ICC Prosecutor Makes First Formal Charge

Three years after the ICC’s establishment, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) made history today by formally charging the first war criminal in the Court’s custody.

Mr. Luis Moreno Ocampo, the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, formally charged former militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for recruiting child soldiers, a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the ICC.

According to a press statement released by the OTP, the case against Mr. Lubanga Dyilo “represents almost two years of intense, on-the-ground investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor.” Mr. Lubanga Dyilo’s pre-trial hearing is set for September 28, 2006. If the charges against him are confirmed at that hearing, Mr. Lubanga Dyilo will be the first person to be tried at the ICC since its establishment in July 2002.

After becoming a State Party to the ICC in April 2002, the DRC referred the situation of crimes committed on its territory to the ICC in April 2004. The OTP initiated a formal investigation into crimes committed in DRC shortly thereafter and on February 10, 2006, issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Lubanga Dyilo.

Mr. Lubanga Dyilo was arrest and transferred to the ICC in March 2006. He had been in custody in Kinshasa, DRC since March 2005 in connection with a separate case involving the deaths of nine UN Peacekeepers in the Ituri region of the DRC. Mr. Lubanga Dyilo is the founder and leader of the Union de Patriotes Congolais (UPC), a rebel group in the DRC that is suspected of committing grave human rights violations, particularly involving children.

Focusing on the specific charge of child conscription against the defendant, Ocampo stated: “This case represents a huge step in the struggle against these serious crimes against children. Child conscription destroys the lives and futures of thousands of children around the world. This case will contribute to exposing the problem and in stopping these criminal practices.”

If found guilty, Mr. Lubanga Dyilo could face life in prison. In his statement, Ocampo said “we believe our evidence is strong. However, until his guilt is established, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is presumed innocent.”

+ Read the official OTP Press Statement
 

Updated August 28, 2006

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