Dakar conference on capacity-building with regard to African judicial systems and cooperation with the ICC
As part of his objective to strengthen the relationship between Africa and the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or "the Court"), H.E. Mr. Sidiki Kaba, President of the Assembly of States Parties, organized a high-level conference on "Capacity-building with regard to African judicial systems through effective and dynamic complementarity and cooperation with the International Criminal Court" on 23 May 2017 in Dakar, Senegal. The event was organized with the financial sponsorship of the government of Switzerland.
Participants included Ministers of Justice of some African States Parties, including Djibouti, Gabon, Union of the Comoros, and Zambia, as well as representatives of the Ministers of Justice of Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, and Liberia, the Vice-President of the Court, and a representative of the Office of the Prosecutor. Diplomats, parliamentarians, lawyers, academics, representatives of the judiciary, international organizations, and civil society from Africa and beyond were also in attendance.
At the opening ceremony, the Prime Minister of Senegal, H.E. Mr. Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne underlined the importance for African countries to strengthen their judicial systems in order to better fight impunity for crimes committed against victims.
Judge Joyce Aluoch, Vice-President of the ICC and Mr. Amady Ba, Head of international cooperation, Office of the Prosecutor of the Court, reiterated the complementary role of the Court in the prosecution of international crimes in Africa and the importance of State cooperation in this regard.
The African Ministers of Justice and Judges shared the experiences of their countries in the areas of capacity-building of judicial systems, judicial information sharing, and prosecution of international crimes and implementation of criminal norms.
In closing the conference, President Kaba welcomed the dialogue and experience sharing between the Court and African States. "Strengthening judicial systems at the national, regional and international levels through complementarity and cooperation is essential to ensure that all victims have access to justice," he concluded.