Dear Friends and Colleagues:
IRfJ programs produced during February and March are described below and are now posted on this website with english transcripts.
IRfJ in Ituri, DRC:
IRfJ-Ituri program 61 Questions posed in this program come from Bunia and Mahagi, 180 km north of Bunia and include; When a mama who carries a baby is arrested what does the law provide for concerning the child, who also ends up in jail?; How must we refer to those groups who continue to operate in the bush? For example the FPJC, are they militiamen or rebels? The Minister for Human Rights for DRC, Mr. Upiyo Kakurawa, speaks on this program.
Débâtons pour la Justice program 11 The Subject of this program is the protection of civilians during an armed conflict. Invited guests are: The District Commissioner for Ituri; Field Officer for the High Commissioner for Refugees for the Oriental Province; Head of Protection for UNICEF in Ituri and the Antenna Chief for CNR, the National Commission for Refugees in the Oriental Province. Our program begins with the true story of a 17-year old girl who last year fled the LRA, walking over 1000 km over 10 months until she arrived in Bunia. She fled LRA controlled territory in northern Ituri after her parents were killed and her brothers had disappeared.
Justice Magazine program 6 This program outlines the rules and procedures of making a plaint with a prosecutor, and what mechanisms are in place to combat corruption in a judicial process – does it cost anything to make a plaint to the Prosecutor? What legal recourse is available if justice officials ask for bribes during a process?
IRfJ in Kivus, DRC:
IRfJ-Kasugho, program 2. Questions addressed in this program include; Does Congolese law consider witchcraft to be an offense? If so, which authorities have jurisdiction over these issues?; Which court has jurisdiction over land-conflict issues?; Why does Human Rights Watch focus on Bosco Ntaganda and does not want Nkunda extradited? Human Rights Watch Senior Researcher for the DRC Anneke Van Woudenberg speaks on this program.
Program 4 in the IRfJ-GOMA. Questions posed in this program include: Is it possible for someone to refuse to be a witness in a trial?; How does the ICC proceed to issue an international arrest warrant?; and How does the ICC act when someone commits a crime and is not a citizen of a state-party, but the crime is committed on the territory of a state-party?
IRfJ launched a new ‘Vox-Pop-for-Justice’ series in north Kivus in February which is being produced by our teams in Kasugho and Goma. The series is designed to gauge the general knowledge in target communities on the International Criminal Court and educates our audience at the same time. Citizens are asked randomly on the street basic questions about the ICC and the correct responses to our questions are given at the end of the program by high-ranking ICC officials.
IRfJ-Vox-Pop-GOMA program 1, The Questions posed for this program are:
Have you heard of Thomas Lubanga, Matthieu Ngudjolo, Germaine Katanga, Jean-Pierre Bemba or Omar El-Bashir?
Do you know what these men have in common?
ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo responds to both questions after a diverse range of citizens are questioned. We targeted people near the university, near the central market and at crowded intersections in Goma.
IRfJ-Vox-Pop-KASUGHO program 1, The Questions posed for this program are the same as noted above and ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo responds as well to both questions. In Kasugho the listeners were approached near the university, in the center market of Kasugho and in a neighboring village called Kaheri.
IRfJ in Central African Republic:
IRfJ-CAR program 5 This program features questions from Bosangoa and Boaur, including: Some parents physically abuse and/or treat their children like slaves, what are children’s rights in these instances? and Can a father sell his daughter in order to settle his debts?
IRfJ-CAR program 6 This program features questions from Berberati and Bangui, including: Many husbands beat their wives, what does the law say about this? And What can the government do to protect the rights of minors, what are the rights of minors?
IRfJ in the News:
Radio Survivor on-line magazine published an article about IRfJ on March 22, which can be found on our Press Page as well as their link:
http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2010/03/22/radios-critical-role-in-war-torn-regions-interactive-radio-for-justices-work-to-empower-citizens-in-central-africa/
IRfJ-Ituri journalist Jean Pierre Kabulabo published an article for Grotius on-line magazine about his experience covering the first week of the ICC trial against Germaine Katanga and Matthieu Ngudjolo in The Hague. The article can be found at http://www.grotius.fr/node/610 as well as on the Press Page of www.irfj.org.
Thank you for your interest in IRfJ, your comments and ideas are welcome!
Sincerely, Wanda E Hall Director and Founder Interactive Radio for Justice