Last week, GRC participated in a high-level Judicial Study Visit for Nigerian Judges to the Hague, in partnership with the National Judicial Institute, Talsky Centre for Human Rights of Women and Children, Stahili, University of Leiden, and Education Above All Foundation.
The distinguished delegation included the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Justices of the Supreme and High Courts. Delegates engaged with leading experts, international institutions and distinguished academics to explore the impact of international law on domestic jurisprudence and the challenges of implementation.
Ruby Mae Axelson, GRC’s Gender & Child Justice Lead, delivered a specialised training session for the delegation of Nigerian judges, focusing on the international legal framework governing crimes against and affecting children, with particular attention to its application within the Nigerian context. Drawing on international jurisprudence, Ruby examined the legal elements of international crimes affecting children, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers, conflict-related sexual violence, and enslavement. The session also explored the principle of complementarity, recent developments in international criminal law, and the application of these legal frameworks within the Nigerian context.
“Children are amongst the most severely impacted by the conflicts in Nigeria, and delivering holistic, meaningful justice is essential to their long-term recovery and healing. Among the many crimes committed against Nigeria’s children, there is extensive documentation of abduction, recruitment and use by armed groups, attacks on education, and sexual violence, including sexual slavery. Under the ICC’s complementarity framework, responsibility for adjudicating these crimes will fall largely to Nigerian judges. This adjudication must be conducted in a child-sensitive, trauma-informed manner: one that ensures the strongest justice outcomes and fully recognises the distinct harms children have suffered, and continue to suffer” – Ruby Mae Axelson