Goma, 27 June 2012 – On 26 June 2012, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) inaugurated two quick-impact projects aimed at bringing up to date the Prosecutor's Office and High Court of Goma, capital of Nord-Kivu province.

The first project will enable 36 judges deployed at Goma' Prosecutor's Office to have two containers for archive storage and a third one to use as an office. This project will also provide furniture, mostly chairs and desks, including office supplies. The second project helped to build a courtroom with enough space for 150 people and two offices for the judges of the High Court.

Djibo Abdou, Justice Support Section Coordinator, believes that "the construction of a courtroom is of particular importance as two sessions can be held at the same time and it will speed up the judgment process".

The two projects, respectively 19,000 dollars and 25,000 dollars, were covered by MONUSCO. The works were carried out by the company Artissimo.

The inauguration of these projects also coincided with the last day of a seminar on the training of judges on electoral disputes. For three days, about 30 judges debated about the issues of political election disputes, the root-causes of electoral disputes and the practical aspects of a judicial procedure. This seminar was organized by the High Judicial Council, with the support of MONUSCO.

Clara Padovan/ MONUSCO