ICC TRIAL TO TAKE AIM AT CHILD SOLDIER USE -- Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court hope the impending trial of Democratic Republic of Congo militia leader Thomas Lubanga will focus international attention on the plight of child soldiers, and serve as a warning to others around the world that use of children in combat will result in prosecution. Lubanga is charged with three counts of war crimes for recruiting child soldiers into the armed wing of his Union of Congolese Patriots group. Hundreds of children as young as 10, prosecutors charge, were kidnapped or recruited by Lubanga, then beaten, subjected to psychological abuse and forced to kill. This will be the first trial at the ICC -- the world's first permanent war crimes court -- since its inception in early 2003, and only the second time an international tribunal examines the child soldier question. (The first was the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone.)
Rights & Wrongs: D.R.C., Russia, and More
