For more information, check the press releases by the International Criminal Court and the Redress Report .
International Tribunals
Important precedents are being set in the fight to end impunity for crimes against children, with steady momentum building for the application of international child protection standards.
The most prominent developments include the arrest of Germain Katanga and confirmation by the International Criminal Court of the charges against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, founder and leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for the conscription and enlistment of children under the age of 15 and the use of children for active participation in hostilities. The Office of the Special Representative is preparing to file an amicus curiae brief in support of this case.
The International Criminal Court has also issued arrest warrants for five senior members of the Lord's Resistance Army, including its leader, Joseph Kony, who is charged with 33 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the forcible enlistment and use of children under 15 in hostilities.
Another tribunal, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, convicted and sentenced Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and, recently, Allieu Kondewa of the Civil Defence Forces militia for, among other crimes, the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
The Special Court is currently trying, in The Hague, the case against Liberia's Charles Ghankay Taylor for 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including conscripting or enlisting children into armed forces or groups and using them to participate actively in hostilities. This action against a former President sends a clear message that no individual is beyond the reach of justice for crimes against children.
Press release by the SRSG: THE ICC’S FIRST CASE IS A MILESTONE IN THE ISSUE OF CHILD SOLDIERS
Debating For Justice (Program 3) - Radhika Coomaraswamy, Fatou Bensouda (ICC Deputy Prosecutor) and Flora Mbuyu (ASF lawyer) debate on " Child Soldiers; Why is it a War Crime ?" (Transcript)