Former Child Soldier Convicted of Crimes Against Humanity

Former Child Soldier Convicted of Crimes Against Humanity

Daniel Ongwen led the brutal Lord's Resistance Army in their campaign of violence across Uganda - Image Source: International Criminal Court

A FORMER child soldier who led a notorious Ugandan rebel group has been convicted of crimes against humanity by the Hague’s International Criminal Court.

Daniel Ongwen, the former leader of the internationally infamous Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) militia group, has been convicted of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ongwen’s defense lawyers claimed that the former rebel leader was forced to become a child soldier at a young age before rising up the ranks to lead the LRA – a brutal militia group responsible for countless shocking war crimes in Uganda.

The ICC, based in the Hague, found the 45-year old guilty of 61 counts of crimes against including war crimes, crimes against humanity, murder, rape, torture, sexual enslavement, and pillaging, among others. The case’s judge told the court that there was insufficient evidence to rule that Ongwen “suffered from any mental disease or disorder during the period relevant to the charges, or that he committed these crimes under duress”.

Over 4000 victims of the LRA’s campaign of horrific violence and terror had their testimonies presented to the court, with gruesome footage of massacres and mass graves presented during the trial. Ongwen is now the first war criminal to be convicted of forced pregnancy by an international court.

Although he has yet to receive his sentence, the warlord is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison. The ICC is reserved for the most serious crimes against humanity and has convicted war criminals from conflicts across Africa and former Yugoslavia among others.


Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Former Child Soldier Convicted of Crimes Against Humanity”. For more UK daily news, Spanish daily news, and Global news stories, visit the Euro Weekly News home page.

Author badge placeholder
Written by

Oisin Sweeney

Oisin is an Irish writer based in Seville, the sunny capital of Andalucia. After starting his working life as a bookseller, he moved into journalism and cut his teeth as a reporter at one of Ireland's biggest news websites. Since joining Euro Weekly News in November, he has enjoyed covering the latest stories from Seville, Spain and further afield - with special interests in crime, cybersecurity, and European politics. Anyone who can pronounce his name first try gets a free cerveza...

Comments