PARIS - Thomas Lubanga, a rebel leader from the Congo, was found guilty Wednesday of recruiting and enlisting boys and girls under the age of 15 and using them to wage war.
A panel of judges at the International Criminal Court issued its ruling in a brief session at the tribunal’s headquarters in The Hague, the first verdict issued by the court since it began its work 10 years ago.
The decision, which followed a three-year trial, was considered significant because it firmly establishes the use of children in war as an international crime.
The presiding judge, Adrian Fulford of Britain, said that the evidence had confirmed that Lubanga and his fellow fighters had enlisted boys and girls under the age of 15, sometimes by force, sometimes voluntarily, put them through harsh training, punished them, deployed them in fighting, and subjected girls to sexual violence.
Lubanga told the court he was only a political leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots and had discouraged using children.