Lubanga in the docks

"They cannot forget the beatings they suffered, they cannot forget the terror they felt and the terror they inflicted.  They cannot forget the sounds of the machine guns, they cannot forget that they killed. They cannot forget that they raped, that they were raped."

An evocative opening from the ICC’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo as he opened his case against former Congolese militia leader, Thomas Lubanga.

All eyes are on The Hague today as Thomas Lubanga is the first person to stand trial at the International Criminal Court.  Suspected war criminal, Thomas Lubanga has pleaded not guilty to six charges of recruiting and using child soldiers to fight in the war in eastern DRC – an area still blighted by conflict today.

The fact that the ICC is now up and running is an excellent step for international justice as far as Amnesty is concerned.  We have long campaigned for such a court to be set up so that perpetrators of the worst crimes known to mankind irrespective of their position or nationality can be held to account. 

We will be monitoring the progress of this case as it develops, and will no doubt keep you posted.

Til the next time.