Peacekeepers help bring mobile court to Timbuktu, Mali: UN

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali helped bring a mobile court to the town of Dire in the Timbuktu region of Mali, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

"Five cases were brought before the mobile court and the judge also met with local authorities and the investigation units of the police and the gendarmerie to discuss ways to improve access to trial for victims," said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Dujarric said that insecurity hampered access to justice in the area for more than two years and the judge was forced to relocate 120 km from his jurisdiction.

The spokesman said peacekeepers supported a Mali army operation in the Timbuktu region, allowing for the mobile hearing in Dire.

UN peacekeeping missions support the mobile courts, which travel to places where no regular court can exist. They ensure that communities can settle disputes and see criminals lawfully punished.

Mobile courts also sit in regions that are too remote for standard, permanent institutions but can also temporarily sit in specific settings such as prisons. The United Nations has supported different mobile courts in many conflict settings, including in Ivory Coast, Haiti, Liberia, Mali and Somalia.