Following the decision of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice of 13 March 2012 to adjourn the hearing of the case, RADDHO v Senegal, Case No. ECW/CCJ/APP/03/12, the Court proceeded to hear the matter on 4 May 2012.

The Republic of Senegal was represented by their Counsel, Mr Mafall Fall, while RADDHO’s Chairperson, Alioune Tine and RADDHO’s lawyer, Maître Amadou Kane were also present. 

On Wednesday 2 May, Sir Nigel Rodley, Professor at the Human Rights Centre of the University of Essex, member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee and former United Nations Special Rapportuer on Torture presented a public lecture on the UK Human Rights Act.

During a week in Pretoria, Sir Nigel also taught on the LLM programme in human rights and democratisation in Africa as part of a teacher exchange between the Centre for Human Rights and the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex.

The Centre for Human Rights at the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, invites you to the Annual Helen Kanzira Lecture.

This public lecture on women’s reproductive health rights will be presented by Ms Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The title of the lecture is: "Valuing Women as Autonomous Beings:  Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights"

• Download the electronic invitation
• Download the programme

Date Tuesday 15 May 2012
Time 12:00 for 12:30
Venue Senate Hall, University of Pretoria

The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, has followed with great concern the events that have been unfolding in the Republic of Angola, particularly since David Mendes declared that his political party (Partido Popular) will run against the party of the incumbent President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, in the upcoming national elections to be held sometime in 2012.

Following Mendes’s declaration of his intention to run in the elections as a competitor to the incumbent President, he has been receiving death threats and had his property and that of the human rights organization (Mãos Livres) and Partido Popular vandalized by unknown persons. The death threats have intensified after he filed a complaint to the Attorney Generals’ Office against the incumbent President accusing him of embezzlement of public funds.

Roundup of four global experts' views, including that of Danny Bradlow, SARCHI Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations in the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, on the selection of the new President of the World Bank.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the selection of Jim Yong Kim, the U.S. candidate, as the next president of the World Bank has stimulated debate over reform of the institution's governance. Four experts size up the succession process, some judging it a missed opportunity for meaningful change while others seeing a crucial injection of new expertise at the sixty-eight-year-old development body.

Following the decision of the Constitutional Council of Senegal to endorse President Abdoulaye Wade as a presidential candidate for a third term, RADDHO, a non-governmental organisation based in Dakar, Senegal, lodged a complaint to the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice against the government of the Republic of Senegal on 16 February 2012 cited as case no. ECW/CCJ/APP/03/12.

In bringing the suit, RADDHO enjoyed the support of the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, which acted as legal and technical advisor.

Professor Christopher John Robert “John” Dugard, Extraordinary Professor of Law in the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, will receive one of South Africa’s highest civilian honours, the Order of the Baobab: Gold, in a ceremony conducted by President Jacob Zuma on Freedom Day, 27 April 2012.

The Order of the Baobab is awarded by the President to South African citizens for ‘distinguished service that goes beyond the call of duty’ and for exceptional contributions to the nation.

The Centre for Human Rights will be hosting a seminar on the Use of Official Languages Bill.

The presenters are:

• Prof Fernand de Varennes
  Research professor at the international observatory of linguisic rights, Université de Moncton, Canada, and Convenor of the 13th Conference of the International Academy of Linguistic Law
• Prof Koos Malan
  Department of Public Law, University of Pretoria

In 2010, the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, received funding from the World Bank to cover the costs of IDF Grant TF 090558: Enhancing Access to Legal Information – a grant between the World Bank and the Faculty of Law. The core activity under this project was the production by the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) of a series of books on comparative African law, entitled the Rule of Law in Africa Series.

This project culminated in the PULP/World Bank Book Launch of the 'Rule of Law in Africa' series which took place on Tuesday the 20^th of March 2012 at the Plant Sciences Building at the University of Pretoria.

Julius Osega Memorial Lecture CANCELLED

Unfortunately the Julius Osega Memorial Lecture which was to have been presented by Sir Dawda Jawara has been cancelled for the moment. The Memorial Lecture will take place later in the year, date to be announced.

Due to unforeseen circumstances Sir Dawda Jawara's entourage could not get their visas in time for the flights and he may not travel without them.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The PULP "Rule of Law in Africa Series" Book Launch will, however, still be taking place.

Satang Nabanech, a 2012 LLM student (Human Rights & Democratisation in Africa) recently won a prize for her paper in AAWORD's essay competition.

The Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD) organises the Advocacy Competition on Gender and Political Participation in Africa.

Read Satang's prize-winning entry

It is with great sadness that the Centre for Human Rights learnt of the death of Steve Odero Ouma. Steve was a member of the LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa) class of 2005. He passed away on 23 February, after having been admitted to hospital. The autopsy revealed that Steve had advanced gastrointestinal cancer and neither surgery or chemotherapy would have saved his life.

In 2005, one of the field trip destinations of the LLM students was Sierra Leone. I was fortunate enough to go with this group, of which Steve was part. On this trip, I got to know him as someone who could be playful and mischievous, but also extremely serious about issues affecting our continent, and as an inquisitive, determined and dedicated student.

The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, has followed with great concern the events that have been taking place in the Republic of Senegal since the decision of the Constitutional Council, on 27 January 2012, to allow the incumbent, President Abdoulaye Wade, to run for a third term. In our view, it is a contravention of the letter and spirit of the Constitution of Senegal, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) laws and the President’s own pledge to the Senegalese people.

The Government of Senegal has, despite the legitimate concerns raised by the opposition parties, civil societies as well as a large majority of the citizenry, decreed 26 February 2012 as the date for the presidential election.

On 10 February, the Regional Office for Southern Africa of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (ROSA) launched a Human Rights Resource Centre at the Oliver Tambo Law Library at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

The inauguration ceremony took place on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Class of the LLM in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa, hosted by the Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria.

With the deposit of the fifteenth instrument of ratification by Cameroun on 15 January 2012, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (Democracy Charter)is set to enter into force on 15 February 2012, 30 days after the deposit of the last instrument of ratification. The Democracy Charter was adopted by the African Union on 30 January 2007, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The entry into force of the Democracy Charter means that for the first time, a binding treaty on democracy, elections and governance is in place in Africa, although it will only be binding on the 15 member States that have ratified it. The Democracy Charter is the culmination of successive non-binding instruments adopted by the African Union on democracy, good governance, human rights and development, and reinforces recent initiatives such asthe New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

The Centre for Human Rights awarded an honorary doctorate degree to Advocate George Bizos SC on 9 December 2011. Advocate Bizos is a distinguished human rights lawyer who campaigned against apartheid in South Africa, most notably during the Rivonia Trial.

Currently associated with the Constitutional Litigation Unit at the Legal Resources Centre, Advocate Bizos delivered his address 'Blame neither the Constitution nor the Courts' during the Spring Graduation Ceremony.

The University of Pretoria held a graduation ceremony for the Master of Laws (LLM) in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa.

The ceremony took place at the Musaion on Friday 9 December 2011.

All the 30 students who were admitted to the programme in 2011 completed the programme successfully. There were 15 women and 15 men. The students were drawn from 16 African countries.