DRC: Warlord on trial at The Hague for recruiting child soldiers

The landmark trial of the Congolese war lord Thomas Lubanga, accused of recruiting up to 30,000 child soldiers, began on 26 January in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Proceedings briefly stalled after the first witness retracted his testimony on Wednesday. The ICC judges said the witness, who is in his teens, was intimidated by the courtroom and worried about possible reprisals on his return to DR Congo. Param Preet Singh from Human Right Watch said this was “not a serious hiccup” and the trial was now proceeding with the two remaining witnesses. The court is also investigating whether the first witness had received any threats. This is the first trial in the ICC since it was created in 2002 under the Rome Statute Treaty as the world’s first permanent war crimes court.
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