ICC prosecutions

An editorial in the New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is beginning its first prosecution - the defendant, a Congolese militia leader, is charged with using child soldiers. Great news...

...but not without its downside. Fear of prosecution by the ICC is one of the big reasons why the Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda is resisting putting down weapons, and why the Sudanese government is so reluctant to let UN peacekeepers into Darfur (they're afraid the peacekeepers will arrest those indicted by the ICC).

So somehow we have to move from bad guys being afraid to put down their weapons because of fear of being prosecuted by the ICC, to potential bad guys deciding not to pick up weapons in the first place because they know they'll be held accountable. The question is, can we reach that point if we make some sort of concessions on ICC prosecutions in the cases of Sudan and northern Uganda in order to attain peace and save lives? Or must we potentially sacrifice lives now, by refusing to make any concessions and thus drawing out the conflicts, in order to save lives in future conflicts? How many people do you have to prosecute, and how unyielding on holding people accountable do you have to be, in order to create a deterrent?