Mechanism hosts finals of the ICRC’s 22nd All Africa Competition in International Humanitarian Law in Arusha, Tanzania

On Friday, 24 November 2023, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism) hosted the finals of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC) 22nd All Africa Competition in International Humanitarian Law at the Mechanism's Arusha branch, in the United Republic of Tanzania.

The moot court competition was organised as part of the ICRC’s mission to encourage greater understanding of international humanitarian law and brought together teams of undergraduate students from nine English-speaking African countries. Participants were assigned different roles in a fictional yet realistic humanitarian crisis in order for them to demonstrate their legal knowledge and expertise, in preparation for the challenges associated with working in related fields following their studies.

The finals were presided over by the President of the Mechanism, Judge Graciela Gatti Santana; Ms. Thembile Segoete, Officer in Charge (Arusha) in the Mechanism’s Office of the Prosecutor; Mr. Daniel O’Malley, Head of Regional Delegation, ICRC Nairobi; Mr. Hillary Kiboro, Legal trainer, ICRC Nairobi; and Ms. Joyce Bayachamo, Legal Adviser, ICRC Dar es Salaam. The team from The Great Zimbabwe University were the winners in this year’s competition.

In pursuit of best practices in the field of international criminal justice, the Mechanism, as well as its predecessor, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, has provided support to the annual ICRC All Africa International Humanitarian Law Competition for the past 22 years.