UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Children shouldn't be subjected to trial by a military tribunal, U.N. officials said Tuesday as a case against a Canadian man gets under way at Guantanamo Bay.
Omar Khadr, a 23-year-old Canadian, faces war crimes charges for throwing a hand grenade that killed a U.S. solider in Afghanistan in 2002. He was 15 years old at the time.
Prosecutors said they would accept testimony from Khadr at the protest of his U.S. military lawyers who complained his confessions were offered under duress.
The tribunal Tuesday starts deliberations on the jury. Khadr issued a not-guilty plea to all charges at the court Monday.
Civil rights advocates complain the tribunal leaves a black mark on the presidency of U.S. President Barack Obama, as the tribunal is the first during his administration.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. special envoy for children and armed conflict, said international law is clear in stating that no one under the age of 18 should stand before a war crimes tribunal.
"Since World War II, no child has been prosecuted for a war crime," the United Nations quoted her as saying. "Child soldiers must be treated primarily as victims and alternative procedures should be in place aimed at rehabilitation or restorative justice."
Coomaraswamy urged the U.S. and Canadian governments to find a better solution to find justice for Khadr.
"I urge both governments to come to a mutually acceptable solution on the future of Omar Khadr that would prevent him from being convicted of a war crime that he allegedly committed when he was child," she said.
