Child soldier warlord gets 14 years’ jail

The International Criminal Court jailed Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, 51, for 14 years yesterday for using child soldiers in his rebel army, the first sentence to be handed down by the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal. The Hague-based...

The International Criminal Court jailed Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, 51, for 14 years yesterday for using child soldiers in his rebel army, the first sentence to be handed down by the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal.

It’s a positive signal for the future of peace

The Hague-based court prosecutors and rights groups welcomed the sentence, saying it sent a clear warning against using child soldiers, but some activists regretted the charges had not been broadened to include sexual crimes and the Democratic Republic of Congo questioned if the sentence was too light.

“It’s a positive signal for the future of peace in our region,” said Lambert Mende, a government spokesman in the Congolese capital Kinshasa said.

“We note simply that crime doesn’t pay, and regardless of the low sentence against Mr Lubanga, I think it’s something that will weigh on the minds of would-be warlords wherever they are,” Mr Mende added.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.