BAMYAN - Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) members in Bamiyan centre were trained this week on criminal procedure and fair trial rights during a two-day workshop jointly conducted by IWA and UNAMA

UNAMA’s Rule of Law (RoL) unit based in Bamiyan province provided technical support to the 11-12 September workshop by designing the training package for the 18 IWA local court monitors, all without legal backgrounds.

IWA had earlier flagged the need for training its monitors, and UNAMA RoL responded by designing and implementing the training package, “having identified the IWA project as a very interesting potential for a sustainable nationally owned ‘judicial sector quality control capacity’.”

IWA’s offices in Kabul and Bamyan had agreed with UNAMA to experiment on a custom- tailored training designed for “non-lawyers” and easily understood by community members.

The workshop training held at a local hotel in Bamiyan centre “was very well received and is hoped to be a valid contribution to the IWA-administrated monitoring project,” said Michael Lackner of UNAMA-CHR RoL unit. He added that his unit’s “core interest…is the fact that the IWA monitoring project is the only nationally owned real monitoring project in the region that promises the establishment of a sustainable ‘judicial system quality control’ by a standardized monitoring routine, even if the entire concept is still in process of being established.”

NGO Legal Aid of Afghanistan (LAoA) lawyer Mr. Faizi and Shafaq Ahmadi of UNAMA RoL alternated with Mr. Lackner in giving lectures and presentations on the topic. Several moot scenarios and role play exercises were also held to demonstrate how trials should be conducted fairly. IWA Bamyan Regional Director Mr. Alippor and other members also attended and observed the training.

IWA and UNAMA Rule of Law unit plan to replicate the same type of training for IWA monitors in Yakawlang and Panjab districts of Bamiyan province.

Last year, IWA started implementing its community-based project for monitoring court trials with Bamiyan and Kapisa chosen as the model provinces. The first year was devoted to “struggling with getting access to trial rooms,” setting up community-based monitors and establishing the routine processes that enabled real trial-monitoring activities in the second year.”

By UNAMA Central Highlands Region