In the pursuit of founding an ground-breaking platform for
law students from Kurdistan universities to familiarize themselves with the
dimensions of international law and contemporary growths in strengthening the
role of law and consolidating justice as a shared future and cultural duty
among law students in Kurdistan universities, as well as to address pressing
crises, the KCIL, within the framework of justice resilience project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), the project is implemented by the KCIL and funded by Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA) via the German Federal Foreign Office, organized rule of law camp
in Sulaymaniyah Governorate from August 4-8, 2024, for 16 students from
Kurdistan Region universities, including Soran University, Salahaddin
University, University of Sulaimani, and Halabja University.
The first day embarked with an introduction to the overreaching
objectives of the aforementioned project, outlining the students' roles within
it through petitionary grant making projects and formulating their ideas that
serve their communities. This was facilitated by providing financial support
within the project framework for initiatives that involve all the potentials of
such backing. Markedly, as part of this section of the school, students were
guided in subsequent days by the KCIL trainer, Shanya Mohammed, to prepare
their projects according to specified criteria. In the following session, Dr.
Mohammed Rashid acquainted students with the dimensions of international
criminal law and its reflection in domestic laws. The first day concluded with
an introduction session to international humanitarian law and its status in
Iraq and the KRI, delivered by Mr. Hoshyar Mustafa, Director of the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Sulaymaniyah province.
The second day of the school focused on international
criminal law. Firstly, Judge Rizgar Hama-Amin delivered a session on the
implementation of international criminal law in Iraq and the trial of Saddam
Hussein. Subsequently, Dr. Soran Barzinji, Legal Advisor to the Kurdistan
Parliament, highlighted the Kurdistan Parliament's endeavours to establish a special
tribunal for prosecution of international crimes committed by ISIS. The final
lecture was delivered by Dr. Shiraz Ibrahim on the importance of domesticating
international criminal law for Kurdistan. Remarkably, the final activity of the
second day involved organizing an educational field trip to watch a film about
the hiding of the former regime's dictator (Saddam Hussein), allowing students
to better understand the painful past those citizens endured and the oppression
they suffered under the leadership of the regime that ruled Iraq.
The third day began with a visit to the Amna Suraka
National Museum. During this visit, students were exposed to the essence of the
oppression by the former Iraqi regime through viewing the prison and museums
dedicated to the Anfal genocide and the mass exodus of Kurds in 1991 and ISIS
crimes. Following this visit and a brief recess, Dr. Ebad Rouhi presented on
war crimes, then Dr. Awara Hussein shed light on the judicial authority of the
International Criminal Court, Ms. Banoo Abdulrahman, a member of the UNITAD
team, discussed UNITAD's work and activities, and the final lecture was given
by Judge Dr. Sardar Aziz on the flaws and shortcomings in implementing the
counter-terrorism law for international crimes.
The fourth day of the school was dedicated to make
acquainted students with international criminal law and capital crimes such as
genocide and mass killings. At first, Mr. Hawre Ahmed presented on the crime of
genocide in international laws and its courts for attaining justice for victims.
Then, Mr. Mohammed Nasih highlighted the importance of memory in preventing
international crimes. Additionally, Mr. Dilshad Hamid Darwesh discussed
minority rights in international law, Mr. Hassan Jamal the coordinator of just reparation delivered a session on reparation of core crimes in Iraq. The final session was delivered by Dr.
Shaho Ahmed, focused on the status of international treaties and conventions in
the Iraqi constitution.
On the final day of the summer school, a concluding
assessment was conducted for the projects prepared by the students within the
school's framework, overseen by a specialized committee from the KCIL under the
supervision of Dr. Ebad Rouhi. Primarily, each university presented its
project, after which the project "Awareness of Ecocide According to the
Dimensions of International Laws" was selected as the students' preferred
project for implementation within the framework of the mentioned project which
led by KCIL. Following this activity, students were awarded certificates of
participation, and the summer school concluded productively with a photo group
of participants.