Staff
Prior to joining IHRDA, Edmund served as a Lecturer of jurisprudence, ECOWAS, criminal, and human rights law. He also served as Project Coordinator for the Ghana Police Accountability Project of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, a researcher at the Constitutional Court of South Africa and a Technical Advisor on Children at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in Ghana.
Edmund had previously worked at IHRDA from 2007 to 2011 as a Legal Officer, and took the lead on the Nubian children’s case which was the first case to be decided on the merits by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Edmund has also published several articles on human rights and legal issues.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Amie worked with the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority from 1996 and rose through the ranks to the position of Director of Internal Audit.
She is a dedicated and result-oriented person with a wealth of experience in the Accounting/Auditing profession.
Eric is a member of the Burundi Bar Association. Prior to joining IHRDA he served as a Legal Assistant at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and was a teacher of law, and a collaborator with Avocats Sans Frontières. At IHRDA, Eric has worked on many cases, some of which are pace-setter in the African human rights jurisprudence. Eric litigated the first case in which the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights made pronouncement on the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol) - that is, the Mali Personal Status and Family Code case, wherein the Court found the code to be inconsistent with the Maputo Protocol and other relevant treaties ratified by Mali. Eric brings with him broad experience in litigation, legal research and legal drafting.
Oludayo has had stints working with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights (INTERIGHTS). He has also worked in private law practice in Nigeria at the Law offices of Adesanya and Akisanya, and R. A. Ogunwole SAN and Co. Just before joining IHRDA, he was with the Rivers State Ministry of Justice in Nigeria.
Désiré is a member of the Burundi Bar Association. Prior to joining IHRDA, he served as a Legal Advisor in the Ministry for Local Development in Burundi, as a Legal Assistant at the East African Court of Justice in Arusha/Tanzania; and has an Associate and Co-advocate at Rubeya. He also served as a Lecturer at Université du Burundi, Université Lumière de Bujumbura and Université du Lac Tanganyika. At IHRDA, Désiré has played a focal role in providing legal support to the Transitional Process in The Gambia and in drafting arguments for the IHRDA & Anor. v DRC (700/18) case. He brings with him an experience in litigation, training and drafting legal documents.
Chipo is a human rights lawyer and scholar, with a demonstrable commitment towards promoting and protecting human rights across the African region. She is admitted to practise as an attorney in Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Chipo worked as an attorney in Botswana where she litigated several cases before the High Court and Labour Court. She has also worked as a legal researcher for various human rights organisations in Africa.
Chipo's core expertise is in the area of women and children’s rights, litigation, legal research and advocacy. She has also published several articles on human rights and legal issues.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Lydia was working as the Legal Manager at AdvocAid, Sierra Leone.
Lydia is human rights lawyer with successful experience in legal advocacy, access to justice, rule of law and human rights issues. She brings a wealth of experience from cross cutting themes including experience working on women and children’s rights, gender mainstreaming, legal research, legislative drafting, policy reform and analysis, curriculum design, development and conducting trainings, refugee and asylum seeker protection in Uganda, the African Region, Asia and Europe in the NGO, academic and private sector.
Brice worked for 9 years as Head of Communications and Programs at Centre for Assistance to Justice and Animation for Development (CAJAD, Cameroon), before joining IHRDA. He has a wealth of experience in communication, project grants and program management within the context of human rights and development.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Bessem worked on a variety of projects with local NGOs in Cameroon. She aspires to pursue a Master’s Degree in Communication, especially in the domain of Development. She is passionate about promoting human rights, especially the rights of women and children.
Prior to joining IHRDA, she worked as a Project Accountant at GIEPA and an Auditor at DT Associates.
She’s a seasoned Accountant with experience in both private and public sector accounting.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Omar served as an intern at the National Water and Electric Company (NAWEC). He also served as the Head of the Software/Hardware and Networking Team at Quantum Net Technical Service Center, where he provided IT support to different companies within the private and public sectors.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Modou worked at Emkay Stores. At IHRDA, he handles the day-to-day financial transactions and acts as a liaison with our service providers. He also assists the staff with filing and coordinates the security of IHRDA premises.
