Information meetings for lawyers and journalists held in Uganda

ICC-CPI-20051031-114

From 24 to 29 October 2005, a series of information meetings for lawyers, legal aid providers and journalists were held in Kampala by officials of the Registry of the International Criminal Court.  The seminar “International Criminal Law: Representing Clients before the ICC,” and the workshop “Providing Legal Assistance to Victims in relation to the ICC” took place in Kampala. In addition, members of the Uganda Radio Network were briefed on “The Role of Victims before the ICC and the Mandate of the Office of Public Counsel for Victims and the Office of Public Counsel for the Defence.”

80 lawyers participated in the three day seminar “International Criminal Law: Representing Clients before the ICC,” organised in partnership with the Uganda Law Society. Special attention was placed on reaching out to women lawyers. The seminar aimed to enhance understanding of the law and practice of the Court and strengthen the national capacity for legal representation of accused persons and victims in relation to any ICC proceedings. The topics of discussion were: development of international criminal law; law and proceedings of the ICC; sexual violence and gender-based crimes; the mandates of the Registry regarding the rights of the defence, the role of victims, the mandate of the victims and witnesses Unit; the Mandate of the office of Public Counsel for Victims and the Office of Public Counsel for the Defence. Participants were divided into groups to study a hypothetical case in which substantive and procedural issues were addressed. Findings were then presented and further discussion took place. 

The workshop “Providing Legal Assistance to Victims in relation to the ICC” took place from 27 to 28 October 2005. Organised in conjunction with the Legal Aid Programme of the Uganda Law Society and the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA), the workshop was attended by some 25 lawyers, paralegals and staff of non governmental organisations providing legal aid services in Uganda. The objective of the workshop was to find ways to effectively inform and assist victims of the conflict in the north of the country to ensure that they are able to fully exercise their rights with regard to the ICC proceedings. Among other issues, methodologies and strategies for reaching out to victims were explored.

On 29 October 2005, in association with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), journalists from different national media organisations covering ICC related issues were briefed on the role of victims before the Court and the mandate of the office of Public Counsel for Victims and the office of Public Counsel for the Defence. The participants are members of the Ugandan Radio Network and have been undergoing training on international justice.

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For further information, please contact the ICC Outreach Coordinator Claudia Perdomo on Tel. +31 (0)70 515 8514 / Mob. +31 (0)6 2522 1177