Four Burkinabè students were awarded prizes in the mock trial competition at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The speakers, in master’s degree in international law at the Thomas Sankara University of Ouagadougou faced in the final on April 6 French students from Paris Panthéon-Assas.
The objective of the competition organized, for the second year, by the Academy of International Law of The Hague, is to plead in a fictitious case which concerns international criminal law. The jury composed of ICC judges therefore awarded the first prize to the Burkinabè team. That day, she had to defend the president of a country accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
” It is the story of a baobab blamed for having been uprooted by loggers, it is the story of a lioness accused of having been killed by poachers, it is the story of a president prosecuted for to have been the victim of a coup d’etat. In courtroom number 1 of the ICC, Flora Illa’s words resonate and open a 30-minute pleading.
Put in the role of the Defense, the Burkinabè students only had a short night to prepare their arguments, says the speaker. ” We slept, but not too much. It was the first time that I entered this prestigious room. Having real judges in front of me was stressful because we didn’t want to make any mistakes. »
A week after having set foot on the soil of the ICC, the speaker Lamoussa Hien, still finds it hard to believe: ” We only see Laurent Gbagbo or Charles Blé Goudé on TV talking to the ICC, but when it concerns you personally, you are before the ICC not as a tourist. I felt like I was in a somewhat fictional world. »
Another small victory, the student Sèlomè Aitchedji received the individual prize for “best speaker”. He retains the collective pride of having brought this trophy to Ouagadougou. “ The trophy is the real star, in fact, it walks all over the place… We present it to university authorities, teachers, as well as other public figures. »
In a few days, the trophy must reach its final destination: the local awards of Thomas Sankara University.