Over the past week the world turned, once again, to The Hague, Netherlands, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) completed the charges hearing against Dominic Ongwen. Ongwen is a former commander of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA). Under the command of well-known warlord Joseph Kony, the LRA has committed atrocities in Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ongwen has been charged with 70 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. These include sexual and gender-based crimes as well as the recruitment of child soldiers. The charges hearing allowed the prosecution to line out their case against Ongwen. It is now the judge’s responsibility to determine whether a trial on all 70 counts will proceed.

In June 2005, Ongwen was one of the five LRA leaders for whom the ICC issued their first ever warrants. Today, Ongwen is the only survivor alongside Kony and the only one of the five that was successfully detained. Early in 2015, he escaped detention by Joseph Kony, who allegedly was furious about Ongwen apparently providing assistance to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition. Ongwen, thereafter, surrendered to US Forces in the Central African Republic and was eventually passed on to the ICC.

Ongwen’s case is particularly unique and interesting, as he was abducted by the LRA as a child. The group forced him to become a child soldier and eventually he rose the ranks to become a commander. Therefore, Ongwen is charged with the same crimes done to him. This is the first case of its kind at the ICC. It will be important for them to determine what his role as a victim should have on the case. The prosecution mentioned the special circumstances, however, also argues that Ongwen’s former status as a child soldier may only have mitigating factors on his sentence.

This case will set international legal precedent, because brainwashing and Stockholm syndrome are presumably not unique to Ongwen’s case. It can be expected that further trials against commanders of armies that utilize child soldiers will have to go through a similar development. Prosecution lawyer, Ben Gumpert, speculates that many LRA fighters during the period of 2002 and 2005 are presumed to have been abducted by the LRA. Therefore, this case provides the ICC with an opportunity to set a foundation for how these cases will be dealt with in the future.

Part of the ICC’s mandate is reaching out to the affected communities. For the victims, it is of special significance that justice will be served. Consequently, the interest in the trial is immense, as many followed the hearings on live television in several places. Thus, the ICC is once again under a lot of pressure to serve international justice in a difficult case. With all the criticism of inefficiency and ineffectiveness that the ICC has faced over the year, it now has a chance to restore credibility in the idea of international justice being served. Nothing less is at stake when the judges make a decision regarding whether to proceed with the charges against Ongwen or to drop them.