Ongwen lawyer: Who is Helene Cisse?
Jan 29, 2015
Helene Cisse, who is Dominic Ongwen''s Duty Counsel at the ICC in the Hague, is a veteran of the law profession.
By Vision Reporter
Helene Cisse, Dominic Ongwen's Duty Counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, is a veteran of the law profession.
She has been practicing at the Senegalese Bar since 1982, and is a Barrister in criminal proceedings, International Humanitarian Law and human rights.
Cisse is a Senegalese by marriage with a Senegalese citizen since 1980, but is French by birth and Vietnamese by origin.
Ongwen at his first hearing on January 26. (AFP)
Helene Cisse first came into international limelight as lawyer of President Hissen Habre in 1999/2001. She has been involved in several political-judicial cases and has been an International Criminal Court Counsel since 2009.
Within the ICC, Cisse has defended victims and suspects of war crimes, specifically in Darfur Sudan.
She speaks and writes French and English and has some knowledge of Woloff, one of the main languages used in Senegal. She will however get Acholi translators to help her with the Ongwen case.
Elsewhere, she has a long experience as consultant with the United Nations (UN), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), ECCAS and Great Lakes Region. She mainly handles issues related to peace building, reconstruction and reconciliation.
Cisse has been heavily involved in African countries torn by internal armed conflict for more than 20 years now and in regional projects against illicit arms trafficking and proliferation. She has worked in Central African Republic (CAR), Congo, Senegal, Liberia, and Guinea.
Pictured here: Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova, Single Judge of Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the first appearance hearing on 26 January 2015 in The Hague ©ICC-CPI
She has also been a consultant for United Nations Office Against Organized Crime in Togo, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana, The Gambia, Mauritania, and Benin.
On the academic front, she has been teaching international law for 20 years – six years at the University of Law Dakar; 14 years at the National School for Magistrates and Civil Servants of Senegal.
She has also taught at the Center for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies of Dakar specializing in Defence and strategy.
She has also taught at the Center for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies of Dakar specializing in Defence and strategy.
Trial judge in the case is Judge Ekaterina TRENDAFILOVA (Bulgaria)