A delegation of the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) today successfully concluded a three-day official visit to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania.

During the visit the delegation led by the Court’s President Honourable Justice Awa Nana Daboya held talks with several senior officials of the Tribunal including the ICTR Vice-President Judge Florence Rita Arrey, the Prosecutor Mr. Hassan Bubacar Jallow and the Registrar Mr. Adama Dieng.

The talks centred on cooperation between the ICTR and the 15 Member States ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria. Areas of interest include general case management procedures, court reporting, electronic records keeping, video-conferencing, electronic filing of court documents, interpretation and translation services.

The delegation, which was composed of Mr. Tony Anene Maidoh, the Chief Registrar, Mr. Eric Akuété, the Chief of Protocol, Mr. Bane Abdoulaye, Research Officer, and Mr. Frédéric Drabo, Chief of Information Technology (IT), also took time to visit the UN Detention Facility where it was briefed on its operations.

Speaking at the end the visit, Justice Daboya expressed gratitude to the ICTR for giving her and her delegation the opportunity to learn the best practices acquired by the Tribunal in its many years of operation. She also commended the Tribunal for its outstanding contribution in combating the culture of impunity in the region and in Africa.

Justice Daboya added that following the visit, the two institutions, which share among others the noble objectives of human rights protection, were now looking into how best to establish a conducive and mutually beneficial framework of cooperation.

The visit is the first of its kind from a major sub-regional court of justice, which has been at the forefront of human rights protection and in the development of a robust jurisprudence in the field of international humanitarian law in Africa. The visit will help the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice to take stock of lessons learned and the best practices developed by the ICTR.