Netherlands ICC 2 - Congolese warlord accused of using child soldiers
NAME: NTH ICC 2 20061109I
TAPE: EF06/1068
IN_TIME: 10:38:17:06
DURATION: 00:02:30:16
SOURCES: AP TELEVISION/ICC POOL
DATELINE: The Hague, DRC, 9 Nov 2006/File
RESTRICTIONS:
SHOTLIST:
AP Television
The Hague, The Netherlands
1. Various exterior shots of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague
ICC POOL
The Hague, The Netherlands
2. Wide interior of ICC court room, arrival of presiding judges
3. Various interior shots of the ICC court room, judges and lawyers sitting down
4. Wide arrival of Thomas Lubanga, walking into court and sitting down
5. Mid of chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo (on the left) and his council
6. Wide of Lubanga confirming his identity (UPSOUND: (French) "I am Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the former president of the Union of Congolese Patriots")
7. Close up of Lubanga (UPSOUND: (French) "As far as my conditions in prison, I would say that they are neither good nor bad, such is the unhappy place that is prison.")
8. Wide interior courtroom
9. Mid of prosecution
10. Mid of Lubanga's defence lawyer, Jean Flamme
11. Wide interior of courtroom
AP TELEVISION NEWS
FILE - Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 7 2003
12. UPC vehicle laden with militia men drives past
13. SOUNDBITE: (Kiswahili) unnamed child soldier, UPC militia:
"Right now the fighting is very heavy, yes."
14. Hema ethnic group's Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia walking down street
15. Hema UPC militia men in position on roadside as Lendu militia men fire in their direction
STORYLINE:
Prosecutors at the international war crimes tribunal opened a landmark hearing on Thursday, which they said would show that the world will not tolerate the conscription of child soldiers.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), hearing its first case, began considering evidence against Thomas Lubanga, an alleged warlord from the Democratic Republic of Congo accused of recruiting child soldiers and forcing them to kill and mutilate his enemies.
Prosecutors say Lubanga's case demonstrates to military leaders that they can no longer force children to fight their battles with impunity.
The United Nations estimates that some 300,000 child soldiers are involved in conflicts around the world.
The hearing, scheduled to last three weeks, is meant to determine whether the evidence against Lubanga is strong enough to merit a full trial.
Prosecutors say Lubanga's Union of Congolese Patriots and its armed wing, the FPLC, recruited children and trained them to kill members of rival ethnic groups.
If they refused to fight, they were threatened with execution, they say.
Defence lawyers say Lubanga is a pacifist who attempted to restore calm in Congo's lawless Ituri region.
Lubanga, dressed in a traditional African shirt and matching blue trousers, identified himself to the three-judge panel as the former president of the group known by its French acronym, UPC.
Asked by presiding Judge Claude Jorda about his conditions of detention, Lubanga replied: "They are neither good nor bad, such is the unhappy place that is prison."
Thursday's hearing marks the first time prosecutors have presented evidence to a panel of the court's judges.
Next week, they will call a witness, whose identity has not been released, to testify against Lubanga.
Six children, 10 years old at the time, also are cited in the indictment but have not been publicly identified. None will testify at the hearing.
After the hearing, judges have 60 days to decide whether to proceed with a full trial, throw out the charges or order prosecutors to amend their charges.
The trial would last several months, and Lubanga would face a maximum life sentence if convicted.
The case is a milestone for victims of alleged war crimes, and marks the first time they will be represented in hearings at an international tribunal.
In June 2003 Associated Press Television News interviewed a child soldier from Lubanga's UPC in Bunia, a war-torn town in eastern DR Congo.
"Right now the fighting is very heavy," the unnamed child had said, holding a hand grenade in his hands.
Two ethnic groups - Lubanga's Hema group backed by Rwanda, and the Ugandan backed Lendu - fought for control of the town, the capital of resource rich Ituri province
The presence of gold, diamonds and mineral resources in the province which are sold on the international market fuelled the fighting.