Welcome! Today, Thomas Lubanga will finally stand in front of a crowded courtroom to answer charges of allegedly conscripting, enlisting, and using child soldiers to fuel the Congo’s brutal conflict during 2002 and 2003. This is the ICC’s first trial.

We will be updating you daily on this trial from the courtroom, as well as providing regular legal analysis and commentary on the Lubanga case. Most of the information posted here will come from Congolese voices—some based here in The Hague and some following the trial closely from the Great Lakes region. And we invite you to add your voice to the discussion. We hope readers—particularly those from the Great Lakes—will add their voices to the discussion by asking questions and posting comments on this site. Every day, our experts will try to address your questions.

Join us again later today when we will have our first daily update on Lubanga’s first day on trial.