"I Applaud Efforts to Hold These Individuals Accountable for Their Crimes Against Humanity"
WASHINGTON D.C. -- On Tuesday, July 10, 2012,
the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, sentenced
Congolese militia commander Thomas Lubanga to 14 years in jail for recruiting
and using child soldiers, in his long-running campaign of violence in the
eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Court had received conclusive evidence that
Lubanga had abducted children as young as eleven years old, forcing the boys to
fight in his rebel army and the girls to serve as sex slaves.
The Thomas Lubanga case marks the ICC’s first
conviction in its nearly decade long history, Congressman Meeks commended the
ICC for committing to justice on behalf of the children who lost their
childhood, innocence, and lives to the atrocities of war.
“This is a victory for human rights, and I
applaud efforts to hold these individuals accountable for their crimes against
humanity,” Rep. Meeks said.
Congressman Meeks, in his role as member of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee, advocates for protection and promotion of
human rights, globally, particularly launching bilateral initiatives to
eliminate discrimination.
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