SANTO DOMINGO.- As part of her vision of a people-centered Public Ministry, the Attorney General of the Republic, Yeni Berenice Reynoso, led the welcome event for the 100 lawyers selected through competitive examination to play the role of representatives of victims in different jurisdictions.
The lawyers will take a specialized program in victims’ rights in the
Institute of Higher Education National School of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (IES-ENMP) with comprehensive training oriented to human rights, criminal law and procedural regulations, with special attention to victims of crimes such as gender violence, human trafficking, child abuse and others that affect vulnerable groups.
“Today is a historic day, and that may seem like a trite rhetorical phrase; but, believe me, I say it from the depths of my heart. One of the reasons that prompted me to be the Public Prosecutor’s Office is to protect people,” said Attorney General Reynoso when giving the central speech of the event held in the Convention Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mirex).
Reynoso reiterated his aspiration to strengthen a rule of law in which the victim and their protection are not a mere legal formality. “A society is measured today by its rule of law, and an essential part of the rule of law is that we all have equality, in this case, before the process and before the law,” he proclaimed.
We invite you to read: MP requests preventive detention against man accused of murdering his partner in San Cristóbal
The members of the Superior Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Academic Council of the IES-ENMP were present at the event, as well as its rector, Marien Montero Beard, who, when delivering the welcome words, highlighted that the contest selected the best profiles of lawyers who applied.
Also present were María Rosalba Díaz Henríquez, director of the National Service for Legal Representation of the Rights of the Victim (Relevic), and deputy attorney general Wilson Camacho, general director of Prosecution of the Public Ministry.
Attorney Reynoso highlighted in her speech the importance of protecting people. “Victims have the right to timely access to justice, they have access to the truth, not only to the forensic truth and the consequences of the facts, but they also have the right for that truth to be known within reasonable time frames and with timely technical assistance,” he said.
He explained that justice must not only be punitive for the offender, but that it must be restorative, transformative for the victims. “This means guaranteeing their effective and safe participation in the process; that they feel like a subject of law and not just an object, a piece of evidence, an instrument, a number, a file.”
He affirmed that true justice must seek and guarantee the reconstruction of a life project that was truncated, highlighting that this includes rehabilitation, comprehensive physical, psychological and social care, and restoration.
He highlighted that this first promotion is entering with the same conditions as the prosecutors, who said that they will also have admission to the Career and will be able to participate in national and international training.
“The proposal we have made is that the draft law that we have worked on together with the Executive Branch includes the Career of Lawyers Representatives of Victims, who will go up to the hearing, already approved by the Superior Council, with their toga, with a color that will identify them; they will have their flag, they will have their pin, in short, a true body at the level of what they deserve,” the attorney announced.
“My main exhortation is that we are going to give you a lot, but we are going to demand a lot from you. We expect a lot, but society also expects a lot,” he told the lawyers, whom he also advised to act “with honesty, integrity and to always do the right thing.”
He trusted that, by this year, the 35 judicial districts in which the legal representation service for victims will operate will have decent offices, with the conditions required to do their work.
