Outreach in the DRC: Auditorat Général of the Armed Forces - Old Partners and New Perspectives
With Patrick Tshibuyi Wa Tshibuyi
Today, I am in the office much earlier than usual. I run through my emails and deal with emergencies for I will be absent most of the day. I’ll be giving a presentation on the work of the ICC to inspectors of the military judicial police of the Auditorat Général (Military Prosecution Authority), in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From the first collaboration with the Auditorat Général, in 2017, we conducted five information sessions for senior military magistrates in several cities of the DRC.
Driving to the meeting, I remember how it all started. In 2017, the Auditeur Général (Chief Military Prosecutor) of the Armed Forces, head of the Military Prosecution Authority, asks the Country Office of the International Criminal Court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to lead an information session on the mandate and functioning of the ICC for its senior military magistrates. It was an important event for the ICC in the DRC. The Chief Military Prosecutor of the Armed Forces is the country’s highest military judicial authority, with a particular mandate to investigate and prosecute the most serious crimes.
The Country Office chief asked me to plan and lead that first session. I have been in charge of the outreach program for legal professionals for several years. To this end, I conducted information and training sessions for lawyers and magistrates, but I knew this was a different experience: for the first time, I was going to address senior magistrates of the Military Prosecution Authority.
I have been preparing my presentation for more than a week. The rule that I apply, from experience, is to follow the methodology and legal jargon as well as take into account the specific knowledge requirements of lawyers. I must admit that my university training in law helps me a great deal in interacting with this audience.
On D-Day, at the Auditorat Général of the Armed Forces, in Kinshasa, there were fifteen or so senior military magistrates in the room. They have experience in investigations and prosecution of the most serious crimes. The Director of Cabinet of the Chief Military Prosecutor, also a senior magistrate, was also to make a presentation on cooperation between the DRC and the ICC. So I was in front of an informed audience. What would their expectations be? Will I be up to the task? Seconds before the start, I focus on my notes, I take a deep breath, I begin…
This first activity was the gateway to our outreach program at the Military Prosecution Authority. The same year, at the request of the Auditeur Général, I led information sessions for the military magistrates of the prosecution in Kinshasa, Bunia, Goma, Bukavu. In 2019, the Auditorat Généralintegrated the ICC Country Office into the special training program for inspectors of the Military Judicial Police. One whole training day is dedicated to the ICC.
Outreach to legal professionals creates a link between ICC procedures and the national judicial system. It equips practitioners with precise information and empowers them to transmit this knowledge themselves. This is important because the courts at the national level have the primary role in the prosecution of crimes. The role of the ICC is complementary - it only intervenes as a last resort, only if national authorities are genuinely not able or willing to act.
This day in 2017 was anything but ordinary. It marked the start of an intense but rewarding period for me. Today, when I am invited to give a presentation to the magistrates of the various Auditorats, I am still hyper-motivated. My enthusiasm is intact, the adrenaline is rising and I go through the same steps: I focus on my notes, I take a deep breath, I begin…
