Matadi, 23 March 2010 - In Matadi, Bas-Congo province, from 16 to 20 March, MONUC held a training session for 27 senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), with the instruction programme focusing on military leadership, military justice and international humanitarian law.
According to the MONUC Rule of Law Section, the overall objective of this training was to educate sensitisers, senior and junior staff officers about issues regarding military justice, especially regarding the military justice system's contributing to establishing a rule of law in the DRC.
The "train the trainer" course is designed to equip those who receive the training with the ability to train other military personnel of the Bas-Congo Military Region.
Discussion areas included: the fundamental principles of military justice and how the military justice is organised and functions; the Congolese penal code, the conduct of pre-trail investigations, the conduct of criminal proceedings, and the means of review; the legal and medical and social consequences of sexual violence; and the principles of international humanitarian law.
The training was organised in collaboration with the DRC Ministry of Defence and with the support of the US Department of Defence's International Institute for Legal Studies. It was held as part of MONUC's mandated task to help in strengthening the capacity, discipline and professionalism of the FARDC throughout the DRC, and to assist in the reform of the security sector and judicial system with a view to making the FARDC more respectful of human rights, among other things. .
The senior officers who were selected by the DRC Ministry of Defence for this Train the Trainer course came from Kinshasa and Matadi.
At the end of the programme, some of the participating officers voiced their appreciation for the instruction received. Colonel Aziza Elali, a female officer, said: "This experience helped me to relearn the skills acquired throughout my career and which were somewhat forgotten over time. This was an opportunity for me to refresh my memory."
The Colonel said that thanks to this training, she has gained new insight into the functioning of international law and the proper definition of what is meant by "war crime". She expressed her hope to see such training organised every six months or once a year. Echoing that view, Captain Munzila Makonga said: "This training has opened for me new horizons in the sphere of justice."