A notorious rebel commander known as Congo’s “Terminator” has been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity by judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) today.

Bosco Ntaganda, 45, led rebels who killed and raped civilians, made them sexual slaves and conscripted child soldiers, among other things, during the bloody tribal conflict that took place in the mineral-rich Ituri region in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2002-2003, ICC judges said.

A separate hearing will determine his sentence – he faces a maximum life sentence and has 30 days to appeal.

Presiding Judge Robert Fremr said that Ntaganda was guilty as a direct perpetrator or a co-perpetrator of a string of crimes, which human rights activists say isn’t always the case for warlords.

“What was unique about him is that he wasn’t like other warlords who gave orders from the rear and then claimed they weren’t involved – he directly perpetrated crimes,” Anneke Van Woudenberg told The Independent.

Child Soldiers of South Sudan Show all 20 1 /20 Child Soldiers of South Sudan Child Soldiers of South Sudan Nakato Savoa, 19, was born and raised in Yumbe, Uganda A graduate from Aruma High School, she has aspirations of becoming a journalist. “The stories of refugees here in Uganda are so important to learn from.” She talks about how the community frowns upon equality in education holding woman back from progressing in life. “I am asking for change in attitudes, I want human rights for all, that means men and women.” EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan David Ayume, 13, arrived in Uganda in July 2016 fleeing the civil war He arrived with his mother and father and his eight brothers and sisters after two days walking. He recalls seeing many dead bodies lining the sides of the tracks which led to Uganda’s northern border. The family were fearful at the threat of abduction by rebel groups or becoming caught in crossfire between the government or militia groups. David enjoyed school immensely in South Sudan but said his school had closed due to conflict. He now attends Alaba School at Bidibidi Refugee Settlement. David dreams of a better life for his family EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Children of Bidibidi Refugee Settlement, wait outside the fence of Alaba School “Education is a casualty of war” says Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, Qatar, speaking at the Hague in 2017. HH, Chairperson of Education Above All (EAA) explains: “Even more horrifying - attacks on education are frequently used as an instrument of war. In most conflicts, from Colombia to Yemen, education is deliberately targeted. Schools are burned down. Teachers are murdered. Students recruited as child soldiers. We need to make children safe as they learn. Those who attack schools are not just damaging walls or infrastructure, they are inflicting lifelong trauma on hundreds of millions of children.” EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Moses Obama ,17 Moses fled Juba to his family dwelling in the countryside, when war broke out in 2016, to discover his father murdered and his mother nowhere to be seen. Hopelessly, in solitude, he waited for her return, grief-stricken and starving. Anti government force group ‘In Opposition’ (IO) had torn through the village and had now seized control. The enticement of a new family awaited him, brothers with arms and a warm meal too hard to resist. Moses surrendered in body, mind and spirit dissolving into the thousand-strong army of children in the bush. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Vivian Khemisa, 19, fled the civil war in South Sudan She arrived in Uganda with her father after being faced with having to surrender her brother Abdel, 23, to rebel groups tearing through the village, in order to save her family from being killed. Many of the girls in the village aged 15-17 years were captured and taken as wives. Their journey to the UNHCR transit camp took eight days among the thousands of people leaving with what possessions they could carry. They witnessed many rotting bodies along the road. Vivian enjoys attending secondary school and hopes to become a social worker to be able to help those in her community, “If we have access to education here we can reach our full potential and transform the lives of people here and back home in South Sudan.” She is an advocate for other young women to remain in school and not give in to community pressure to become wives and mothers from as young as 13 years old. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Children of Alaba School, Bidibidi Refugee Settlement wait patiently outside as the teacher calls the register Child soldiers, immersed into an environment of extreme violence where they are required to commit unimaginable cruelty and atrocity, become social outcasts suffering permanent psychological problems. Photos EAA/PEIC/Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Kennedy Ima, 13, displaced to Uganda He is another statistic of the 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees that fled the outbreak of civil war. Uganda alone shouldering 800,000 refugees. Kennedy was denied a normal childhood and instead became a witness to violence, torture and death in war. Not surprisingly, Kennedy’s family were unwilling to send him to school with threat of armed attack, abduction or recruitment by militias. On arrival in Uganda, he was still held back from attending school and fulfilling his dream of becoming a doctor. His parents were simply unable to afford the cost of a pair of shoes required for enrollment. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Forest Whitaker at a school in Northern Uganda Forest Whitaker attends a school in Gulu to meet the beneficiaries supported by Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) and Education Above All (EAA). EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Esther Yenno, 13, left South Sudan in 2016 Esther joined 800,000 of her country people in Uganda after civil war broke out. The journey took one week with her four brothers and two sisters. Esther herself had to carry the smallest of her siblings, too young to walk. They came across a lot of violent clashes en route. They spent time hiding in the bush to avoid capture from rebel groups. She misses being at home in South Sudan but the community here at Bidibidi Refugee Settlement has made her feel very welcome. She hopes to visit South Sudan soon but not to live there. