Congo/ Justice: actors in the criminal justice system trained to respect the rights of juvenile offenders

The Réseau des intervenants sur le phénomène des enfants en rupture (Reiper) recently organized a special training session in Brazzaville for magistrates, lawyers, judicial police officers, prison administration officers, central intelligence officers and civil society players, on respecting procedures for arresting and detaining children in conflict with the law.

A total of 50 players in the criminal justice system took part in two training sessions run by "Avocats sans frontières France", on behalf of Reiper. These modules rounded off a cycle of four training sessions held in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, for a total of one hundred actors trained.

The aim of the training is to reinforce the professional skills of those involved in the criminal justice system in terms of respecting the procedure for apprehending minors in conflict with the law, and the time limits for their custody. These include magistrates, public prosecutors, juvenile judges, judicial police officers, central intelligence officers, civil society players and prison staff.

For three days, participants were taught how to assimilate the content of universal standards for the protection of the rights of minors in conflict with the law in the Congo. These training sessions will enable those involved in the criminal justice system to deal professionally with the issue of the violation of the rights of minors in conflict with the law in the exercise of their profession.

Eventually, resolutions will be adopted to improve detention conditions throughout the criminal justice process. The aim is to enable those involved in the criminal justice system to adopt universal practices that respect the rights of minors in conflict with the law, as well as those in vulnerable situations.

For the participants, the holding of this training session augurs hope for a justice system that respects the rights of children who have broken the law.

"This training was an opportunity for fruitful exchanges, as it enabled us to share our experiences in respecting the rights of minors. We work at different levels of criminal procedure, so it was important for each of us to get an idea of the work being done by the other players involved at their respective levels of responsibility.Dimi Nianga-Dzo, magistrate and deputy public prosecutor at the Brazzaville Court of Appeal.

Created in 2003, Reiper is a non-profit association whose aim is to protect children by pooling the network's practices and know-how, to improve the ongoing training of social workers, and to raise awareness and lobby the Congolese population and public authorities. Every year, the network cares for almost 900 vulnerable children.

Source: www.adiac-congo.com/