We have an update on Angelina Jolie’s attendance at the Hague trial of Thomas Lubanga. Lubanga is a Congolese militia leader accused of using children, both boys and girls, during the five-year civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from 1998-2003.

Angelina Jolie with International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo. Photo: AFP PHOTO / ICC - KIM VERMAATIn a statement released by Angelina Jolie, who is a goodwill ambassador for the UN’s refugee agency, the actress said: “Children deserve special protection. Using children in conflict is a heinous crime and destroys the very fabric of a society.”

“I imagined how difficult it must be for all the brave young children who have come to testify against him,” Jolie continued.

The prosecution accuses Lubanga’s militia of abducting children as young as 11 and taking them to military training camps where they were beaten and drugged. The girls among them were allegedly used as sex slaves.

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