The International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers is a special commemoration highlighting the fate of children who were forced to join armed forces and groups. The ICC trial against Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga, accents this tragedy. Lubanga is accused of using children under the age of fifteen to participate in the Ituri conflict which occurred in 2002-2003.

The impact of Lubanga’s trial is being felt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one year later. Examples of these effects are seen in the Eastern DRC where soldiers are hesitant to recruit child soldiers into the ranks; however a lot of work still remains to fully eradicate this phenomenon. The use of child soldiers in the DRC began in 1997 by the Alliance des forces démocratiques pour la libération du Congo (AFDL), with the first child solders called ‘Kadogo’.

I was recently in touch with a number of former child soldiers in Bunia, Mahagai and Ndrele, who were rejected by society as a result of the heinous crimes they committed while under the influence of drugs, but are now happy to be considered victims instead. Many are hopeful that they will somehow be able to gain their childhood back through reparations. However, a number of them, especially the girls aged below eighteen who were used as sexual slaves, feel abandoned and have denied the ‘victims’ status but call for ‘sexual violence’ charges to be added to Lubanga case.

It is crucial that the International Criminal Court considers these “forgotten peoples”, and takes on the challenge of addressing the slowness of proceedings in order to efficiently fight the use of child solders and impunity in the DRC.

Yuma Malaika Gracia, Programme Officer, Women and Children Programme for the Congolese NGO Ligue pour la Paix et les Droits de l’Homme (LIPADHO).