The 25th Anniversary of the International Association of Prosecutors
6/5/2020
The 6th of June 2020 marks the 25th Anniversary of the International Association of Prosecutors. Enclosed is the congratulations letter to the members by the IAP President Cheol-Kyu Hwang.
Dear fellow prosecutors,
It is with great pride that I write this special message to you today, the
6th of June 2020, the date of the establishment of the IAP 25 years ago in the United Nations Offices in Vienna. In that room, all those years ago, members from 11 countries formally established the IAP. To this day, our Association is the only worldwide network for prosecutors, with members from 177 countries and territories and representing over 350,000 individual prosecutors.
There has been much hard work done by the IAP to achieve this success. Over the years, the Association successfully established its presence as an internationally recognised organisation promoting the rule of law, fairness, impartiality and respect for human rights. Additionally, the IAP has been crucial in the process of fostering the international co-operation of prosecutors in their day to day work to combat crime. There can be no doubt that our collective voice is heard worldwide.
But none of this could be achieved without the involvement, support and contribution of our members, and the more members we have as an organisation the stronger our network becomes and the more we can do for each other as prosecutors. As the IAP will continue to build on our achievements and successes, I am convinced that our Association will grow and develop to an even higher level of international appreciation by the judicial world.
We would have so much enjoyed the special celebrations during the IAP Annual Conference in Athens, Greece this September. Inevitably, the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of this event. But for sure there will be another opportunity to congratulate each other later on. We intended to present “The IAP 25th Anniversary Booklet” carrying its historical accounts of the Association. Now we promise that it shall be done one way or another at a later date!
With the joy and gratitude of bringing prosecutors from all over the world together for the past 25 years, we must remember to continue raising our ambition in protecting the role of the prosecutor. Notwithstanding the present challenges of the epidemic, it is with confidence that I guarantee to all of you that the IAP is heading into the future with the greatest motivation and energy to progress and push prosecutorial standards to new heights worldwide.
I wish you and your beloved one’s health and safety until we meet again soon.
Cheers!,
Cheol-Kyu Hwang
President of the IAP