Visit of the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability (AGJA) and the Wayamo Foundation to the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa
From 18 to 19 January, Dapo Akande, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford and AGJA member, and Bettina Ambach, Director of the Wayamo Foundation met with representatives of the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa. The delegation met with H.E. Mr. Thomas Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson of the AUC, Dr. Namira Negm, AUC Legal Counsel and Director for Legal Affairs, and Adewale Iyanda, Senior Legal Officer in the Office of the Legal Counsel of the AUC.
This visit to the Headquarters of the AUC provided the opportunity to present the latest achievements of the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability and the Wayamo Foundation as well as to further build a relationship of trust and positive engagement with the African Union on matters relating to justice and accountability on the continent. The AGJA and Wayamo have been working on the establishment of effective and open lines of dialogue between the African Union and the ICC which are key to bettering the relationship between the ICC and Africa. During the last strategic meeting in Dakar (July 2017), the AGJA members agreed to organise an official visit to the African Union in Addis Ababa in order to reinforce ongoing collaboration between them and to meet with the newly nominated AUC Legal Counsel and Director for Legal Affairs, Dr. Negm. The AGJA and Wayamo have been working closely with the African Union over the past two years with representatives of the AUC attending several of the their international public symposia.
The official visit to Addis was very successful and the AUC reiterated its commitment to working with the AGJA and Wayamo. As evidence of this ongoing and deepening relationship, the AUC will send a representative to an upcoming Justice Symposium, organised by the Wayamo Foundation, which is to take place in Nairobi on 27 February 2018.
Dapo Akande and Bettina Ambach also met with Bankole Adeoye, Nigerian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the African Union in Ethiopia. During this meeting, the delegation presented the capacity building efforts organised in Lagos and Abuja throughout 2017 in the framework of the “Strengthening justice and accountability in Nigeria” project, an initiative which aims at building the capacity of military and civil prosecutors to address the most serious crimes under Nigerian criminal law.
Bettina Ambach with H.E. Mr. Thomas Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson of the AUC
Bettina Ambach, Director of the Wayamo Foundation, Dr. Namira Negm, AUC Legal Counsel and Director for Legal Affairs, and Adewale Iyanda, Senior Legal Officer in the Office of the Legal Counsel of the AUC.
Dapo Akande, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford and AGJA member, Bettina Ambach, Director, Wayamo Foundation, Bankole Adeoye, Nigerian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the African Union in Ethiopia and Adewale Iyanda, Senior Legal Officer in the Office of the Legal Counsel of the AUC.
