asf N EWS brussels - summer 2009

Transcription

1 asf N EWS brussels - summer 2009 avocats sans frontières

2 Opening of a decentralised office in Uganda The mission to Uganda expanded its field of action earlier this year by opening an office for free legal advice in the Soroti District, in the north-east of the country. This new program, implemented in a rural district, dedicates itself (in a first phase) to preventing sexual and domestic violence and defending the women and children who are victims of it. The integrated approach to action wants to combine different activities: raise awareness within the target group to the theme of domestic and sexual violence, including through the active role of community leaders acting as true focal points provide free legal services to the population raise awareness of magistrates and judicial officers and invest in education of lawyers in managing cases of sexual and spousal violence represent victims legally, amongst others with the goal to ultimately obtain symbolic court decisions This work is organised in cooperation with the Ugandan Association of Female Lawyers (FIDA-U) and is driven by our new programme coordinator Mary Consolate UJEO. We wish her a warm welcome! Mary Consolate 1 The decentralised office of Soroti

3 ASF in Burundi : 10 years already Hafida Talhaoui, member of the Board of Directors of ASF, and Stéphane Mondon, Operations Director, attended the ceremony for the 10th year anniversary of the Missbu, in April, together with the mission s team, several officials and many guests (donors, partner NGOs, etc.) The participants took the opportunity for once to congratulate themselves on the accomplished work for access to justice of the most vulnerable and their fight against impunity. The decrease of sexual crimes thanks to the efficiency of law-shops; the successes of the criminal code reform, now including dispositions related to international crimes, torture and rape and the constructive attitude of the authorities with regard to ASF are examples of this success. The ceremony was also an opportunity for the headquarters team and the field teams to reflect on their work, on new intervention strategies and on the reinforcement of the expertise they acquired over the years. The official part of the ceremony was livened up by artistic and original intermezzos, and the general ambiance was decidedly positive. A big thank you to the entire team of the mission for their incredible commitment! 9-14 of March 2009: a strategic week! Seventeen years after its creation, ASF organised a week of strategic reflection workshops in Brussels. These workshops brought together heads of missions, project managers of various missions, members of the headquarters and of the Board of Directors any number of them meeting for the first time. Lara Deramaix, Strategic Development Officer, fills us in on the goals: «to agree on a global development strategy of the organisation, to develop a work plan to conduct more relevant, more effective and more coherent action and to set our project on solid foundations» Throughout the week, internal and external experts led the different interactive workshops, offering a true exercise in introspection: How to improve the work of ASF? What are our strengths and weaknesses? How can we reinforce our action? What is the impact of our activities and interventions in the field? What expertise should our organisation develop and promote? ASF has many options to reach its global development strategy goals: improve links with our fellow lawyers continue to give legal aid by improving existing legislative and legal systems adopt new work techniques and a new division of labour improve the decision-making procedures within the organisation To be continued 2 Workshop by Lara Deramaix

4 Intervention of Zarir Merat at a conference in Montreal ASF was invited to share its expertise at a public conference organised in Montreal by the Development and Peace Organisation from the 2nd to 5th of March. The theme of the conference was International justice and genocide in Rwanda: first assessment and lessons learned. Zarir Merat, head of mission in Rwanda spoke of his observation work of the trials conducted by ASF for several years before the Gacaca-jurisdictions and classic tribunals. Rwanda : ASF was allowed exceptionally to appoint a lawyer for Byuma ASF appointed a lawyer for the defence of François- Xavier Byuma, intellectual, fierce supporter of human rights and former first Vice-President of the LDGL (Great Lakes Human Rights League). François-Xavier Byuma challenged an Inyangamugayo (a Gacaca-jurisdictions judge) with allegations of raping a 17-year-old girl. In return, Byuma himself was accused of participation to genocide and was found guilty by the very same Inyangamugayo he challenged. His appeal trial was particularly covered in the media and the authorities granted him the exceptional right to be defended by a lawyer. This is an exception to the procedural rules of the Gacaca jurisdictions. The presence of a lawyer, however, did not have the desired effect, as, after a very controversial trial, François-Xavier Byuma s sentence was confirmed. No new appeal is possible. 3 Zarir Merat ASF François-Xavier Byuma

