A special training program for Lawyers from Africa, on issues of preventing Genocide atrocities is expected to be conducted in the United States sometime in December 2024.
This follows the recent partnership inked between the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), which operates from Arusha, Tanzania and the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG).
The United Nations (UN) Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG) is responsible for advancing national, regional and international efforts aimed at protecting populations from genocide and related crimes.
The signed Strategic Partnership between the Pan-African Lawyers Union and the OSAPG, also targets to Strengthen Genocide Prevention and Transitional Justice in Africa.
These include war crimes and crimes against humanity as well as their incitement and catalyst.
As for its mandate, the special Adviser acts as a catalyst to raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide, to alert relevant actors where there is a risk of genocide and to advocate and mobilize for appropriate action.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Pan African Lawyers Union and the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide was signed at the OSAPG’s office in New York on last September.
The official agreement outlines areas of collaboration between the two institutions.
These include among other things, capacity building and knowledge sharing on the prevention of genocide and transitional justice for African lawyers.
East Africa experienced horrid genocide which occurred in Rwanda in 1994 killing nearly 1000 and resulting in the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal which operated in Arusha for over ten years culminating in the UN Residual Mechanism also based in Tanzania.
An official statement from PALU in Arusha reveals that the partnership between the two organizations culminated with the inception of a pilot training programme for African lawyers scheduled for December 2024, either in New York or Tanzania.
“PALU welcomes this collaboration and looks forward to a fruitful partnership with the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, furthering its mission to develop the legal profession and promote the rule of law in Africa,” reads part of the statement.