IRLI Legal Consultant - Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions

Access to Justice Programme Malawi

By Aoife Lawlor

*Content warning: violence against women, child cruelty, and genital mutilation*

IRLI's Tanzania programme is aimed at providing access to justice to victims of child sexual abuse - building on Ireland's experience of investigating and prosecuting such matters. While Ireland has general expertise in CSA matters, this is not the case for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a practice which is more common in Tanzania. IRLI is monitoring the most recent developments in this Irish case. 

As part of our programme in Malawi, we organise trainings for magistrates, which includes sentencing guidelines. Over the coming months, we will be profiling some of the magistrates that have taken part in our trainings. First up, Cecilia Lettiena Onsewa.

We’re holding an online event in May, with Conor Linehan of William Fry, Catherine Donnelly SC of the Bar Council of Ireland & Raphael J. Heffron of Dundee University.

In the latest in our series profiling Irish and Northern Irish Lawyers who have worked abroad, we spoke with Fergal Gaynor, who has worked at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), represented victims before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and investigated crimes in Syria and Myanmar. He is currently working as the Reserve Chief Prosecutor at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts in Cambodia, commonly known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, and has recently been appointed as a Judge at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. Fergal is Irish, born in Malawi.

By Jessica O'Neill

By Andrea Vizsolyi

We're kicking off a series, profiling Irish and Northern Irish lawyers who have worked abroad or are working abroad. First up: Irish Solicitor, Patricia Gannon from Boyle, Co. Roscommon, who originally worked as a practitioner and eventually as founder/partner in the largest law firm in the Balkans. She is now an entrepreneur and social connector, running Gannon Advisory – an holistic strategic advisory business.

By Éilis Brennan

By Lindiwe Sibande

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an immense shock to societies and economies globally. In more recent months, as a second more severe wave has affected more low-income countries, pre-existing strains on resources and gaps in institutional capacity have further been exacerbated. This article discusses the impact that COVID-19 has had on children in Malawi and further illustrates the additional impact faced by children in conflict with the law.