ICC holds workshops in Ugandan Acholi sub-region

ICC holds workshops in Ugandan Acholi sub-region

ICC-CPI-20080219-PR288

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) field Outreach Unit, in collaboration with the Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS) and a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), Youth Out of Poverty and AIDS (YOPA) concluded two workshops in the Pader and Kitgum districts, of the Acholi sub-region on the 15 and 18 February, 2008. The workshops were held as part of the Unit’s continued efforts to reach out to those communities most affected by the conflict in northern Uganda.

The workshops attracted over 90 local leaders including women drawn from 19 sub-counties of the Pader and Kitgum districts. The two districts are among the four areas of the Acholi sub-region that have suffered severely since the conflict began.

Key themes included an explanation of the role and work of the ICC, describing the main functions of the various organs of the Court, the role and rights of victims, and how the Outreach information dissemination mechanism works.

As well as local leaders, some government representatives including the resident district commissioners took an active part in the deliberations and afterwards thanked the Court officials for visiting the region to further explain the Rome Statute and the way the Court works. They pledged their continued support and commitment to assist in disseminating accurate information about the ICC and urged the Outreach Unit to continue directly targeting communities at a grassroots level. Other participants commended the way the workshops had created a shared forum for discussion that had helped to dispel any misconceptions about the Court’s function. One elderly woman who said she had been involved in the peace process and had visited Garamba, commented on the information given during the workshop and said that it had helped her understand and believe that the ICC is working in the interest of the people and peace, contrary to the “evil things” she had been told when she visited the area.

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For more information, please contact Ms Maria Mabinty Kamara, Field Public Information and Outreach Co-ordinator for Uganda, tel: +256-77-2700655, email: [email protected]