Landmark ICC Decision for ICC’s first suspect

The ICC today announced a landmark decision in the confirmation of charges hearing for its first suspect, Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. The Court announced that there was sufficient evidence to commit Dyilo for trial for his alleged commission of war crimes involving child soldiers. Reading today’s decision, Judge Claude Jorda told the Court, “this chamber confirms the [three] charges brought by the prosecution. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo should be committed for trial.”

Dyilo is a national of the Democractic Republic of Congo (DRC) and 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.

After concluding an extensive investigation of crimes committed in the DRC, ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo issued a sealed arrest warrant for Dyilo in February 2006. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) arrested Dyilo and transferred him to the Court in The Hague on March 17 with assistance from the French military.

Dyilo’s confirmation of charges hearing commenced in November 2006, with Mr. Ocampo bringing three counts of enlisting, forcibly recruiting, and using child soldiers in armed conflict against Dyilo. All three charges are war crimes under Article 8 of the Court’s Rome Statute.

Prosecutor Ocampo has described the alleged crimes by Dyilo as “extremely serious.” According to a 2006 statement, “throughout the world, children are being trained to become machines of war. Turning children into killers jeopardizes the future of mankind.” Mr. Ocampo’s office has set up a multinational and multidisciplinary team to investigate war crimes, including the use of children for violence. To date, his team has carried out over 60 missions in the Ituri region of the DRC alone.

The decision to confirm the charges against Dyilo and proceed to the ICC’s first ever trial is a milestone for the nascent Court, which was established in July 2002.

+ Read the Citizens for Global Solutions press release on the ICC’s decision
+ Read the ICC’s explanation of charges in the Dyilo case

Updated January 29, 2007

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