THE HAGUE – Oscar winner Angelina Jolie attended a war crimes trial in The Hague on Tuesday, hailing the bravery of youngsters who testified against Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga."Children deserve special protection. Using children in conflict is a heinous crime and destroys the very fabric of a society," said Jolie, who is a goodwill ambassador for the UN's refugee agency.
"I imagined how difficult it must be for all the brave young children who have come to testify against him," she said in a statement.
Lubanga, 48, has pleaded not guilty to using children under the age of 15 to fight for his militia during the five-year civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo which ended in 2003.
The prosecution accuses his 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.
The International Criminal Court was forced to look at new ways to shield child soldier witnesses from their alleged oppressors after the first witness against Lubanga changed his testimony
The 33-year-old Jolie makes up one half of the Hollywood golden couple dubbed "Brangelina".
She and partner Brad Pitt, 45, have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, as well as three biological children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne.
by:yahoo
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