A number of alumni of the Master’s programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA) participated in the 17th All Africa Course on International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The course was presented at the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, from 28 January to 6 February 2020.

The course, which is an in-depth introduction to the field of IHL, focused on issues of relevance to the African continent. IHL experts attached to various academic institutions, think tanks and government departments in Southern Africa delivered presentations on traditional topics related to IHL as well as more contemporary issues such as new weapons, IHL and multinational forces. The programme also dedicated a session to providing participants an opportunity to share their research on a topic related to ‘Countering terrorist threats in Africa and IHL’.

Centre for Human Rights alumni who work in various capacities related to IHL contributed their expertise and contextual knowledge to the course. Alumni included:

Sarah Mabeza (South Africa, Class of 2008)

Sarah is the Regional Legal Advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and is responsible for the promotion of IHL in 13 Southern African countries. She was part of the organising committee for the event.

Tazorora Musarurwa (Zimbabwe, Class of 2008)

Tazoroa attended the course in his capacity as the Coach for the University of Zimbabwe’s IHL Moot Court team.

Farida Mamad (Mozambique, Class of 2009)

Farida is a lecturer at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique. She is also the Deputy Director of the Centre for Judiciary School, a position she occupies since 2018. She attended in both capacities to work on how IHL will be best incorporated at both institutions.

Michael Gyan Nyarko (Ghana, Class of 2014)

Michael, who participated as the Litigation Manager of the Centre for Human Rights, attended the course to gain more insights on a region-wide application of IHL principles on the continent.

Ulrike Khabila Mbuton (Cameroon, Class of 2017)

Ulrike works as a Protection Officer with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and was able to share insights on how her work benefits greatly from the course.

The 17th All Africa Course on International Humanitarian Law was hosted by the ICRC in collaboration with the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa (ICLA) and the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.