Africa: July/Aug '07

This month our stories on Darfur have been extensively republished in print media all over the world.



For instance, one analysis on whether drawings by children in Darfur should be submitted as evidence before the International Criminal Court, ICC, was taken up by international media such as the UN’s ReliefWeb and notable African publications like Business Daily in Nairobi.



The Coalition for the International Criminal Court, CICC, a global network of NGOs working as a watchdog for the new world court, have approached us to write a front-page feature on Japan’s new place in international justice.



Anaga Dalal, from the coalition said, “The CICC heavily relies upon the excellent, thorough and always cutting-edge reporting of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.



“The Institute's frequent and in-depth reporting about the current situations before the ICC in Darfur, Sudan, Northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic provide invaluable insight for our more than 2,500 members who are closely following the work of the ICC.



“IWPR fills a crucial gap in the coverage of international news by writing feature stories that go beyond the headlines and accurately represent the complex interplay between government, civil society and international institutions.”



We have also been hosting a Ugandan intern called Samuel Egadu, from Gulu in the north of Uganda, this month. As well as contributing to IWPR output, Samuel is writing for Uganda’s Daily Monitor newspaper.



His internship with IWPR in The Hague is designed to give him access to key players in the international justice arena and the chance to interview those he would not ordinarily have the chance to contact.



Already, he has been approached by institutions such as Human Rights Watch for his opinions and insights, and his work for IWPR has been republished in newspapers in Uganda.



This month, the Hague team has had several meetings with ICC staff and have managed to secure the participation of senior decision makers at our upcoming roundtable discussion entitled Darfur: Voices from the Ground.



For the round table and associated special report, we have also been working with our partners Radio Netherlands to reach as many Darfuris as possible.



With the help of journalists from their Arabic service, the global broadcasters Radio Netherlands have been conducting interviews with Arabic-only speakers in camps for internally displaced people in the region.



We have also been striving to contact local journalists in the Darfur region, and Khartoum, to supply them with news and analysis about the work of the ICC, and to gather their thoughts on the issue.



In order for all our stories to reach Arabic-speaking journalists, we have hired an Arabic translator. She will work alongside the French translator we already have on board. Now, many of our features will be available in English, French and Arabic.