Congolese leader Thomas Lubanga has been found guilty of using children as part of his militia. The International Criminal Court has convicted the rebel leader of forcing children as young as 11-years-old to become soldiers.
The packed courtroom witnessed several testimonies and actual video footage of Lubanga with children dressed in military uniform. He was found guilty of enlisting, training and sending children off to fight for his cause.
Judges from several countries presided over the hearings. British Judge Adrian Fulford was particularly vocal about the outcome of the case.
“The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. 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 Fulford.
So prevalent are children in the rebel leaders Union of Congolese Patriots that it is often referred to as an “army of children”. Lubanga is known to have very simple recruitment tactics. His most popular method is to simply snatch these children off the street. Another tactic that Lubanga uses is forcing parents to surrender their children to his cause. If the parents have no money or cows to offer him, he gladly accepts their young sons or daughters.
For years this has been happening to young children and nothing has been done about it. It is an everyday fact of life in some countries. Your children can just be snatched up without a single eyebrow being raised.
Despite the ongoing efforts of activists working to raise awareness, it seems almost impossible to fight back against this horrible practice. Several famous people have lent their voices and faces to the plight of these children.
American actress Angelina Jolie was present at the proceedings of Lubanga.
“This is their day where these children will feel there is no impunity for what happened to them, for what they suffered,” said Jolie.
Lubanga forces children into camps where they will either become fighters or his personal bodyguards. Young girls are habitually raped and sexually abused by members of his militia. The girls are also used as maids and forced to perform domestic duties.
The trial of Thomas Lubanga began back in 2009. This is the first trial at an international level to deal with the issue of child soldiers. Lubanga is also the very first person to be convicted at the fairly new International Criminal Court.
There are supporters of this verdict from different organizations all across the world. Amnesty International officer Michael Bochenek feels strongly about the Lubanga verdict.
“Today’s verdict will give pause to those around the world who commit the horrific crime of using and abusing children both on and off the battlefield,” said Bochenek.
There are thousands of children in numerous countries that are being used as soldiers. They are being taken away from their families and homes and forced into a harsh lifestyle. Hopefully, this judgment will help end the trend of “child armies”.
With contributions to the New York Times and Guardian Co. UK.
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