LEGAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS COMPLETE REVIEW OF DRAFT LAWS FOR POST-CONFLICT STATES

March 17, 2004




Legal and human rights experts meeting in Galway, Ireland, have concluded work on groundbreaking draft legislation to help countries emerging from armed conflict rebuild their justice systems.

The draft laws at the heart of the project, a Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, are designed to be used by peace support missions and transitional administrations. Model statutes dealing with police powers and detention also form part of the materials. The set of draft laws is expected to be presented to the international community in the autumn following regional consultations in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The drafts give life to a recommendation made in a report to the United Nations Secretary General prepared in 2000, under the direction of Lakhdar Brahimi, on the reform of UN peacekeeping operations. They are based on a cross-cultural model that builds upon internationally recognised standards and experiences from UN peacekeeping operations, are intended to be flexible so as to meet local circumstances effectively. In addition, they are a tool that actors involved in interim criminal law reform may draw upon to fill critical gaps in legislation.

The Galway gathering was the second round of consultations on the draft laws, developed by the United States Institute for Peace in partnership with the Irish Centre for Human Rights. It followed a meeting of experts sponsored by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva in June 2003. On that occasion 80 practitioners and scholars from 24 countries reviewed the draft laws and provided substantive comments. Since Geneva, a further 40 international experts have been consulted and invited to provide comments on the draft laws.

In September 2004, OHCHR will sponsor a workshop to review relevant rule-of-law policy tools for post-conflict states . One of these tools will be a guide explaining the underlying standards and principles for the legal provisions incorporated in the codes, a summary of the provisions as well as practical tools to aid in understanding and applying the laws.

For more information, contact OHCHR, +41 22 917 9213, press-info@ohchr.org