International Judicial Forums: "New Proposals for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide", Opening Speech by Dr. William Soto Santiago
Dr. William Soto Santiago
Global Ambassador
Puerto Rico
Opening Speech
Honorable members of the panel: Dr. Luis Gabriel Miranda Buelvas, President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia; Dr. Jesus Hernando Alvarez Mora, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Universidad Libre; Dr. Carlos Ubate, Head of the Department of Criminal Law at Universidad Libre; Dr. Camilo Montoya Reyes, Prosecutor before the Court of Justice in Bogota, Colombia; honorable magistrates; ladies and gentlemen members of the Army and National Police; judges and prosecutors, esteemed students, honorable magistrates and judges visiting from Latin America; ladies and gentlemen.
Today, Monday, September 22, 2014, we are opening the International Judicial Forums "New Proposals for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide" at the headquarters of the prestigious Universidad Libre of Colombia.
I thank the directors of Universidad Libre for their hospitality and logistical support in carrying out this academic event. This is the first of a series of forums to be held in several countries, including Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, the United States, Germany, Poland, and Israel.
The International Judicial Forums "New Proposals for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide" are part of the Justice for Peace Project; they have the objective of promoting critical and constructive thinking regarding the understanding of the international crime of genocide and the benefit of evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of international instruments for the prevention and punishment of this crime, seeking their revision and amendment.
Your contribution, honorable magistrates and ministers of the high courts and tribunals, judges, prosecutors and advocates of Latin America, as well as attorneys, academics and students who are joining us today, will be decisive in the improvement and perfection of the "New Proposals on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide."
It is with infinite gratitude to Universidad Libre, and to all of you for responding to this call, that I officially open the First International Judicial Forum "New Proposals for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide."