January 29, 2007

International Criminal Court Moves Forward with Charges Against Lubanga Dyilo

Washington DC – Citizens for Global Solutions, one of the leading advocacy groups for a strong and effective International Criminal Court (ICC), applauds today’s decision by the ICC to proceed with a trial against Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.

As founder and leader of the Union de Patriotes Congolais (UPC), Dyilo is charged with three counts of enlisting, forcibly recruiting, and sending child soldiers into combat, all war crimes under the Court's Rome Statute.

Golzar Kheiltash, Legal Analyst at Citizens for Global Solutions, said:

“The ICC’s decision is an essential step toward securing justice for tens of thousands of children. These children have been the victims of heinous atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is exactly the type of person for whom the ICC was created – a warlord who has forced children as young as nine to commit murder, rape, and mutilation, often against their own family members.

“We call on the United States to join the international community in supporting the ICC and the Government of the DRC to bring an end to the violence and protect its most vulnerable victims,” she said.

Dyilo’s is the first case before the ICC, which was made operational in July 2002. Today’s decision demonstrates the Court’s integrity as a legal institution, and its unwavering commitment to not only the rights of victims, but the universally recognized legal norms of due process and judicial fairness as well.

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Note to Editors:
Citizens for Global Solutions is a non-partisan membership organization that envisions a future in which nations work together to abolish war, protect our rights and freedoms, and solve the problems facing humanity that no one nation can solve alone.


Updated January 29, 2007

Howard Salter
Director of Communications
202 546 3950 ext 112