For more information, check the press releases by the International Criminal Court and the Redress Report .
Amicus Curiae submitted by the SRSG-CAAC to the International Criminal Court on the Lubaga's case
International Tribunals
Important precedents are being set in the fight to end impunity for crimes against children, with steady momentum building for the application of international child protection standards. In the age of global media and information, the arrest and trial of individuals such as Thomas Lubanga, Charles Taylor and Jean Pierre Bemba register with commanders and warlords across the globe. These actions by international justice mechanisms, as well as initiatives such as the Secretary-General's annual listing of violators and the concern and commitment of the Security Council expressed in its resolutions and emerging institutional arrangements to address grave child rights violations, serve as leverage to bring parties into compliance.
The most prominent developments include the arrest by the International Criminal Court of Germain Katanga , former leader of the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI) and of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, founder and leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for the conscription and enlistment of children under the age of 15 and the use of children for active participation in hostilities. In this context the Office of the Special Representative submitted an amicus curiae during the course of the proceedings, which was accepted by the Court. In the intervention, the Special Representative urged the Court to adopt a case-by-case method in interpreting the provisions of the Court that define enlistment, conscription, participation and use of children so as to protect all children associated with armed groups in line with the Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups (the Paris Principles and Commitment).
The International Criminal Court has thus far devoted considerable energy to investigating crimes related to the enlistment or use of child soldiers to participate actively in hostilities. So far, of the twelve individuals it has publicly indicted, seven have been charged with such crimes. In addition to Lubanga, those charged in relation to the enrollment or use of child soldiers include leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army - Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti and Okot Odhiambo - and of the Congolese armed groups - Bosco Ntaganda, Germain Katanga and Matthieu Ngudjolo Chui.
Another tribunal, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, convicted and sentenced Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and, recently, Allieu Kondewa of the Civil Defence Forces militia for, among other crimes, the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
The Special Court of Sierra Leone is currently trying, in The Hague, the case against Liberia's Charles Ghankay Taylor for 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including conscripting or enlisting children into armed forces or groups and using them to participate actively in hostilities. This action against a former President sends a clear message that no individual is beyond the reach of justice for crimes against children.
Based on the current practice of ad hoc tribunals, the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Court, there is an emerging consensus that children below the age of 18 should not be prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by international courts.
International law recognizes the need to provide children with special protection because of their particular vulnerability, and considers children's immaturity if they commit offences during armed conflict. In addition, international law prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for any offences committed by children under the age of 18 years. Children should be considered primarily as victims, and decisions to prosecute a child or not must be guided by the principle of their best interests, bearing in mind the child's emotional, mental and intellectual maturity, the extent of their moral culpability and the possibility of alternative accountability and reconciliation mechanisms focusing on their rehabilitation. If a child is to be tried in any jurisdiction for crimes, their treatment should adhere to international human rights standards specific to the rights of the child, in particular with regard to the age of criminal responsibility, fair trials, sentencing and detention. Similarly, national courts trying children for international crimes must also uphold their rights in accordance with international standards for juvenile justice.
Press Releases: