The Accused
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo: A Congolese rebel militia leader and founding member and President of the Union des Partiotes Congolais (UPC).
Judges of Trial Chamber I
- Adrian Fulford (Presiding)
- Elizabeth Odio Benito
- René Blattmann
The Prosecution
- Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor
The Defense
- Catherine Mabille
- Jean-Marie Biju-Duval
- Marc Desalliers
Legal Representatives of the Victims
- Paolina Massidda
- Carine Bapita Buyangandu
- Paul Kabongo Tshibangu
- Joseph Keta Orwinyo
- Franck Mulenda
- Luc Walleyn
Registry
- Herman von Hebel, Registrar
Key Groups and Organizations Referred to During the Trial
Ethnic Groups
- The Hema: An ethnic group, mainly pastoralists. The Gegere is a sub-group of the Hema. The Rwandan-backed UPC claimed to represent interests of the Hema.
- The Lendu: An ethnic group, mainly agriculturalists. The Ngiti is a sub-group of the Lendu. The FPRI militia was largely comprised of Ngiti members who were close to the Lendu-led FNI militia; both groups claimed to represent the interests of the Lendu, with Ugandan backing.
Ituri-based Armed Groups
- APC: Armeé Populaire Congolaise, the armed wing of the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie-Kisangani/Mouvement de Liberation.
- FAPC: The People’s Armed Forces of Congo, an armed group comprising a mix of ethnic groups.
- FPDC: The Popular Force for Democracy in Congo, an armed group comprised of ethnic Alur and Lugbara.
- FNI: The Nationalist and Integrationist Front/Front des nationalistes et intégrationnistes, an ethnic Lendu armed group closely linked to the FPRI that reportedly received support from Uganda in its operations against the Rwandan-backed, ethnic Hema UPC. Its alleged leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was acquitted of ICC charges in December 2012.
- FPLC: The Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of the Congo, the armed wing of the UPC.
- FPRI: The Ituri Patriotic Resistance Force/Force de résistance patriotique en Ituri, an armed group closely linked to the FNI and comprised of ethnic Ngiti, a sub-group of the Lendu. It also received support from Uganda in its operations against the Rwandan-backed, ethnic Hema UPC. Its alleged commander Germain Katanga is currently standing trial at the ICC.
- PUSIC: Party for Unity and Safeguarding the Integrity of Congo, a Hema breakaway group from the UPC.
- RCD: Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma, an armed group formed with the backing of the Rwandan and Ugandan governments in order to depose Laurent Désiré-Kabila. The RCD gave way to various breakaway groups, including the RCD-Kisangani, the RCD-Movement for Liberation and the RCD-National.
- UPC: Union of Congolese Patriots/Union des Patriotes Congolais, a predominantly Hema/Gegere armed group led by Lubanga.
Government Actors
- FARDC: The national Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
- Joseph Kabila: Current president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the son of Laurent Kabila.
- Laurent Kabila: Former President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, assassinated in 2001. Father of Joseph Kabila.
- UPDF: Ugandan People’s Defense Force, which aggravated the conflict in eastern DRC by backing a variety of armed groups in accordance with its strategic interests.
UN Actors
- MONUC: The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, present in the region since 2000.
Geographical Terms Referred to in the Trial
- Kinshasa: The capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located on its western border.
- Ituri: A district in the Orientale Province in north-eastern DRC that was made an independent province in 1999. It is bordered by Uganda to the east and Sudan to the north. Ituri is composed of five territories sub-divided into collectivités, which are in turn divided into groupements and villages.
- Bunia: A city in Ituri that served as headquarter of the FPLC.
- Mandro, Rwampara and Bule: Locations of the UPC training camps.
- Bunia, Tchomia, Kasenyi, Bogoro: Locations where children were deployed to take part in in fighting.