Prior to this position, Penda served for about 2 years as Finance and Admin Fellow at IHRDA.
For a first time visitor or new staff, Cheikh’s bright smile and endearing helpfulness will welcome you at Yundum Airport. Together with Fatou and Tamba, Cheikh forms an important part of our institutional memory.Cheikh speaks French, English and some Spanish.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Sukuta worked with Radville Farms for 11 years. At IHRDA, Sukuta is responsible for the landscaping of the Office premises by creating a more peaceful and fresh surrounding that brings out the unique beauty of nature, and the core essence it plays in human development. Sukuta knows his plant varieties by name, sight, texture and optimal seasons and serves as compound overseer.
Ajie started her career at Augustus Prom Audit Firm as External Audit Intern all through her summer breaks at the University of The Gambia. She has gained knowledge in auditing public institutions, ministries as well as projects coordinated and implemented by Government agencies such as African Centre of Excellence (ACE) project, Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) project, Results for Education Achievement (READ) project, Institutional Support For Economic and Financial Governance (ISEFG II) project, which are financed by World Bank and African Development Fund, respectively.
Ajie was a fellow of the University of The Gambia Program and the TAF Africa Leadership Program, and has also served as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Mentorship Coordinator at Educating For Africa’s Future, a charitable organization based in The Gambia.
Ajie has interest in the Accounting/ Auditing field and plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Finance and Economics for development.
Patricia is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Gambia. Prior to joining IHRDA, she interned for Farage Andrews Law Practice, High Court of the Gambia (Ministry of Justice) and Oususs's Chambers in the Gambia. Before pursuing her passion for law, Patricia provided marketing expertise to several companies in Ghana.
She is interested in human rights and humanitarian law with respect to the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.
Eric is a member of the Burundi Bar Association and the East Africa Law Society. He has expertise in judicial practices and offers legal assistance to vulnerable people before Burundi courts and tribunals. He worked as a legal assistant with Human Dignity, contributing to the development of a joint alternative report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in Burundi, which was submitted to United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in 2017.
Eric also worked with Trial International as a trainer on referral of cases to international human rights protection mechanisms such as the Committee against Torture (CAT) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). He has eight years' experience as a human rights defender.
Philippe is entering his third year of the JD/BCL Program at McGill University’s Faculty of Law in Montreal, where he has focused his area of study to public international law and international human rights law.
Philippe’s interests align with the history and politics of the SWANA area. As such, his work outside of academics has been spent working towards the recognition of Palestinian human rights and Lebanese development and political freedom. His work has led to an interest in human rights law and international criminal law, which brought him to his legal studies in hopes of promoting equal access to universally recognized human rights. Philippe is also the current president of the McGill University Rugby Football Club and a member of McGill’s Track and Field Program.
Prior to law school, Mohamed worked as a paralegal at the Federal Defenders of New York, where he assisted attorneys defend indigents in Federal Courts. He is an International Human Rights Internship Program (IHRIP) Fellow, assisting with legal research. He is interested in how the law can be effectively used to ameliorate conditions of vulnerable communities around the world.
As Mohamed looks forward to his second year of law school, he hopes to take advantage of opportunities to put his legal education to practical use, whether through clinics, externships, or international NGOs, as he has been doing this summer.
Victoria is entering her final year of Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto, where she is majoring in international relations and philosophy.
As the Vice President of Public & University affairs at the University of Toronto Student Union—representing 39,000+ students—Victoria led the team to develop the inaugural student housing centre in providing legal counselling to address student homelessness and successfully lobbied the federal government to eliminate student loans’ interests.
She is a Laidlaw Scholar and has published an inter-disciplinary paper focused on the impact of anti-Asian racism on mental health public policies. Her interests align with advocating for mental health and human rights. She aspires to practice human rights law - protecting vulnerable populations against injustice.
Victoria is also the director of University of Toronto’s undergraduate mooting association.
Former Staff
Prior to joining IHRDA, Gaye worked with the Gambia Judiciary as a Principal Magistrate and Acting Judicial Secretary, and served as a Lecturer of Criminal Procedure at the Gambia Law School. He was Adjunct Lecturer of Criminal Law at the University of The Gambia, Expert Member of the ECOSOC Working Group of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; a member of the Constitutional Review Commission of The Gambia, and a member of a team of three lawyers charged with reviewing and redrafting the criminal justice laws of The Gambia. At IHRDA, Gaye has rose from the ranks of Legal Officer, Senior Legal Officer to Director of Programs, and has spent more than fifteen years at the organisation. He has a wealth of experience in human rights litigation, capacity building and advocacy at domestic and regional levels.
He is currently Registrar - Appeals, Arbitration and Enforcement at the ECOWAS Court.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Kheloud had worked with Nazra for Feminist Studies as a Program Coordinator, and as a Legal Researcher and archivist at the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) at the American University, Cairo, Egypt. She has also worked as a legal trainer in the Wesal Project led by UN Women and Care International in Egypt. She is a member of Women Living under Muslim Laws Network and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies Alumni Club. She has nine years’ experience working as a feminist legal researcher and translator, and has also contributed to the formulation of training manuals on gender and human rights education in the MENA region; and has written articles on women in politics, discrimination against women in the workplace, gender inequality in the Egyptian legal system and several gender issues published on several online media platforms.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Nicole served as a Human Rights Specialist at the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (Organization of American States) in Washington, DC; as a human Rights Officer at UN Peacekeeping Missions in Liberia and Haiti, as the International Technical Advisor on Transitional Justice with the Justice Law and Order Sector in Uganda (2011-2012) and as the Head of Mission at Avocats sans Frontières in Uganda (2013-2014).
She is co-founder of the Public Interest Law Clinic at Makerere University School of Law in Uganda and has also published widely on issues related to international human rights law, transitional justice and clinical legal education.
Previously, Bright taught courses in procedure and practical legal studies at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College where he previously read law and obtained an LLB Honours between the years 2002 – 2007. He immediately commenced his career as a legal practitioner in 2008 and practiced law privately before various courts and fields of law in Malawi while also rendering pro bonolegal services. He also holds an LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa and is a proud member of the gallant alumni of the prestigious Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria, Republic of South Africa. His approach is simply “break it down, be practical and get stuff done”.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Henry served as the Finance Manager at the Methodist Mission Agricultural Programme (MMAP); worked at Shyben A. Madi & Sons, Concern Universal (The Gambia); Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) in Accra. and taught at Foresight Training Institute and Jollof Tutors.
Fatou passed away on the 20th of October, 2014 in The Gambia.
Dr Aristide Nononsi is associate member of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism (CHRLP) of McGill University, Montreal. Before joining IHRDA, Aristide was the Executive Director of the Centre for Developing Area Studies (CDAS) in the Faculty of Arts at McGill University, Montreal Canada and Senior Boulton Fellow in International Development and the Law from 2007 to 2011. He has taught and published on issues surrounding fragile States, international development law, the law of international organisations, human rights, children’s rights, and international labour law at McGill Faculty of Law.
Aristide has also served as Executive Secretary of the Staff Appeals Committee and Head of the Appeals Committee Unit (APCU) in the African Development Bank (AfDB) from 1999 to 2007. He has worked for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on child labour and children’s rights, international labour standards, and maritime labour law in Switzerland, Côte d’Ivoire and Algeria from 1993 to 1999.
Meskerem has also taught law and served as a Director of the Law Department in academic institutions based in Ethiopia; the Public Service College of Oromia and St Mary’s University College, where she has written academic texts on ‘Gender and the Law’, ‘Criminal Law’, ‘The Law of Agency’ , ‘The Law of Persons’ and ‘The Law of Extra Contractual Liability’. Meskerem holds LLB degree from the Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia and LLM degree on Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Prior to joining IHRDA, Paile served as a Grant Programme Officer at Plan International UK, as Chief Legal Officer and Head of the Unit at Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Rehabilitation in Lesotho; as Programme Coordinator at Minority Rights Group International in London for 7 years. Paile worked with IHRDA from to .
