2010 Alling Frican Ampaign - A Review of the Engaging Campaign

Transcription

1 eport on the 2010 alling frican Female awyers ampaign Panel discussion in amako, Mali, including Vice president Judge Diarra, Maître Hamadi Karambé, representative Prof. Dr. steban Peralta osilla, epresentatives from WDF Mali, Maître eydou brahim Maïga, ugust P

2 able of ontents xecutive ummary 1. Project overview 2. ctivities conducted 3. ountries 4 V. Monitoring and valuation 5 V. esults chieved 5 V. onclusion and Way Forward 8 nnex 1: xample of a standard programme 9 nnex 2: valuation form 10 nnex 3: valuation of 2010 vents 11 Judge luoch addressing the legal community in airobi, Kenya; ugust P

3 xecutive ummary i. he eport on the 2010 alling frican Female awyers ampaign, which has been prepared in consultation with the nternational ar ssociation (), aims to evaluate the achievements of the project. t also provides an outline of the activities planned for 2011 within the framework of the Public nformation trategy endorsed by the ssembly of tate Parties (P) in December ii. he alling frican Female awyers project was jointly launched with the in May 2010 with the main objective of encouraging female lawyers to become involved in proceedings of the nternational riminal ourt () as ounsel and ssistants to ounsel. he initial evaluation of the campaign shows that the initiative has been extremely successful. t the beginning of the campaign, 12 frican women were on the ist of ounsel and 5 frican women were on the ist of ssistants to ounsel. fter 17 events organized in 16 countries in only seven months, the ist of ounsel now includes a total of 32 frican women, which is 8.10 percent of the persons admitted. he ist of ssistants to ounsel presently includes a total of 22 frican women, which is percent of the persons iii. iv. admitted. For both lists, all applications received from frican women have been processed and all complete applications have been decided upon. ince many applications are still incomplete, more admissions from women applicants are expected as additional information is received. n addition to its core objective, the campaign has provided a unique opportunity to reach out to the legal communities in frican countries. he campaign has also opened channels of communication which further enhance the ourt s ability to address the questions and concerns of the frican legal community. he first phase of the campaign, which ended in December 2010, focussed on frica. lthough significant progress was made, much more remains to be done, not only because increasing the number of frican female lawyers remains a priority, but also because of the importance of keeping the frican legal community engaged. v. n light of the positive impact evident in the initial evaluation and given that the campaign is in line with the Public nformation trategy, it will be extended through P/9/29 1

4 eport on the 2010 alling frican Female awyers ampaign. Project overview 1. he alling frican Female awyers project, initiated as a six-month campaign, was jointly launched in May 2010 during a press conference held at the seat of the ourt in concert with the. he Public nformation and Documentation ection (PD) of the egistry led the campaign in close cooperation with the ounsel upport ection (). For the, the campaign was supported by the Monitoring and utreach Programme on the and the Human ights nstitute. he initiative mainly aimed at increasing the number of women legal professionals representing defendants and/or victims in proceedings before the ourt. egistrar ilvana rbia and Mark llis, xecutive Director of the nternational ar ssociation, at the Press conference in he Hague, etherlands; May P 2. he first phase of the campaign, which ended in December 2010, focussed on frica. he recognises the need to increase the number of female counsel from frican countries, including those with situations under investigation before the. efore the campaign started, less than 4 percent of all members of the ist of ounsel were frican women. 3. n addition to increasing the number of female counsel on both the ist of ounsel and of ssistants to ounsel, the campaign was also expected to help identify weaknesses in the current application process. n particular, it was hoped to identify possible reasons for the low number of applications received from eligible women lawyers as well as to identify aspects of the application process that may be improved. 4. further aim of the campaign was to raise awareness about the and increase the understanding of its work and mandate among key legal constituencies such as national and regional bar associations. 5. Finally, the campaign was envisaged as a unique opportunity to establish and strengthen networks within the frican legal community nformational and promotional materials were produced including a guide for applicants, a poster, a flyer, a leaflet, a promotional video and a campaign specific webpage, n the matter of a few clicks of a mouse, interested applicants can easily begin the application process thanks to this user-friendly webpage that clearly sets out relevant information and makes all necessary forms available to download. his webpage, which is linked to the s and s official website, also contains informational videos, photos and a calendar of events. y making the application process more accessible and easier to follow, these materials have contributed to increase the overall transparency of the application process. t is also important to note that these materials, which were developed with the campaign in mind, represent an important improvement that benefits all applicants.

5 . ctivities conducted 7. his campaign is an excellent example of what can be achieved in a collaborative spirit with the and external partners synergizing to attain a common goal. t is coordinated by the ourt in very close cooperation with the and frican national and regional bar associations. 8. he modus operandi of the campaign is as follows: contact with the local bar association is made through the or through contacts available to the ourt. nformation sessions are then organised and held in partnership with national bar associations and, where possible, with relevant women s organisations such as the nternational Federation of Women awyers (FD). ocal partners promote events to their membership and provide a venue at their premises as well as logistical support. 9. he ourt contributes by funding the participation of a senior representative in the majority of the cases, an frican female judge as well as a representative from. n few occasions, representatives of the also attended. he also bears the cost of printing and shipping relevant materials. 10. ach session includes a presentation by the senior representative and the representative and - when in attendance - by the epresentative. 2 he elected official, whose presence raises the profile of the event, gives a keynote address. he staff member then provides general information about the ourt, its mandate, and its current activities. Detailed information about the application process for the ist of ounsel and ist of ssistants to ounsel follows. ypically, these presentations are preceded by introductory remarks given by representatives from the partner institution(s) that have assisted with organising and hosting the event. Mr ebogo ebego, hairman, aw ociety of otswana; Judge Monageng; Mr ebogo Moipolai, of the aw ociety; Ms Yvonne hilume, Vice hairman, aw ociety; Gaborone, otswana; ctober, P 11. Where possible, a lawyer from the country hosting the event and admitted to the ist of ounsel is invited to speak. hey typically share their experience applying for admission to the ist as well as working at the ourt. 12. omprehensive information kits that include documents specifically developed for the campaign as well as background documents, such as the ome tatute and the ode of Professional onduct for ounsel are distributed to event participants. 2 n example of a standard programme is attached (nnex 1). 3

6 . ountries 13. etween May and December 2010, 17 events were organised in 16 countries: 1. he Hague, he etherlands (Press onference) 2. ondon, United Kingdom 3. Paris, France 4. Kampala, Uganda 5. Johannesburg, outh frica 6. airobi, Kenya 7. Kaduna, igeria 8. buja, igeria 9. Dar es alaam, anzania 10. amale, Ghana 11. ubumbashi, the Democratic epublic of the ongo 12. angui, the entral frican epublic 13. amako, Mali 14. Vancouver, anada 15. Gaborone, otswana 16. Dakar, enegal 17. russels, elgium 14. n addition, participants of nternational riminal aw conferences or legal education sessions organised by our partners received informational material in: -ome, taly -Geneva, witzerland -Harare, Zimbabwe 15. Finally, in order to reach out to female lawyers admitted to the nternational riminal ribunal for wanda s ule-45 ist, the egistry has been contacted to obtain their contact details. nce this information is received, the ourt will invite these lawyers to apply for admission to the ist of ounsel. Participants of the information session in airobi, Kenya; ugust P 4

7 V. Monitoring and valuation ign-up sheets and evaluation forms were distributed to participants at each event. his enabled the ourt to receive immediate feedback on the event and to ensure the necessary follow-up with interested future applicants. 17. hroughout the campaign, audience generated questions and comments were compiled and used to identify ways to improve the events. n example from an early stage of the campaign was the confusion concerning the term ssistant to ounsel. Questions from participants revealed that in some countries, terms such as legal assistant are used for individuals who are assigned merely clerical or administrative tasks. dapting the presentation to clarify the role and highlight the responsibilities of ssistants to ounsel at the avoided misconceptions that may have prevented suitable candidates from applying. ther questions asked during the sessions raised policy issues. For instance, a recurring question was whether lawyers must possess the requisite 10 years experience in criminal proceedings. ome suggested that the ourt s legal texts should be amended to permit the creation of a separate ist for legal representatives of victims that would have its own criteria for admission. ll questions and concerns were addressed and will be considered for the final evaluation. Judge Kuenyehia, addressing the legal community in amale, Ghana; eptember P V. esults chieved 18. he first evaluation of the campaign shows that it has been extremely successful. ccording to data collected during the events, 69 percent of the participants were, in principle, interested in applying to the ist of ounsel or the ist of ssistants to ounsel. s less than a year has passed since the campaign was first launched, new applications are expected to continue at an elevated rate in the coming months. xperience shows that the application process takes a considerable amount of time, particularly due to the fact that the applicants must compile and submit all of the required documents, some of which are issued by national authorities, adding to the time required for assembling a complete application. However, very encouraging initial results can be advanced: 3 ample valuation form (nnex 2) and valuation esults (nnex 3) attached. 5

8 19. t the beginning of the campaign, only 12 frican women were in the ist of ounsel representing 3.58 percent of the total number of persons admitted to the ist. fter 17 events organized in 16 countries in only seven months, the ourt received applications from 40 women, 20 of whom have already been admitted. he campaign seems to also have had the side effect of encouraging men to apply, as 19 frican men have submitted their applications since the start of the campaign. he ist now includes a total of 32 frican women, which is 8.10 percent of the 395 persons admitted. ll complete applications have been decided upon, but many others are still incomplete. herefore, more admissions from women applicants are expected. 20. egarding the ist of ssistants to ounsel, the initial situation was slightly different, with 5 frican women, representing 7.94 percent of 63 persons admitted. o date, 37 applications from frican women have been received and 17 of these women have been admitted. he ist presently includes a total of 22 frican women, which is percent of the 99 persons admitted. s was the case with the ist of ounsel all complete applications have been decided upon. ince many applications are still incomplete, more admissions from women applicants are expected. n addition, since the start of the campaign, there has been an increase in the number of applications from frican men. 21. n addition to the core objective of encouraging female lawyers to get involved in proceedings as ounsel and ssistants to ounsel, the campaign provided a unique opportunity to reach out to the legal community in frican countries and to strengthen the network of frican lawyers. he following figures illustrate the impact in more concrete terms: over 1000 lawyers attended 17 information sessions, 1146 information kits were distributed; and 1118 lawyers requested and are now receiving information from the ourt on a weekly basis. t the organisational level, more than 20 frican national, regional or female bar associations have fully engaged in the coordination and realisation of events. Participants studying the material of the nformation kits in amako, Mali; ugust P he campaign has also opened new channels of communication to increase knowledge about the ourt and address the questions and concerns of the frican egal community on the, its work, mandate and current activities. he event had a good impact in terms of increasing their knowledge of the for 51 percent of attendees who responded to the evaluation form. n additional 24 percent said the event s impact was strong (see nnex 3). Furthermore, representatives answered many questions related to the ourt s work and mandate and addressed many of the participants doubts. Data collected through the evaluation forms distributed during the events shows that 96 percent of the respondents would share information received with other colleagues. his multiplies the effect of information dissemination.

9 23. n cooperation with the, a further evaluation of the campaign will take place in the course of he evaluation forms submitted at the events will enable the identification of the number of applicants planning to apply and the reasons why some would not apply. Data collected will permit the comparison of the number of applications to the number of admissions.. nalysis of the data collected will also help to identify problems faced by the lawyers during the application process and address them in the most appropriate way. enoni attorney P Moloto; Judge sereko; am hoamanesh, ounsel upport ection ; aw ociety of outh frica aj Daya; and Field utreach oordinator Maria Mabinty Kamara; Johannesburg, outh frica; July P 7

10 V. onclusion and Way Forward 24. he first phase of the campaign ended in December lthough significant progress was made, more remains to be done, not only because increasing the number of frican female lawyers remains a priority, but also because of the importance of keeping the frican legal community engaged. 25. he second phase of the project, which will continue through 2011 with the support of the, prioritizes initiatives, which are consistent with the objectives defined in the Public nformation trategy endorsed by the P in December ccordingly, the 2011 phase of the campaign has four key elements: 26. First, the campaign is scheduled to see launches in three frican countries where it has not yet been officially launched: ameroon, had and wanda. 27. econd, in countries where the campaign was successfully launched last year, further events are expected to be held in a different city or region. s a follow up to the airobi launch, information sessions are planned in Kenya s ift Valley to invite female lawyers to apply to the ist of ounsel and the ist of ssistants to ounsel. n outh frica, the city of Durban has been chosen as a follow-up to the launch in Johannesburg since it has the highest percentage of women practitioners in the country. 28. ext, the campaign aims to capitalise on the congregation of hundreds of legal professionals at the annual meetings of regional law societies. hese events offer a unique opportunity to engage female lawyers from a number of different countries at a single locale. nformation sessions will be coordinated with the meetings of the outhern frican Development ommunity awyers ssociation; the ast frica aw ociety; and the West frican aw ociety. 29. Finally, addressing the questions and concerns of the frican legal community remains a priority for the ourt. o that end, elected officials or staff members plan to participate in events on international justice or on the, organised by partners, in countries where the campaign was successfully launched last year, such us Uganda, igeria and enegal. Participants to the information session in Gaborone, otswana; ctober P 8 4 -P/9/29

11 nnex 1: xample of a standard programme nnex 1: xample of a standard programme Day, Month, Year, ime vent ocation 2:00 General introduction to the event epresentative from partner institution(s) 2:10 Keynote speech lected official, typically an Judge 2:20 rief presentation on the and overview of the application process to the ist of ounsel and ist of ssistant to ounsel epresentative from the ounsel upport ection, 2:35 Presentation on the experience of being a member of the ist of ounsel ounsel admitted to the ist of ounsel from the host country 2:55 Q& session 3:30 nd of the event

12 nnex 2 nnex 2: valuation form valuation Form Female ounsel ampaign 1. Was the information on the application process presented in a clear, understandable way? Yes o ould be improved 2. How satisfied were you with the information provided in the information kits distributed? Very satisfied atisfied ot satisfied 3. Would you share the information received at the event with other colleagues? Yes o 4. How satisfied were you with the initiative of the to organize this event? Very satisfied atisfied ot satisfied 5. Please indicate your knowledge about the before attending this event: was not aware of the existence of the had average knowledge of the mandate, jurisdiction and the work of the had deep knowledge of the work of the 6. How much impact did this event have on increasing your knowledge about the? o impact ome impact Good impact trong impact 7. re you planning to apply for the ist of ounsel? Yes o f not, please specify why: 8. Please indicate your gender: Female Male 9. Please indicate your age range: Please indicate your current professional activity: awyer Prosecutor Judge/Magistrate Professor ther (please specify) Please feel free to give your comments or suggestions: hank you for taking the time to complete our feedback form. We value your feedback. Your comments will help us identify ways to improve our events, materials and the application process generally. Please note that any feedback you provide will only be used for the purposes of improving our services and not affect your application to the list counsel or list of assistants to counsel in any way. 10

13 nnex 3: valuation of 2010 vents valuation of 2010 vents 1. Was the information on the application process presented in a clear, understandable way? 1% 13% Yes o ould be improved 86% 2. How satisfied were you with the information provided in the information kits distributed? 4% 16% 31% Very satisfied atisfied ot satisfied n/a 49% 11

14 valuation of 2010 vents 3. Would you share the information received at the event with other colleagues? 2% 2% Yes o n/a 96% 4. How satisfied were you with the iniative of the to organise this event? 1% 3% 37% 59% Very satisfied atisfied ot satisfied n/a 12

15 valuation of 2010 vents 5. Please indicate your knowledge of the before attending the event: was not aware of the existance of the 15% 2% 5% had average knowledge of the mandate, jurisdiction and the work of the had deep knowledge of the work of the 78% n/a 6. How much impact did this event have on increasing your knowledge about the? 24% 4% 2% 19% o impact ome impact Good impact trong impact n/a 51% 13

16 valuation of 2010 vents 7. re you planning to apply for the ist of ounsel? 27% 4% Yes o n/a 69% 8. Please indicate your gender 19% 2% Female Male n/a 79% 14

17 valuation of 2010 vents 9. Please indicate your age range 14% 0% 42% % 10. Please indicate your current professional activity 2% 9% 0% 5% 3% 81% awyer Prosecutor Judge Professor ther n/a 15