ICC / LUBANGA

The International Criminal Court (ICC) today sentenced Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a former Congolese warlord, to 14 years of imprisonment for his involvement in child soldier recruitment. ICC

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:54
• Production Date: 10 July 2012
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT - ICC
• Geographic Subject: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
• MAMS Id: U120710a

Description

STORY: ICC / LUBANGA
TRT: 1.54
SOURCE: ICC
RESTRICTIONS:
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 10 JULY 2012, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS / FILE

Shotlist

ICC - 10 JULY 2012, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS

1. Wide shot, judges enter Court
2. Wide shot, judges sit down
3. Med shot, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Fulford, Trial Chamber's Presiding Judge:
“Mr. Lubanga has been convicted of having committed jointly with others the crimes of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 and using them to participate actively in hostilities in the context of an internal armed conflict.”
5. Med shot, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Fulford, Trial Chamber's Presiding Judge:
“The Chamber has considered the gravity of these crimes in the circumstances of this case with regard, inter alia, to the extent of the damage caused, and in particular the harm caused to the victims and their families, the nature of the unlawful behaviour and the means employed to execute the crime; the degree of participation of the convicted person; the degree of intent; the circumstances of manner, time and location; and the age, education, social and economic condition of the convicted person.”
7. Med shot, prosecutors
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Fulford, Trial Chamber's Presiding Judge:
“The vulnerability of children means that they need to be afforded particular protection that does not apply to the general population, as recognized in various international treaties.”
9. Zoom out, Court
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Fulford, Trial Chamber's Presiding Judge:
“In accordance to the majority decision, Mr. Lubanga is sentenced to a total period of 14 years in prison, from which the time commencing with his surrender to the Court on the 16 of March 2006 is to be deducted.”
11. Med shot, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Fulford, Trial Chamber's Presiding Judge:
“We should rise.”
13. Zoom out, end of session

Storyline

The International Criminal Court (ICC) today sentenced Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a former Congolese warlord, to 14 years of imprisonment for his involvement in child soldier recruitment.

In March, the ICC found Lubanga guilty of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 into the Forces Patriotiques pour la libération du Congo (FPLC) militia, and using them to participate in hostilities in the Ituri region in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, between September 2002 and August 2003.

Lubanga was the commander-in-chief of the FPLC at the time.

At the ICC's open hearing, the Trial Chamber's Presiding Judge, Adrian Fulford, said the Chamber considered the gravity of the crimes, with regard, among other things, to the extent of the damage caused, and in particular “the harm caused to the victims and their families, the nature of the unlawful behaviour and the means employed to execute the crime; the degree of participation of the convicted person; the degree of intent; the circumstances of manner, time and location; and the age, education, social and economic condition of the convicted person.”

Fulford also said the crimes for which Lubanga was convicted were serious crimes that affect the international community as a whole, noting that the “vulnerability of children means that they need to be afforded particular protection that does not apply to the general population, as recognized in various international treaties.”

Fulford indicated that the Chamber's decision, however, reflected his cooperation with the Court and his respectful attitude throughout the proceedings.

According to an ICC, the judges also ordered that the time from Lubanga's surrender to the ICC on 16 March 2006 until today should be deducted from the 14-year sentence.

Lubanga is the first person to be tried at the ICC since it came into being on 1 July 2002.

Established by the Rome Statute of 1998, the ICC can try cases involving individuals charged with war crimes committed since July 2002. The United Nations Security Council, the ICC Prosecutor or a State Party to the court can initiate any proceedings, and the ICC only acts when countries themselves are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute.