Coalition for the ICC Press Briefing on the First-Ever ICC Verdict in the Lubanga Case - New York, 14 March 2012

On 14 March 2012, ICC Trial Chamber I delivered a guilty verdict in the Court’s first landmark trial, that of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. Lubanga, a national of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and alleged leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and the commander-in-chief of its military wing, the Forces patriotiques pour la libération du Congo (FPLC), was found guilty of having committed the war crimes of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 years and using them to participate actively in hostilities in the DRC between September 2002 and August 2003. 129 victims participated in the trial through their legal representatives.

The Coalition for the ICC held a press briefing at UN headquarters in New York on the day of the verdict. Participants included: Renzo Pomi, Amnesty International representative at the UN; Jelena Pia-Comella, program director at the Coalition for the ICC; Param-Preet Singh, senior counsel for Human Rights Watch's international justice program; and Alison Cole, Open Society Justice Initiative legal officer.

Video of the press briefing can be found here: www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2012/03/press-conference-...