National Moot Court Competition on International Humanitarian Law: Students from the University Centre of Banfora crowned champions

In addition to the trophy, the winners also left a certificate, a computer, books on international humanitarian law and an ICRC gadget. The second group of prizes included a smartphone, a book on international humanitarian law and an ICRC gadget. Urielle Sanogo won the Best Litigator Award, which included a trophy and a three-month internship at the ICRC.

Yves Anaudi, head of the ICRC delegation in Burkina Faso, stressed that there were two main reasons for launching this competition. The first was to mark the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, which he considered an ideal opportunity to promote international humanitarian law. The competition was also launched to interact with the academic community, aiming to improve students’ skills and concretize their academic work through practical promotional exercises.

He hopes that the competition will inspire lasting enthusiasm for international humanitarian law, not only in academia but also in practice, both in civil society and among the armed and security forces.

The jury foreman and attorney general of the Court of Appeal explained that the criteria for review were primarily educational.

“We evaluated the services based on the criteria previously set by the jury members. The participants’ efforts are commendable as those who finished second did not deserve it. Going forward, we recommend that the ICRC include more key characters, such as the Minister of Defense and the accused general, to enrich the simulation. This competition is a commendable initiative and we will work with the ICRC to further improve it,” said Jean Jacques Ouédraogo, President of the jury.

Noureddine Ouédraogo, a member of the winning team, expressed his joy and satisfaction, saying that this type of competition is to be welcomed as it is a good initiative that provides an opportunity to concretely apply what has been learned in class.

“We don’t have any specific strategy to win. We are who we are and our complementarity is perhaps the key to our victory. This award is a source of great pride,” he declared.

The awardee wishes to continue his studies in Public International Law, a branch that includes International Humanitarian Law.

For the record, the ICRC’s National IHL Competition is a flagship event for the dissemination of IHL in the academic community, focusing on role-playing rather than traditional pleadings. This year’s scenario was based on fictional events in Dawlad province.

To mark the 75th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the ICRC hosted a conference entitled “The 1949 Geneva Conventions: Current Events and Challenges” moderated by Dr. Zakaria Daboné, ICRC Faculty Researcher at the Nazi Boni University in Bobo-Dioulasso.

Hanifa Koussoube

Lefaso.com