UN warns: Take note of Lubanga verdict

A verdict reached at the ICC against Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga "sends a strong signal against impunity," a top UN human rights official said. The International Criminal Court, in its first verdict, found Lubanga guilty of the crime of conscripting child soldiers and using children as personal bodyguards. "A common plan was agreed by (Lubanga) and his co-perpetrators to build an army for the purpose of establishing and maintaining political and military control over Ituri (the Democratic Republic of the Congo)," the court said in a statement. Navi Pillay, UN high commissioner for human rights, said the verdict was "a great step forward" for the international justice system. "The Lubanga verdict sends a strong signal against impunity for such grave breaches of international law that will reverberate well beyond the DRC," she said in a statement. Lubanga has 30 days to appeal. The court said "the date for the separate sentencing hearing will be fixed in due course." Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner, an advocate for international justice at Human Rights Watch, said militia leaders in Africa should take notice of the ICC verdict. "Using children as a weapon of war is a serious crime that can lead them to the dock," she said in a statement. Lubanga was the first person tried by the permanent war crimes tribunal.