Stephen J Rapp, US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, addressed the closing session of a training course on investigating cases of sexual and gender-based violence as international crimes.
The Rule of Law and Anti-corruption Centre in Doha held the training course from September 21-29 on an invitation from Qatar.
“I thank HE Dr Ali bin Fetais al-Marri, Attorney-General of the State of Qatar, for supporting this important training,” said US Ambassador to Qatar Susan L Ziadeh.
“The United States, Qatar and key international partners have once again come together here in Doha to address a pressing global issue. The United States and Qatar share an unyielding commitment to combating all forms of gender-based violence around the world in order to uphold the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”    
“The contemporal experiences of the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Syria continue to demonstrate the heartbreaking brutality of war, for men, women and children,” Ambassador Rapp told the course participants who had gathered at the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption Centre’s headquarters for the final day of the course.
“These conflicts are a stark reminder of the need to continue fighting for peace, justice and accountability.”
The training course, titled “Investigating Cases of Sexual and Gender-based Violence as International Crimes,” was a collaborative project among UN Women, Justice Rapid Response (JRR) and the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) with the goal of increasing the pool of experts that can be rapidly deployed to lead and participate in investigations into conflict-related gender-based crimes.
The participants hail from around the world.
Upon successful completion of the training, they will become part of a roster of investigators available for rapid deployment upon request by governments, the United Nations, International Criminal Court and other international institutions with the jurisdiction to carry out such investigations.
Fahad Saadoun al-Adhba, director of the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption Centre, presided over the course’s closing session.