Thomas Lubanga

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Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
Born 29 December 1960
Djiba, Ituri Province, DRC
Nationality Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Known for Indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo (born 29 December 1960 in Djiba, Ituri[1]) is the founder and former leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an armed militia in Ituri, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Implicated in numerous human rights violations against civilians and the murder of UN peacekeepers, he was arrested on authority of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and is the first person put on trial by the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands.

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[edit] Biography

During the Second Congo War, Lubanga was a military commander in the Uganda-allied Mouvement de Libération faction of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD-ML). Lubanga formed the UPC with Ugandan assistance, predominantly from the Hema ethnic group, in 2000, at a time when the Ituri Conflict between the Hema and Lendu was well underway. With Ugandan help, the UPC captured the town of Bunia in 2002, in the course of which large numbers of civilians were killed. Over the next several years, the UPC was implicated in the large-scale murder, torture and rape of civilians, in particular ethnic Lendus, and the forced conscription of child soldiers. According to Radio Okapi, run by the United Nations Mission in the Congo, Lubanga had ordered every family in the area under his control to help the UPC by contributing money, a cow or a child.

Following the murder of nine MONUC peacekeepers in 25 March 2005, he and other militia leaders were arrested by Congolese authorities and imprisoned in Makala, Kinshasa. However, it remained unclear if he was to be tried by the ICC or a national tribunal. The DRC had acceded to the ICC instrument, which came into effect on 1 July 2002, and requested that ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo investigate the situation in the east of the country in 2004.

On 10 February 2006, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Lubanga for the war crime of "conscripting and enlisting children under the age of fifteen years and using them to participate actively in hostilities". The Congolese national authorities transferred Lubanga to ICC custody on 17 March 2006. While the International Criminal Court's first warrants were issued in July 2005 for the leaders of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army, Lubanga is the first person to be actually arrested on authority of an ICC warrant.[2] The first public pre-trial hearing was on 20 March 2006.

His trial was due to begin on 23 June 2008,[3] but it was halted on 13 June 2008 when the court ruled that the Prosecutor's refusal to disclose potentially exculpatory material had breached Lubanga's right to a fair trial.[4] The Prosecutor had obtained the evidence from the United Nations and other sources on the condition of confidentiality, but the judges ruled that the Prosecutor had incorrectly applied the relevant provision of the Rome Statute and, as a consequence, "the trial process has been ruptured to such a degree that it is now impossible to piece together the constituent elements of a fair trial".[4] On 2 July 2008, the Court ordered Lubanga's release;[5] however, he remains in custody pending the outcome of an appeal by the prosecution.

[edit] See also

Ituri conflict

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ Warrant of Arrest, ICC, 10 February 2006, p. 5
  2. ^ Congo suspect to face war crimes charges, Reuters, 18 March 2006
  3. ^ International Criminal Court, 13 March 2008. The trial in the case of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo will commence on 23 June 2008. Accessed 14 April 2008.
  4. ^ a b International Criminal Court, 13 June 2008. Decision on the consequences of non-disclosure of exculpatory materials covered by Article 54(3)(e) agreements and the application to stay the prosecution of the accused, together with certain other issues raised at the Status Conference on 10 June 2008PDF. Accessed 17 June 2008.
  5. ^ International Criminal Court, 16 June 2008. Trial Chamber I ordered the release of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo - Implementation of the decision is pending. Accessed 2 July 2008.

[edit] External links

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International Criminal Court (ICC)
Organisation
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Miscellaneous
Persondata
NAME Thomas Lubanga
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
SHORT DESCRIPTION Militia leader, indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes
DATE OF BIRTH 29 December 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Djiba, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lubanga"
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