Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga convicted and sentenced for using child soldiers in lengthy conflict in the Ituri region of the DRC. Good start…what’s next?
Thomas Lubanga, the first man convicted at the Hague by the International Criminal Court War Crimes Tribunal, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for using child soldiers in Congo’s eastern Ituri region in 1998-2003:
(Presiding Judge Adrian) Fulford gave Lubanga three sentences of 13, 12 and 14 years each, respectively for conscripting, enlisting and
using child soldiers but the sentences are to be served concurrently.
While I agree that Lubanga should serve time in prison for using child soldiers in armed conflict, there are still many questions around this case:
- Where exactly will Lubanga serve time?
- Is this sentence really strict enough for what he did?
- Will this set a precedent for future convictions around child soldiers?
- What about war crime cases in other parts of the world?
- Where are the Kony 2012 guys in all of this?
I think your questions are really important, but even the mere fact of the conviction has to set a strong precedent. The Kony 2012 thing was a cluster-f**k, mostly because their frontman had that sad breakdown and the cross-examination was so vigorous. Regardless of whether you thought Kony 2012 was a marketing gimmick or a hugely important change in the world, something came of it: a real understanding via everyday people of the atrocities of the wars and conflicts taking place on the African continent right now. So often in our society, we dismiss the whole of Africa (even with… Read more »