5 The «Biyoyo» case or the ineffectiveness of a judicial decision in the DRC The use of DNA tests in judiciary procedures for sexual violence 4 In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), people have recently broken the silence and started to speak out against impunity. The press release of the ASF permanent mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo about the Biyoyo case comes as confirmation. Among the first leaders of the insurrectional movement FSP (Front Social pour le Progrès), Jean-Pierre Biyoyo is responsible for numerous crimes. He was convicted in (for the recruitment and enrolment of children in armed groups) to be expelled from the army and to the death penalty, by a garrison military court and the military Court of Bukavu. These decisions constituted exceptional case law. However, the accused continued to be in the news as he managed to escape on several occasions. At the time these lines are written, Biyoyo is still running free and his victims cannot forget the crimes they have suffered, while they know that the perpetrator is still out there. Such news deeply shocks ASF which takes the opportunity to state again that a judiciary system which is not able to ensure the effectiveness of its decisions is unworthy of the unconditional trust granted to it by its population. Mandated by ASF, the Colonel Toussaint Muntazini Mukimapa (General Lawyer to the High Military Court of DRC) and the Doctor Angelo Abati (forensic scientist and Belgian expert) have completed a study on the potential use of DNA in judiciary procedures for sexual violence. The two experts came to the conclusion that conducting DNA tests would be an effective (but very expensive!) way of fighting impunity. A pilot project could be put in place quite rapidly, but the final project would require financial and human resources (specialists, medical staff, assistance to the victims ) and the development of infrastructure (in particular to accommodate victims and rapidly collect samples). Congolese women in a medical center in Goma, DRC, 2006, AFP, José Cendron

6 Volunteers at ASF The team of the Brussels headquarters of ASF regularly receives the help of a team of dynamic and motivated volunteers. Their tasks can include: to maintain the library and archives, inputing data, performing translations, drafting the newsletter, organisation of workshops... Here is the testimony of Franciska Bangisa who has been helping us for a couple of months: I applied to join ASF because I am very interested in the values defended by the organisation, such as the access to justice for the oppressed populations. Also, when I was taking exams it was during the Rwandan genocide trial in front of the criminal court; I managed to follow the developments through the summaries on your website. As a law student (1st Master - orientation public law) I found this experience very rewarding in human terms. It also allows me to discover the backstage of an NGO. It was quite impressive to meet with your on-the-ground teams during the week of the strategic workshop and I have been happily surprised to see how nice and accessible all your staff was. We take the opportunity to thank all the volunteers who regularly help us: Melanie Adriaenssens, Franciska Bangisa, Sophie Bassi, Tiphaine Bessière, Wouter Bosteels, Hind Boughedaoui, Emilie Camus, Mimi Chebchoub, Anne Dehollain, Virginia Delavalle, Frédéric Ernotte, Astrid Galliot, Ali Hellem, Mathilde Larrieu, Judith Lemstra, Maria Cristina Leotta, Johanna Luykx, Sophie Mirgaux, Sylvie Parent, Sandrine Platteau, Aurore-Emmanuelle Rubio, Chiara Ruffinengo, Magali Sasse, Irene Schillings, Alexandra Strang, Gisèle Van Antwerpen, Ann Vlaminckx, Issa Willo. Hoping we didn t forget anyone! Do you also have a couple of hours of free time to help us out from time to time? Send an to sdegee@asf.be. The Globalisation & Justice program on tour in Belgium The touring exhibition ROOM for JUSTICE has been warmly welcomed in Belgium in the Courthouses of Antwerp, Bruges, Liege, and now in Charleroi until 3 August. Some workshops have also been organised on the theme Justice in a globalised economy: a challenge for the lawyer. Some experts like Claes Cronstedt (Swedish lawyer and member of the International Commission of Jurists), Laurent Arnauts (lawyer in the Modrikamen firm), Luc Walleyn (lawyer in front of the ICC and member of the Administration Council of ASF), Carl Bevernage (president of the CSR working group in the CCBE), Sébastien Ryelandt (lawyer at Clifford Chance and expert on collective actions) proposed some interventions on the civil and criminal liability of corporations, the collective action possibilities, etc. After Belgium, Globalisation & Justice will travel to the Netherlands, France and England, from September 2009 to March Contact : ivangisbergen@asf.be 5 Franciska Bangisa Expo ROOM for JUSTICE

7 25 June 2009 : Conference about the prevention of torture The ASF Conference on The role of the Legal Profession in Combating Torture held on June 25th in Brussels, attracted 102 participants, 40% of which were lawyers and 20% NGOs such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Coalition for the ICC and the IRCT. Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture did us the honour of delivering the keynote address. Jamil Dakwar, from the American Civil Liberties Union and Theo van Boven, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, were also present. We are confident that the many contacts made at the Conference will help us strengthen our collaboration with partners and potential ASF members and donors. With this conference, we took an important step toward global ASF visibility and credibility, which will help highlight the remarkable work of our missions toward the protection of vulnerable groups. orde van vlaamse balies 6 ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophones 102 participants

8 Avocats Sans Frontières asbl Rue de Namur 72 be Brussels tel fax info@asf.be Thanks to your support, Avocats Sans Frontières is able to implement its projects in the field. A donation to ASF contributes to a fairer world. Your commitment makes all the difference! Avocats Sans Frontières Account n : IBAN : be BIC-code : BBRUBEBB Mention: Gift Coordination: Franciska Bangisa, Séverine Degée, Philip Springuel Graphic design: Johan.Duyck@vormen.be Translations: Johanna Luyck, Sophie Mirgaux, Sandrine Platteau, Ann Vlaminck Cover: Training of community leaders in Soroti (Uganda) Responsible editor: Francesca Boniotti Rue de Namur 72 be Bruxelles with support from