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Children of Alaba School taking part in an art workshop Children of Alaba School, Bidibidi Refugee Settlement enjoying participating in an co-facilitated art based workshops between PEIC and Artolution. The 45 children together paint about social issues affecting the local community, including those related to access and barriers to education. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Richard Hakim, 26, left South Sudan in 2016 when civil war broke out He witnessed his father being killed and escaped with his best friend Moses. Both were confronted by rebel group National Salvation Front and were taken hostage after being suspected of spying for government forces. Moses resisted and was shot then left by the roadside. Richard was led to a make shift military outpost. He was not trusted to carry a weapon, instead became a porter carrying luggage for the commanders, fetching water for the troops and helping the kitchen. After almost 4 months, he seized his opportunity and broke away to head to the UNHCR Transit facility at the border. Eventually, Richard was connected to Swizen Atwine from Windel Trust who connected him to the EAA/Artolution project. Richard wants to become a journalist, he has since set up a group, with other local youth, called “Raise up and Talk” to help empower the younger generation to share their experiences and stories as a form of therapy. He hopes to find comfort telling the stories of those who have no voice. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Children of Tuajiji Primary School taking part in an art workshop Children of Tuajiji Primary School, Bidibidi Refugee Settlement. Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC), member of Education Above All, collaboratively with Artolution co-facilitated art based workshops for children. The workshop covered arts-based games and discussions about social issues affecting the local community, including those related to access and barriers to education. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Emmanle Duku, 17 Emmanle fled Juba as war ripped through the region as life was extremely dangerous. He entered his home village and found his father had been killed in their family home and the rest of his family had presumably fled. He surrendered himself to the rebel group IO. At 15, Emmanle became a soldier and was given a gun. He recalls the sadness of having to take the lives of innocent people. He became terrified of the sounds of gunfire due to the direct association of the brutality he had to inflict. He made a concerted effort to hang back in the group but this was always noted by the rebel commanders and was then pushed to the front and forced to kill. Emmanle was forced to drop out of school in Primary 3 due to the families financial circumstances and has not been in education since. He hopes that next year he will be able to go to school and get himself an education, however he does not know how this will happen. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Asmaa Fikree, Youth Advocate for Education Above All (EAA) Asmaa believes: “Programs like WPDI remind us of the impact of institutional support, but they also serve as silent reminders of the untapped potential of refugees. In Bidi Bidi, South Sudanese youth have to grapple with the psychosocial impact of life in conflict unguided. Many youth-led initiatives are seeking to fill the void in lieu of institutional support - a show of resilience and a plea for change. It is clear that the world at large has yet to address to the unique circumstances and lasting impact of life in prolonged conflict." EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Forest Whitaker Forest Whitaker has worked selflessly behind the scenes and away from the spotlight, to tirelessly bring about change in the world through his foundation, Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI). “To be involved in making peace on the planet is amazing! Gotta do something to be the better angel of it all. I care about it deeply, and to have the ability to help eliminate pain, conflict and violence is a privilege.” EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Moses Obama, 17 The two years of combat that ensued, saw Moses' position in the group grow from strength to strength, rewarded with promotion to military intelligence by the commander. “I had to kill so many people, innocent people from my country, I just stopped counting…so many”. His voice now tapered off to all but a silence, Moses turned his eyes to the floor and never looked up again. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Children of Bidibidi Refugee Settlement, look in through the windows of Alaba School The PEIC and Artolution co-facilitated Global Citizenship Education workshop covered arts-based games and discussions about social issues affecting the local community, including those related to access and barriers to education. Collaboratively they developed large and small-scale artworks that address the ongoing challenges faced by the community. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Those who attended the 79th Academy Awards 2007 in Los Angeles were privileged to witness Forest Whitaker honoured in the ‘Best Actor’ category for his role in ‘The Last King Of Scotland’ filmed in Uganda. As it transpired, the Oscar was not only a symbolic professional achievement but also a significant humanitarian milestone; the consequent creation of the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI). The foundation helps fragile communities affected by conflict transform to become peaceful, resilient and productive. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Some of the many pairs of shoes donated to the children of Alaba School, Bidibidi Refugee Settlement The margins in life so slender when the start of the journey to rehabilitation and reintegration of a child is a pair of shoes. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling Child Soldiers of South Sudan Joel Bergner set up Artolution with Max Frieder Artolution is a community-based public art organisation that seeks to ignite positive social change through collaborative art making. “We facilitate projects around the world that connect diverse peoples in order to address common social objectives. Our projects bring together children, families, local artists, educators and community groups. Our main objective is to address critical issues related to armed conflict, trauma and social marginalisation by cultivating sustainable global initiatives that promote reconciliation, healing and resilience.” In Uganda, Artolution have trained 14 artists to continue working to engage the youth population. EAA/PEIC Paddy Dowling

