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ICC sentences Lubanga to 14 years in prison

On July 10, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its first ever sentence from a courtroom in the Hague. The court found Thomas Lubanga Dyilo guilty of using children as soldiers in his rebel force, and sentenced him to 14 years in prison. Many people think that Lubanga’s sentence is too light, and that he should have received the maximum 30-year sentence that the ICC can deliver.

In a statement from the Office of the Prosecutor, the new ICC Chief Prosecutor discusses the next steps that they hope to take to ensure justice is delivered in full.

The Prosecution is now studying the Judgment in detail and will consider whether or not to appeal. The Prosecution is also expecting to hear the judges’ decision on reparations in order to ensure the victims of Lubanga’s crimes see the full scale of justice.

If there is one thing that Invisible Children has learned from watching the Lubanga trial unfold, it is that the justice process is a slow but worthwhile one. During the trial and deliberations, there is a need for evidence that is directly tied to the accused in order to ensure that justice is delivered. In the case of Lubanga, there was difficulty in proving that he intended to use child soldiers or that abuses against children under the age of 15 in his army were actually orderedand carried out by him.

Our hope is that international efforts from governments and human rights groups are robust and sufficient enough to gather solid evidence against Joseph Kony in order to guarantee that justice is delivered once he is captured and put on trial in the ICC.

This 30-minute video, released by the ICC, is a full recording of the ruling. It can seem a little dry, but it’s worth a watch.

-Brady

(Photo credit: CSMonitor)

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The International Criminal Court’s new chief prosecutor

Meet Fatou Bensouda. On June 15, 2012 she replaced Luis Moreno-Ocampo as the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The new prosecutor is a native of the African nation of Gambia and studied law in Nigeria. She has previous experience as an attorney and legal adviser during the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which was brought together to bring justice to those responsible for the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. For the last eight years she has been working for the ICC as the Deputy Prosecutor. In December of 2011, the participating state parties of the ICC unanimously voted for Bensouda to be Ocampo’s successor.

In 2005 Ocampo made Joseph Kony the first person to be indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity. Ocampo was a great friend to Invisible Children and a consistent advocate for youth involvement in international justice and Kony’s arrest. Ocampo took the court through its first nine years.

While we appreciate Ocampo’s contributions, we are looking forward to this new era of the court. International justice is seeing an uptick in trials and media attention, as exemplified by the trials and convictions of Charles Taylor and Thomas Lubanga this year.

Mrs. Bensouda has vowed to continue to pursue justice in all open cases that the court is currently dealing with, especially those in which children have been harmed. In the past, the Africa Union (AU) has accused the ICC of selective prosecution based on the fact that all of the ICC-indictees are African. In a BBC article from last year, Mrs. Bensouda is unapologetic about the ICC’s focus on African conflicts.

“We say that the ICC is targeting Africans, but all of the victims in our cases in Africa are African victims.”

Invisible Children has high hopes for Bensouda’s term, and we are excited to see what steps she will take to ensure justice is delivered to those indicted.

-Brady

Photo Credit: Evert-Jan Daniels/AFP/Getty Images

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“The Fourth Estate is a recognition of human identity in the face of global connectivity and the responsibility that flows from it. It is a blueprint for the future founded on humanity’s bold endeavor to seek a more perfect peace, a more perfect unity, and a more honest expression of success.”

2011 marked a change in our world. Discontent with current systems and government inadequacies, there have been distinct worldwide advancements toward equality. Of course it still remains early in the establishment of these changes, but the idealism that comes with youth has us all hoping for a better future. The efforts of the Occupy movement were aided and organized through this newly connected world. The demonstrations and protests in the Arab nations were initiated and sustained because of technical connectivity, and the support of world that knew and cared.

This is my question to you: Because we live on the same planet, in an interconnected world, are we responsible for the mistreated and abused? Or is it more important and logical to focus on national interest? Are their problems ours? Should we not just focus on ourselves? Why or why not? Will an equal social and economic standing even make people happy?

Discuss. Be respectful, be honest, and be friends.

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Washington Post published this article by writer Michael Gerson about Joseph Kony and the international effort to bring him to justice. The article discusses the status of military personnel, the myths that surround Kony, and the commitment to put a stop to this man, this war. Our upcoming campaign, KONY 2012, is centered around the mandatory need for Joseph Kony to be captured and held accountable for his decades of torture as the leader of the LRA. Michael Getson hits the nail on the head with this brilliant and heartbreakingly written article, and it goes hand-in-hand with everything that we are determined to see happen this year. Read the article [excerpted below] and may you get as pumped up as we are to launch KONY 2012 and bring the world’s worst war criminal to justice.