The ICC: one verdict vs. three faults

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its first ever verdict last week (14 March 2012). Thomas Lubanga was found guilty of training and using child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Details on the sentence will be known at a later date: it will be important to see if the ICC sets a meaningful precedent and sends Lubanga to jail for life (30 years). In the early 2000s, Lubanga was a commander, though not the head, of one of the militias in the East of the DRC. He defended the Hema ethnic group in a complex conflict involving domestic and regional actors, called the ‘African World War’. The ICC finally brings some justice –and condemnation—to this long and bloody war. The verdict reinforces the ICC, as it institutionalizes the prosecution and penalization for crimes against humanity. However, the ICC has difficulty to stand up against three faults: the lengthy process, the politicization of cases, and the exclusive focus on Africa.