President Paul Kagame of Rwanda on Friday met and held discussions with Prof. Yankov Kolev, the head of the global forensic sciences body.
“President Kagame received a delegation from the International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS) led by Prof. Yankov Kolev, IAFS President,” the Rwanda Presidency said shortly after the meeting.
“The delegation is in Rwanda to attend the inaugural conference of the African Forensic Sciences Academy (AFSA) underway in Kigali. The event brings together forensic science professionals globally, to discuss the ecosystem of forensic science on the African continent,” the Presidency added.
The conference was officially inaugurated (Sept.23-28) by Emmanuel Ugirashebuja Rwanda’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
“AFSA conference, stands as a testament to efforts of African countries aimed at improving forensic science and its application in justice systems,”said Ugirashebuja.
He added that Rwanda is committed to fostering a forensic science ecosystem, inviting international partners to collaborate in advancing forensic practice on our continent.”
Dr Antonel Olckers, the president of AFSA, told participants at the conference in the capital Kigali, “The challenges we face require collective efforts; we must work together to promote excellence and integrity in forensic science across Africa, this is also a call to action for professionals to reflect on the current state of forensic science, and to envision a more integrated and supportive future.”
IAFS is the only worldwide association bringing together academics and practitioners across all forensic science disciplines including forensic medicine.
About Complex Scientific Issues for Court
Since the mid-1980s with the advent of modern DNA profiling analyses, courts across jurisdictions have seen a massive “scientification” of their evidential proceedings.
With forensic science, analyses have been extended to small quantities of trace material, and forensic experts now have more powerful computational and data analytic devices at their disposal for handling the vast array of data that their analyses produce.
Conceptual questions on how to assess the probative value of scientific findings have largely been settled. There is now a broad agreement that evaluating scientific evidence should adhere to the precepts of logic, balance, transparency, and robustness.