Mobile courts to try gender crime

As cases of sexual Gender based violence (SGBV) continue to rise in the region, Justice Ministers from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) have committed to set up mobile courts by December this year to expedite the trial of suspects.Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama represented Rwanda at the meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday. The meeting aimed at strategising on the implementation of decisions made by the ICGLR Heads of State Kampala last year.“The Ministers of Justice from the ICGLR member states commit to use existing institutions to organise Special Sessions, establish mobile courts by December 2012 to handle SGBV cases and allocate sufficient funds for the operationalisation of SGBV Courts and Sessions,” a communiqué obtained by The New Times yesterday said.To achieve this, the officials resolved to coordinate with their respective chief Justices, where necessary, as well as broaden the jurisdiction of relevant courts by building the capacity of staff involved in case handling to enable trial of the cases.The ministers said that they would introduce scientific based evidence in the justice system through the use of DNA technology and other effective measures as a mechanism for prevention and action against SGBV.Dr. Jean Jacques Purusi Sadiki, the Executive Assistant to the ICGLR Executive Secretary in March this year said that the ICGLR had initiated plans to set up a whistle blower mechanism through which the victim is able to receive medical treatment in just 72 hours, as the perpetrator gets apprehended to face the courts.Each of the ICGLR member state will in November this year simultaneously launch the SGBV “Zero Tolerance Now” campaign and ensure that the campaign is sustained for two years.The Ministers also tasked the ICGLR secretariat to formulate model legislations to enable domestication of different ICGLR protocols.Some of these include; the protocol on non-aggression and mutual defence, the protocol on the prevention and the suppression of sexual violence against women and children and the protocol on Judicial cooperation.

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Mobile courts to try gender crime