Trial of Congolese defendant 'crucial step' to end impunity - senior UN official
28 April 2008 - The trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, who has been charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with recruiting
child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), will be "a crucial step in the fight against impunity and
will have a decisive deterrent effect against perpetrators of this outrageous crime against humanity," according to the
United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.
Mr. Lubanga is the founder and leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots in the Ituri region of DRC. He will be tried
for the conscription and enlistment of children under the age of 15, and the use of children for active participation in
hostilities.
Special Representative Radhika Coomaraswamy spoke today after submitting a legal brief to the court, which is located in
The Hague in the Netherlands.
The brief contains observations on the definition of "conscripting and enlisting" children and on the interpretation of
the term "participation in hostilities." Ms. Coomaraswamy is urging a case by case approach with a broad definition of
the terms in order to capture the true reality of what has happened in DRC.
The trial of Mr. Lubanga will be the first to be held by the court, and is set to begin in June.
ENDS