The subalternity of children soldied in the framework of the international criminal court: an analysis of the Dominic Ongwen case

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21527/2176-6622.2022.58.12889

Keywords:

Child Soldiers, Imperialism, Dominic Ongwen, International Criminal Court, Subalternity

Abstract

The present article analyzes the case of Dominic Ongwen, a member of the armed group Lord's Resistance Army, who had been recruited as a child to the group in the context of the Ugandan armed conflict and who had committed the same violation he suffered in the past, being accused in the International Criminal Court. Thus, on the macro level, the influence of European imperial/colonial past to international law is emphasized just as how it leads to the creation and continuity of hostilities. And at the micro level, in the light of the subalternity generated by such a system, this study aims at understanding the phenomenon of coercive capture of child soldiers during armed conflicts and its consequences on their psyche, pointing, after all, to the need to revisit the vicious cycle of illegality and imperiality that forms and characterizes the international order for a more precise analysis of the case and the rules of the Tribunal. Hence, methodologically, this study of applied nature will follow the hypothetical-deductive method of approach, establishing a relationship between Gayatri Spivak thoughts and the case of Uganda, passing through the construction of ICC and the rules regarding the use of child soldiers during hostilities – points that will be explored by the descriptive and explanatory method and whose references will be obtained from two bibliographic and documental procedures, following a qualitative approach, however, without aiming to exhausting them.

Author Biographies

Tatiana de Almeida Freitas Rodrigues Cardoso , Universidade Federal de Uberlândia - MG

Professor of the LLM Program of the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU/MG), where she also is an associate professor of international law. PhD in International Law from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), with a study period at the University of Ottawa (Canada). Masters in Public Law from Vale do Rio dos Sinos University (UNISINOS), with a CAPES scholarship and a study period at the University of Toronto (Canada), with a DFAIT scholarship. Brazilian Expert to the HCCH. Member of ILA - Brazil, ABRI and ASADIP.

Pedro Lucchetti, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia - UFU

Bacharelando da Faculdade de Direito Prof. Jacy de Assis (UFU). Pesquisador do Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Direito Internacional (GEPDI-UFU). Bolsista de Iniciação Científica UFU/FAPEMIG. Estagiário na Assistência Jurídica à Estrangeiros em Situação Irregular ou de Risco (AJESIR-UFU) e na Justiça Federal. Membro do Núcleo de Moot Court da UFU.

Daniel Urias Pereira Feitoza, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia - UFU

Bacharelando da Faculdade de Direito Prof. Jacy de Assis (UFU). Pesquisador no Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Direito Internacional (GEPDI-UFU) e no Laboratório de Direitos Humanos (LabDH-UFU). Membro do Núcleo de Moot Court da UFU. 

Published

2022-11-14

How to Cite

Tatiana de Almeida Freitas Rodrigues Cardoso, Pedro Lucchetti, & Feitoza, D. U. P. (2022). The subalternity of children soldied in the framework of the international criminal court: an analysis of the Dominic Ongwen case. Law in Debate Journal, 31(58), e12889. https://doi.org/10.21527/2176-6622.2022.58.12889