The winners of the first francophone regional moot court competition on international humanitarian law and human rights held in Kigali from 28-30 May 2013, miss Thesée-Aurore Mabaka and Mr Jean Jacques Tshiamala from the University of Kinshasa, have obtained an ex-officio admission to the Master’s program of advanced studies in international humanitarian law and Human Rights of the Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Geneva (ADH) for the academic year 2014-2015 thanks to a very good collaboration between the Comité pour le Concours Grands Lacs (CCGL) and ADH.

This admission granted by the Director of ADH, Ms. Paola Gaeta, which includes a tuition scholarship of 15,000 Swiss francs (approximately U.S. $ 15,775) and a promise of grant to cover the cost of living in Geneva is not only an award for the outstanding performance of the winners but also a recognition of the quality and seriousness of the competition which wants to become an annual academic event in the African Great Lakes.

Indeed, from 28 to 30 May 2013, twenty-eight (28) students from public and private universities of Burundi, DRC and Rwanda shared their knowledge and arguments around a fictional case incorporating various violations of international humanitarian law and human rights that the Great Lakes region faces since the 90s. The competition was organized by the Committee for the Great Lakes Competition (Swiss-based NGO) in partnership with Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights (NGO based in Rwanda) through financial support of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, the City of Geneva and the Paul Reuter Fund and logistical support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Université Libre de Kigali (ULK).

Preparations for the next edition are already underway.