inside the glass house

Lubanga,Taylor and Prabha: Child recruitment before world court
NEW YORK - The arrest last week of a notorious African warlord on charges of using child soldiers in the current insurgency in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could well be a forewarning to the LTTE.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague decided to arrest Thomas Lubanga, a founder and leader of the rebel movement Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC), on charges of conscripting children.

Lubanga, the first to be indicted by the ICC purely for the recruitment of child soldiers, is apparently a virtual blood brother of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Perhaps not in the same class for ruthlessness.

But under the present circumstances, however, a replay of the DRC arrest is not possible in Sri Lanka for the simple reason that the government has not signed or ratified the Rome Statute that created the ICC.

The government is also unlikely to even indirectly initiate any action against the LTTE fearing it could destabilize the ongoing peace talks in Geneva.
"It is indeed unfortunate that the Sri Lankan government hasn't ratified the Rome Statute — and it should," Enrique Restoy of the London-based 'Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers' told The Sunday Times last week.

However, he said, if the ICC gets the endorsement of the UN Security Council, the LTTE leader could still be prosecuted for war crimes, including child recruitment (as was the case with Sudan).

The present case before the ICC, he said, could be an incentive for the Sri Lankan government, but it is important to note that if it ratifies the Rome statute, the ICC could prosecute all parties to the conflict for alleged war crimes, not just the LTTE.

So, if and when Sri Lanka signs the Rome Statute, even military and political leaders could be brought before the ICC for any war crimes committed — but only in the post-treaty phase, not retroactively.

Is this what is preventing the government from signing the statute, or is it pressure from the US (which has also refused to sign the Rome treaty because it is determined to shield US soldiers from being hauled before the ICC)?.

The US also continues to sign bilateral treaties with its close allies by strong-arming them to virtually negate even the existing signatures on the ICC or threatening to cut off aid if they do not play ball.

Meanwhile, a second arrest last week of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, also has relevance to the recruitment of child soldiers. Described as one of the most wanted fugitives in Africa, Taylor is to be prosecuted by a UN-sponsored tribunal in Sierra Leone, on charges of committing war crimes, including the recruitment of child soldiers. The tribunal has reportedly asked the ICC to hold the trial in the Netherlands.

Asked about Taylor's arrest in the aftermath of an attempt to escape from Nigeria where he was living in exile, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told reporters last week: "It sends a message, not only to the people of Liberia, but all around the sub-region and around the continent that impunity will not be allowed to stand."

He also said that "brutal leaders who brutalise their people, who get engaged in organising wars, recruiting boys and girls and turning them into child soldiers, will pay a price".

"I think it's a warning to all would-be warlords that they will be held to account and that impunity will not be allowed to stand. Those days are gone and they should really think before they engage in any such adventure," Annan added.

An equally strong reaction came from Ann M. Veneman, executive director of the UN children's agency UNICEF. She said that Lubanga's arrest "shows the high priority the international community gives to combating crimes against children".

She said it was important to protect children from being recruited and used in armed conflicts. "Wars must never be fought by children. Whether children are forcibly recruited, join armed groups in order to escape poverty or hunger, or enlist to actively support a cause, the first loss is their childhood," added Veneman, whose agency has taken a strong stand against the recruitment of child soldiers.

UNICEF has estimated that up to 300,000 children globally are being used by armed rebel groups and military forces in a variety of roles, including as combatants, cooks, porters, messengers, spies and for sexual purposes.
The Rome Statute, which went into force in July 2002, makes the conscription, enlistment or use of children under 15 in hostilities by national armed forces or armed groups a "war crime".

Last year, in a report to the Security Council, Annan compiled two lists of violators: first, countries whose conflicts are on the Security Council agenda, namely Afghanistan, Burundi, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Somalia. A second list included the Republic of Chechnya of the Russian Federation, Colombia, Myanmar, Nepal, Northern Ireland, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

In most of the countries named by Annan, child soldiers are used by armed groups, not national governments, as with the LTTE in Sri Lanka.
The 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) set the legal minimum age for recruitment at 15. But an "Optional Protocol" to the CRC, which came into force in February 2003, outlaws the involvement of children under 18 in any hostilities and sets strict standards for the recruitment of those under 18.

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