Some recruits in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) training camps were just five years old, according to a witness in the continuing trial of accused Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga. The witness told judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague that the UPC leadership thought such young recruits made good soldiers…
A witness in the Thomas Lubanga trial on Friday said children were rounded up from the streets of Bunia and conscripted into the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia. The children ranged from eight- to 15-years-old, he said. Bunia is the largest town in the Ituri region of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and…
Thomas Lubanga was the minister of defense and commander-in-chief of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), a witness said on Thursday. As UPC president, Lubanga appointed the group’s ministers and broadcasted their names on the local radio station, he said. Once the group took control of Bunia, Lubanga named himself the defense minister. “So, he…
The Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia received arms from Rwanda when supplies from Uganda became unreliable, a witness at the Thomas Lubanga trial said on Wednesday. The witness also recalled seeing “hundreds” of child soldiers being trained at camps run by the UPC. Bosco Ntaganda, a Congolese who remains free despite an ICC warrant…
Most of Tuesday’s proceedings were closed to the public as Thomas Lubanga’s defense team cross-examined last week’s witness, a former officer in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia. The closings prompted Judge Adrian Fulford to apologize for what he said might be considered “extremely irritating” moves by the court for public observers of the…
A former officer in the militia of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) testified this week that child soldiers were among the bodyguards of accused leader Thomas Lubanga. Lubanga, the president of UPC, is on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 and…
Thomas Lubanga’s defense counsel on Wednesday challenged a former officer in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia about the use of child soldiers and his statements that they were used as bodyguards. Under cross-examination by attorney Jean-Marie Biju-Duval, the witness said he was wary of answering in public, and asked often for the court…
A former officer in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia told the court on Tuesday that commanders, including Thomas Lubanga, had child soldiers among their bodyguards. The child soldiers at the UPC headquarters and those in Lubanga’s personal guard wore military uniforms and carried arms, he said. When he first testified earlier this month,…
Experts in the trial of accused Congolese leader Thomas Lubanga this week struggled to confirm the ages of child soldiers said to have been part of the Union of Congolese Patriots, UPC. The specialists in age determination testified at the International Criminal Court (ICC) that based on x-ray images, some may have been as young…
The trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo began in late January and has heard testimony from nearly 20 witnesses to date. At the end of the trial, the Judges will be required to evaluate the credibility of the witnesses in order to consider the credibility of their testimony. Credibility is based in part on what the…
Thomas Lubanga on trial at the International Criminal Court. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is the first person to be tried by the International Criminal Court. A former rebel leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lubanga is accused of conscripting, enlisting, and using child soldiers. More
Search This Site
Archive
Useful Links
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative License.
