.

The panel of three judges did not ignore the controversies surrounding the case and criticised the prosecution for using intermediaries who ‘‘persuaded, encouraged or assisted witnesses to give false evidence’’.

However, the weight of documentary and verbal evidence against Lubanga was overwhelming, they concluded.

‘‘The Chamber has found beyond reasonable doubt that Thomas Lubanga is guilty of the crime of recruiting and enlisting children under the age of 15 years into the FPLC [Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo] and using them to participate in hostilities,’’ said Adrian Fulford, the presiding judge.

‘‘Lubanga was simultaneously commander-in-chief of the army and its political leader. He was closely involved in making decisions on recruitment policy and he actively supported recruitment initiatives, for example, by giving speeches to the recruits, encouraging children under 15 to join the army. He personally used children under the age of 15 among his bodyguards.’’

Lubanga has 30 days to appeal and will be sentenced at another hearing later this year. Britain is one of eight countries which have offered to provide a cell, which would cost about £64,500 (NZ$125,000) a year for a topsecurity, Category A prisoner.

‘‘The delivery of the ICC’S first verdict today is an important moment for the court, for the Democratic Republic of Congo, and for the rule of law,’’ said Angelina Jolie, the actress and UN goodwill ambassador, who watched from the public gallery.

‘‘Perhaps today’s verdict of guilty provides some measure of comfort for the victims of Lubanga’s actions.’’

Alpha Sesay, international legal officer at the Open Society’s Justice Initiative, said the verdict would serve as a warning to others who used child soldiers, including Joseph Kony of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda. Kony, indicted by the ICC in 2005, is the subject of an online campaign to bring him to justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Lubanga did not deny leading the Union of Congolese Patriots in 2002-03 but claimed he had no control over its armed wing.

He was contradicted by a key piece of prosecution evidence, a video showing him addressing recruits, including young men and what appeared to be children, at a training camp. Another video showed a truck full of his heavily armed bodyguards, including at least two who looked like children.

‘‘The defendant stole the childhood of the victims by forcing them to kill and rape,’’ Luis Moreno-ocampo, the prosecutor, said during the trial.

‘‘Lubanga victimised the children before they ever had a chance to grow up into full human beings who could make their own decisions.’’

Kony is accused of doing the same thing but on a greater scale; first in Uganda, then in Congo, southern Sudan and the Central African Republic.

Lubanga was arrested and jailed by the Congolese authorities before he was indicted by the ICC, making him an easy target for the court. But Kony’s continuing freedom underscores one of the ICC’S weaknesses: its lack of a police force to make arrests.

Human Rights Watch said the verdict highlighted the urgent need to arrest Bosco Ntaganda, Lubanga’s co-accused, a general in the Congo army.