Election of new AGJA Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson
It is with great delight that the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability (AGJA) announces the election of its new Chairperson, Mohamed Othman Chande, and Deputy Chairperson, Fatiha Serour. Alongside its secretariat, the Wayamo Foundation, AGJA congratulates its newly elected leadership and expresses its deepest gratitude to outgoing Chairperson Hassan Bubacar Jallow and Deputy Chairperson Athaliah Molokomme for their work over the past years.
Mohamed Chande Othman is the former Chief Justice of Tanzania, a position he held from 28 December 2010 until 18 January 2017. Justice Othman’s previous experience includes that of Prosecutor General of East Timor, Chief of Prosecutions of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and Senior Legal Adviser to the Prosecutor of the ICTR. Under the flag of the United Nations, Othman has served as: Head of the UN Independent Panel of Experts, charged with the assessment and examination of new information relating to the tragic death of the former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld Member of the UN Human Rights Council’s High-Level Commission of Inquiry into the Situation in Lebanon following the Israel-Lebanon Armed Conflict in 2006 The UN Human Rights Council‘s Independent Expert on the human rights situation in the Sudan (2009-2010). More recently, Othman was part of a group of experts who reviewed the performance, mission, and priorities of the International Criminal Court.
Fatiha Serour is an Algerian national who has held numerous positions within the United Nations and international non-governmental sector. She is currently the Director of Serour Associates for Inclusion and Equity, an association focusing on supporting inclusive approaches to development. Previously, Serour served as Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Somalia (2013-2014), as Senior Adviser in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (2000-2006), and as Director of the Youth Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, overseeing the largest youth programme in 54 Commonwealth countries (2006-2010). In her position as Regional Director for Europe, North Africa and the Middle East at the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) from 2010-2012, she led national and international teams in implementing projects for the United Nations system, international financial institutions, governments and other partners in world aid.
Once again, AGJA and Wayamo warmly welcome the Group’s new leadership team and look forward to working with them over the coming months and years on projects to advocate and advance international justice in Africa and beyond.
The Africa Group for Justice and Accountability (AGJA) supports efforts to strengthen justice and accountability measures in Africa through domestic and regional capacity building, advice and outreach, and enhancing co-operation between Africa and the International Criminal Court. It comprises senior African experts on international criminal law and human rights, including political figures, members of international and domestic tribunals, and human rights advocates. The members of the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability are:
- Dapo Akande (Nigeria)
Professor of Public International Law, University of Oxford - Hassan Bubacar Jallow (Gambia)
Former Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals - Richard Goldstone (South Africa)
Former Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia - Tiyanjana Maluwa (Malawi)
Laddie Montague Chair in Law, Pennsylvania State University School of Law - Athaliah Molokomme (Botswana)
Attorney General of Botswana - Betty Kaari Murungi (Kenya)
Independent Consultant on Human Rights and Transitional Justice - Mohamed Chande Othman (Tanzania)
Chief Justice of Tanzania - Navi Pillay (South Africa)
Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - Catherine Samba-Panza (Central African Republic)
Former Transitional President of the Central African Republic - Fatiha Serour (Algeria)
Director of Serour Associates for Inclusion and Equity - Abdul Tejan-Cole (Sierra Leone)
Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa
