Congolese Rebel Leader Who Recruited Child Soldiers Will Face Trial

The International Criminal Court (ICC) decided in November to lift the suspension of the trial of the rebel leader Thomas Lubanga, who is accused of enlisting and conscripting children as soldiers and using them to participate actively in the conflict in the Ituri region in northeastern Congo. Human Rights Watch's research in the Ituri region, published in 2003, first focused the prosecutor's attention on the horrific abuses committed there. Lubanga is the former leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an armed group that, according to research by Human Rights Watch and the UN, is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ituri. Human Rights Watch has publicized the trial's importance in the international press and, through a series of "Question and Answer" documents, helped explain to the media and affected communities in Congo confusing judicial developments that followed the suspension of the trial, while underscoring the importance of protecting Lubanga's fair trial rights. Human Rights Watch also pressed the ICC to improve its outreach in Congo to address misperceptions following the suspension; for instance, Lubanga's supporters in Ituri have sought to use the suspension as proof of Lubanga's innocence. Lubanga's trial is now set to begin in January 2009.