Nicole M. Ang Legal Studies Faculty Advisor: Marlene Barken, J.D. James J. Whalen Symposium 2017

ABSTRACT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR AN AWARD Title: From Victim to Victimizer: The Case of Dominic Ongwen

The use of children in armed conflict is not a modern convention. Child combatants have been found on the battlefield throughout history, with one of the most notable groups being the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth) in World War II. As of today, about 40 percent of the world’s armed organizations have children in their ranks. Approximately 300,000 children are believed to be combatants in about thirty conflicts worldwide, with nearly half a million more serving in other armies not currently at war. Children in armed conflict are not always used as combatants; girls are used as wives or sex slaves, and both boys and girls may be asked to serve the group in other non-combatant ways. A significant number of these children were conscripted into service, abducted, or left with no other choice but to volunteer. The question of the culpability of these child soldiers in terms of the atrocities they are ordered to commit has been a controversial one across several fields of study. It raises issues of psychological competence and the effects of trauma on volition, and has forced the legal community to review issues of mens rea, individual responsibility, prosecutorial jurisdiction, and even societal reintegration and asylum. This research attempts to provide an additional analytical perspective of these issues by tracking the trial of Dominic Ongwen, a high-ranking official in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), in light of existing international law and current perceptions of the use of child soldiers, their recruitment, and their prosecution. The LRA was formed in 1986 under the leadership of . Since then, the Ugandan rebel group has committed war crimes, , and other atrocities upon hundreds and thousands of men, women, and children. The group currently operates in the border region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the , and . Kony has authorized the abduction of at least tens of thousands of young children, conscripting them into his army and making them commit atrocities in his name, which, as witness statements have shown, is a systematic practice and a policy choice of the LRA. Dominic Ongwen was abducted by the LRA as a child, and as a child soldier was made to endure, watch, and later carry out acts of violence and torture. He proved useful to the group, and quickly rose up through the ranks to become one of Kony’s right-hand men. Ongwen is currently on trial in the International Criminal court (ICC), located in The Hague, Netherlands. Ongwen faces 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and is the first person to be prosecuted by the ICC for the very crimes enacted upon him. This is an extremely important case, not only because it would bring down a significant actor in the Ugandan conflict, but also because it forces the international legal community to once again take a hard look at how children have been used and are still used in armed conflict. As of right now, children under the age of 18 do not fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC, and so cannot be prosecuted for any of the crimes listed under the Rome Statute, which governs the ICC’s decisions. This finding, coupled with a review of existing literature, and records from other international tribunals, shows that the tendency to avoid prosecuting children is a prevalent one, and is rooted in a belief of children’s innocence and a need to protect them. However, Ongwen’s experiences as a child are sure to factor into his defense, which is why this research is still ongoing, and will seek to uncover and display how this experience may signal potential or actual change in these jurisdictional boundaries. This case will force the legal community to consider more deeply the effects of trauma and conscription on a child’s mind, which will deliver significant insight into the implications that these effects might have on the legal culpability of child soldiers, by tracking and making predictions on the outcome of the Ongwen case, and how this sets precedent for future jurisprudence. Works Cited

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