Rugege was, on Thursday, closing moot court competition on armed conflict crimes and children rights protection during war and conflicts period.
The four-day competition had attracted 48 students and their 24 lecturers from 24 universities in the Great Lakes Region countries.
Rugege said the competition brings out the best among students and shows their potential to be great lawyers, politicians or judges in the future.
“Moot Courts are beneficial in themselves. They strengthen knowledge and skills of participating students in particular area of law as well as sharpening their professional skills in terms of disputes handling, advocacy, persuasive arguments or in drafting courts submissions,” he said adding that they are important life skills for any future lawyer.
Rugege said the focus of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights was a very important area for the region.
“Considering that the Great Lakes Region has been ravaged by conflicts, breach of International Humanitarian Law and gross abuses of human rights have been common in the area with the most notable being the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda,” he said.
Citing South Sudan and Central African Republic as examples, Rugege said that conflicts caused much suffering to victims including children.
“It is also crucial that young people like you should learn about rights of citizens and what you can do to protect them by means of representation as lawyers, as prosecutors of those who violate international laws and human rights, as judges who decide the cases or as advocates for peace and security in your countries and the region,” he said.
He said the competition has provided vital knowledge in the area of law and contributed to peace building, providing youth as leaders of tomorrow with an opportunity to spend time and work together on these issues.
Rugege asked them to protect children saying that they are the valuable resources and future of countries.
“We should struggle for them to live in peace and prosperity instead of war, displacement, retroaction and misery,” he said.
He urged lecturers not to focus on theories while teaching international laws, rather to think of approaches that give more time for discussing real conflict situations in the region with their students.
Angela Mnao, a student from Kenya, said that they learnt a lot in the competetion especially in laws governing armed conflicts. Mnao said the lessons will help in her studies and future career.
Rwandan Élysée Rugundana emerged the winner in men category while Angela Mnao emerged the best winner as good advocate in women category.
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