A five-day seminar on national and international law...

A five-day seminar on national and international law opened in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, a country traumatised by years of inter-ethnic conflict.
Financed by the EC and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participants were to examine issues such as traditional African ways to end conflicts; transitional justice - the impact of a truth and reconciliation commission on a society in conflict; the role of NGOs in such a commission; various forms of compensation for victims of rights abuses; the death penalty; and respect for human rights.
The seminar - organised by the Burundian League of Human Rights, ITEKA, and the International Federation of human Rights - brought together some 50 politicians, human rights practitioners and members of civil society.