Ms Van Woudenberg, who used to be the senior researcher on the Congo for Human Rights Watch (HRW), has been documenting Ntaganda’s and other warlords’ crimes since 2003 and has met and interviewed Ntaganda on several occasions. She testified in the trial and handed over information to the court. She has since left HRW and is now executive editor of Rights and Accountability In Development (RAID).

Judge Fremr paused at times during his summary to detail specific instances of acts Ntaganda was responsible for, such as his personal calls for children to join his forces, as well as killings by his men, including that of a pregnant woman who had been kept in a pit.

On one occasion, fighters under his command raped a nine-year-old girl.

On another, Ntaganda himself shot and killed an elderly man serving as a Catholic priest after detaining and brutally interrogating him.

Judge Fremr said that Ntaganda was also guilty of a massacre in a banana field behind a building called The Paradiso.

“The bodies of those killed – men, women, children and babies – were found in the banana field over the next days,” Fremr said. “Some bodies were found naked, some had their hands tied up and some had their heads crushed. Several bodies were disemboweled or otherwise mutilated.”

Ntaganda was the deputy chief of staff and commander of operations for rebel group the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), the military wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), during a conflict that broke out in the Ituri region of DR Congo 17 years ago.

The UPC, dominated by the Hema clan, targeted rival Lendu people to expel them from the region.

The force’s leader, Thomas Lubanga, was convicted by the ICC in 2012 of using child soldiers. He is serving a 14 year prison sentence.

During the trial, Ntaganda testified for weeks in his own defence and always maintained his innocence.

His lawyers argued he had sought to maintain discipline among his troops, punishing those that violated rules of war.

They also argued he was a victim himself. Ntaganda grew up in Rwanda as an ethnic Tutsi, facing considerable difficulties and persecution and eventually being conscripted as a child soldier himself.

Ms Van Woudenberg said he constantly brought up the issue. “He repeated it when I interviewed him, saying, ‘I’m a Tutsi and you don’t understand what it means; I’m a victim’,” she said. “I thought of him as an individual with a chip on his shoulder.”

She said he would repeatedly deny and lie about his actions.

Ntaganda was first indicted in 2006 but refused to turn himself in. He became a symbol of impunity in Africa after then President Joseph Kabila refused to arrest him, allegedly for the sake of DR Congo’s peace. Ntaganda even went on to serve as a general in Congo’s army.

Later, Ntaganda split from the army with his own rebel group and only turned himself in in 2013 as his power base crumbled.

“Every day of the seven years that Ntaganda freely roamed the streets of Goma, after the International Criminal Court issued his arrest warrant, increased the torment that the victims and their families had to endure – to the shame of the DRC authorities and the international community,” Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s Director for East Africa, said in a statement.

“We can only hope that today’s verdict provides some consolation to those affected … and paves the way for his victims and their families to finally obtain a measure of justice and reparations.”

Bosco at his mountain base in Kabati in 2009 (Getty)

“The trial against Bosco Ntaganda is a powerful reminder to warlords in Congo that they too could face prosecution,” Maria Elena Vignoli, international justice counsel at HRW, said in a statement.

“At the same time, this case highlights the need for the ICC and Congolese authorities to do more to bring justice for atrocities in Congo.”

Vignoli said thousands more victims in Congo still await justice.

Ntaganda’s conviction came as a victory for ICC prosecutors after high profile defeats recently. Set up in 2002 to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity when its member states are unable or unwilling to do so, the court has so far only convicted four people of war crimes and five more for interfering with witnesses.

In January, judges acquitted former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo and a former government minister of involvement in crimes following disputed 2010 elections.

Last year, a former Congolese vice president, Jean-Pierre Bemba, was acquitted on appeal of crimes allegedly committed by his militia in neighboring Central African Republic.

Ms Van Woudenberg said the judgment was also important because it “covered the whole range of crimes committed in the Congo, not just child soldiers. It encompasses the heart of what people have suffered in the Congo.”

Ntaganda is the first person convicted of sexual slavery by the ICC.

Judges said 102 witnesses testified at the trial, including a woman who survived having her throat slit by Ntaganda’s forces.

Ntaganda wore a dark blue suit and showed no emotion as Judge Fremr passed judgment.

Additional reporting by Associated Press and Reuters