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The KCIL Arranged a Five-Day Rule of Law Camp for Law Students from Kurdistan Region Universities

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.