THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Congolese warlord known as “the Terminator” was sentenced on Thursday to 30 years in prison by an international court in The Hague for war crimes including murder, rape and sexual slavery.

The sentence was the highest ever handed down by the International Criminal Court.

The warlord, Bosco Ntaganda, 46, was found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in July of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in atrocities in a bloody ethnic conflict in the mineral-rich Ituri region of Congo in 2002-03.

Ida Sawyer, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa division, welcomed the ruling.

“Bosco Ntaganda’s 30-year sentence sends a strong message that even people considered untouchable may one day be held to account,” Ms. Sawyer said. “While his victims’ pain cannot be erased, they can take some comfort in seeing justice prevail.”

Mr. Ntaganda, who has always said he was innocent, became a symbol for widespread impunity in Africa in the seven years between being indicted by the global court and finally surrendering in 2013 as his power base fell apart.