Some six years ago, the International Criminal Court started proceedings in the case of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a militia commander from Eastern Congo accused of conscripting, enlisting and using child soldiers. His trial was the first to open at the ICC in The Hague in January 2009; it is now entering its final stages, with the scheduled hearing of final arguments from the prosecution and…
Dear Readers, The following commentary first ran in Legal Eye on the ICC, a regular e-letter produced by the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, an international women’s human rights organisation that advocates for gender justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and works with women most affected by the conflict situations under investigation by the…
The defense final witness concluded his testimony today, predominantly in private session. In redirect examination, defense counsel Marc Desalliers questioned the witness about what the prosecution had asked him during their December 10, 2010 meeting concerning Dunji Mandro Konke, aka Kordo, who the prosecution alleges recruited child soldiers in the witness’s neighborhood. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo…
As the defense in the first trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) prepared to call its last witness, the judges decided on a schedule for closing the case. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is charged with committing war crimes by enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 years and using them in hostilities in…
The final defense witness in the trial of Thomas Lubanga continued his testimony this morning. In response to questioning by defense counsel Marc Desalliers, he reported that a delegation from the prosecutor’s office in The Hague came to his neighborhood in Bunia town. The witness invited them to accompany him into the field to check…
Pierre Zuto Munji This morning the prosecution concluded cross-examining Pierre Zuto Munji, private secretary to Commander Bosco Ntaganda, at the war crimes trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. Prosecutor Manoj Sachdeva returned to the issue of UN complaints to the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) about the use of child soldiers in the Force for the…
War crimes accused Thomas Lubanga’s defense today called Pierre Zuto Munji, who served as the private secretary to Bosco Ntaganda, the alleged deputy chief of staff of the Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC). Mr. Ntaganda faces the same charges as Mr. Lubanga before the International Criminal Court (ICC), namely committing war crimes…
Trial resumed today with the continued cross-examination of Thomas Lubanga’s private secretary, Michel Angayika Baba. The prosecutor was unable to get a concession from the witness that children under the age of 15 were used in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and its armed wing, the Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC).…
On the second day of his appearance, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo’s personal secretary testified that using children in military actions was against Mr. Lubanga’s values. He simply never would have done it. Michel Angayika Baba said he was nearly continually with Mr. Lubanga from September 2002 until May 2003 and never saw any minors in Mr.…
Today, Thomas Lubanga’s defense complained to International Criminal Court (ICC) judges that prosecutors were not honoring their disclosure obligations regarding certain documents in their possession, which they planned to use against the accused. Specifically, defense lawyer Jean-Marie Biju-Duval pointed out that the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) yesterday disclosed to the defense three documents that…
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
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