Trainers: Ahmed El Khamloussy, Melinda Gonzalez-Hibner

Event title: Multilingual Justice: Interpreting Challenges and Solutions in Court Environments.

Date: October 19, 2025

Times: 14.00-16.00 CET

Location: Zoom

Description:

Join us for a thought-provoking forum exploring the challenges and solutions involved in delivering justice across languages and cultures. This session will focus on two very different but equally compelling settings: the International Criminal Court and the federal court system of the State of New Mexico in the United States.

Our distinguished speakers will share their experiences and insights into how interpreters, guided by a commitment to fair trial principles, navigate complex linguistic landscapes—particularly when working with languages that lack legal terminology or even written forms.

This forum offers a unique opportunity to reflect on the critical role interpreters play in ensuring access to justice and upholding due process in multilingual legal systems.

Meet the Speakers:

Ahmed El Khamloussy:

Senior French booth interpreter and Arabic booth supervisor at the International Criminal Court

Ahmed El Khamloussy is a seasoned interpreter at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he has worked since 2010. Originally from Morocco, he holds degrees in English and American literature, Arabic-English translation, and completed advanced training in translation and conference interpreting at the University of Ottawa.

His previous roles include serving as a conference interpreter for the Canadian Parliament and as the Arabic interpreter for several Canadian prime ministers. In addition to his courtroom work, Ahmed is actively involved in interpreter training—particularly in languages of lesser diffusion—through the ICC, as well as institutions such as the University of Ottawa, Glendon College, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Melinda Gonzalez-Hibner:

Staff Interpreter, Federal Court for the District of New Mexico

Melinda Gonzalez-Hibner brings a wealth of experience and insight to the forum as the former supervisory interpreter for the U.S. District Court of New Mexico—a region known for its extraordinary linguistic and cultural diversity. Given its location, the federal court provides interpreting services in a wide array of languages, from local indigenous languages like Navajo, Keres, and Zuni, to other languages of the world such as Mixteco, Mam, K’iche, Kanjobal, Tzotzil, Nahuatl, Portuguese, Arabic, Mandarin, Uzbek, Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto, Italian, Tamil, Nepali, and others.

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the London School of Economics, Melinda is a federal and state court certified interpreter and respected trainer. She has dedicated her career to improving language access and professional standards for interpreters in the judiciary, not just through her professional practice, but also by serving on the Board of Directors of the American Translators Association and the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators. Prior to her current position, she led the court interpreter program for the State of Colorado. Her deep commitment to multilingual justice and interpreter training makes her a powerful voice in addressing the challenges of linguistic equity in complex legal settings.