Outreach

 
Outreach means constructive and sustainable two-way interaction between international courts and tribunals and communities affected by specific situations under investigation or prosecution, to promote understanding of and support for the judicial process at various stages; to clarify misperceptions and misunderstandings; and to enable affected communities to follow trials.
 
NPWJ has developed considerable experience in designing and implementing outreach programs, in particular on the Special Court for Sierra Leone since 2001, and has been at the forefront of advocacy initiatives for an effective, efficient and comprehensive outreach strategy at the International Criminal Court, including through its leadership of the Communications Team of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC).
 
NPWJ believes that outreach is vital to the full implementation of the principle of complementarity under the Rome Statute of the ICC, since it permits stakeholders, in particular the people affected by the conflicts under investigation by the ICC, to be informed of the judicial process. NPWJ therefore undertakes activities to support the ICC’s outreach and public information strategies, and to boost the level of understanding and acceptance of international criminal justice among various constituencies, including States, Parliaments, civil society and people directly affected by its work. Similarly, NPWJ aims to build the capacity of local actors, both State and civil society, to undertake outreach on international and transitional justice issues.

Related activities: