Seminar on investigating and prosecuting international crimes in Central and West Africa

From 26 February to 2 March 2018, the PSV Network participated in a French-language seminar in Dakar, Senegal on investigating and prosecuting international crimes in Central and West Africa. Participants comprised prosecutors and investigative judges from Central African Republic and its Special Criminal Court, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Conakry, Mali, Niger and Senegal. PSV Network Co-Focal Point for Knowledge Exchange Barbara Goy integrated a session on conflict-related sexual violence. The session addressed misconceptions about conflict-related sexual violence, proving sexual violence crimes under international law, and charging strategies. Participants discussed these questions based on a fictitious case study used throughout the week in which sexual violence crimes were integrated. The seminar, organised by the Strathmore Institute of Advanced Studies on International Criminal Justice (SIASIC), was supported by the Office of the Prosecutor of the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, the Association internationale des Procureurs et Poursuivants Francophones, and the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.