A project of the Open Society Justice Initiative, this website is part of a broader effort aiming to bring the International Criminal Court trial of Congolese militia leader, Thomas Lubanga, closer to the people most affected by his alleged crimes in the war-ravaged Great Lakes region.
This site provides Daily Reports from the trial of Lubanga, who is being tried by the International Criminal Court located in The Hague. Lubanga is answering war crimes charges of conscripting, enlisting, and using child soldiers to fuel the Congo’s brutal conflict during 2002 and 2003. This site is primarily designed as a resource for journalists trying to cover the trial from the Great Lakes region, but is also intended for anyone with an interest in the Lubanga trial. All of our reports are also posted on the website in both French and English.
Weekly Summaries from the courtroom, as well as regular Commentary and Legal Analysis concerning important legal developments are also posted on the site. Readers—particularly those from the Great Lakes—are invited to add their voices to the discussion by asking questions and posting comments on this site.
Lubanga’s trial is the first for the International Criminal Court and represents a critical test for international justice. The trial is also important for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo who have lived through more than a decade of brutal conflict and now have an opportunity to see justice done. LubangaTrial.org will provide a range of information about the trial to help people follow this watershed event. The site is an effort to ensure that voices from the DRC and Great Lakes region contribute to, and help shape, discussion about the Lubanga trial.
This site does not take a position on the guilt or innocence of Thomas Lubanga. Rather, the site will provide as much information about the trial – objectively presented – as possible.
In addition to the Lubanga project, the Open Society Justice Initiative undertakes a number of monitoring activities in relation to the International Criminal Court. We have websites covering the trials of Jean-Pierre Bemba and Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, as well as the ongoing proceedings in the situation in Kenya through our ICC Kenya Monitor project.
