Speaker Profile: Lígia Arcângela Lubrino Dias Fonseca

Professional profile of a lawyer, legal consultant and women's rights advocate who in 2001 became the first woman President of the Cabo Verde Bar Association and later served as First Lady of Cabo Verde.

List of Dignitaries at the Opening Ceremony

Official list of the dignitaries and representatives at the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 African Bar Association Annual Conference.

2026 Conference Brochure

The official conference brochure: welcome messages, opening ceremony programme, conference timetable, 2026 Medal of Merit honorees and goodwill messages.

From Recognition to Reality: Women's Participation, Human Rights and the Rule of Law

Carolina Lizama Rojas

A civil-society perspective on moving rights from legal recognition to real exercise. Drawing on her work on caregivers' rights in Chile, the speaker argues that participation must be genuine, and that the experience of affected communities counts as knowledge alongside legal and technical expertise.

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza's Political Persecution: Unfair Hearing and Legal Challenges Affecting Her Ongoing Trial

Emily Osiemo

Examines the arrest, prosecution and detention of Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza against the African Charter, the ICCPR and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's Opinion No. 3/2026. Argues the detention is arbitrary and politically motivated, and recommends action by the African Bar Association.

AI Assurance and Accountability in Africa: A Legal Framework for Military Intelligence, Security, and Economic Forecasting

Remy Takang

Proposes an African Legal AI Assurance Framework with five pillars: legal authorisation, risk-tiered impact assessment, evidentiary traceability, independent audit and certification, and remedy and judicial review. Applies it to military, border-security and fiscal-forecasting uses of AI in seven African countries.

Intelligence artificielle, souveraineté numérique et sécurité africaine : renforcer le renseignement militaire, la prévision économique et la gouvernance réglementaire à l'ère numérique

Lylie Naomie Ngninkeu

French-language paper arguing that AI can strengthen Africa's security and economic resilience only if it rests on real digital sovereignty, sufficient African technological and institutional capacity, and rule-of-law-based regulation. Proposes a role for the African Bar Association as an institution builder.

Legal Mechanisms to Ensure Access to Justice in Regions Affected by Security Threats and Economic Instability

Tony Ojukwu

Examines how access to justice can be secured where insecurity prevails, using Nigeria's North-East insurgency and the farmer–herder violence in Benue and Plateau States as case studies. Written by the Executive Secretary of Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission.

Corruption, Terrorism, and Wars: Legal Strategies to Combat Corruption and Terrorism for Enhanced Security and Economic Stability (Nigeria as a Case Study)

Bolanle Oniyangi

Examines Nigeria's legal and institutional frameworks against the interlinked threats of corruption, terrorism and armed conflict. Finds strong laws but weak enforcement, accountability and inter-agency coordination, and proposes reforms.

Legal Obligations of States to Maintain Health Care Services in Conflict Zones: The Case of Nigeria, DRC and Mali

Friday Ojonugwal Agbo

Examines states' duties under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect health care in conflict zones. Finds a wide gap between the legal standards and the reality in Nigeria, the DRC and Mali, and proposes legislative, institutional, security and humanitarian recommendations.

Unlocking Africa's Aviation Potential Through Regional Connectivity and Integration

Mitchell Aghatise

Argues that air connectivity is economic infrastructure for the African Continental Free Trade Area, and that commitments such as SAATM stay unrealised without aircraft finance, trusted travel documents, local payment settlement, skills and predictable airspace rules. Opens with the author's own failed journey to Cabo Verde.

Rwanda's 30-Year Assault on Congo: How to Stop the Cauldron of War and Promote Prosperity

Judi Rever

Presents Rwanda's role in three decades of conflict in eastern Congo, including the M23 militia and the lack of accountability. Proposes ending impunity through an independent African-led court and the use of universal jurisdiction.

Bridging the Justice Gap: Ensuring Access to Justice and Human Rights Protection in Conflict-Affected and Economically Vulnerable Communities in Africa

Amina Dauda

Argues that the main obstacle to justice in conflict-affected African communities is not missing legal frameworks but justice systems unable to function amid disruption. Examines the dual role of military actors and the mechanisms needed to protect rights and ensure accountability.

The Banality of Evil in a World Where Might Is Right: Justice as the Load-Bearing Foundation of Africa's Military, Security and Economic Stability

Emma M. Osong

Contrasts the US$7 billion US–Cameroon investment pipeline with the human rights record that led to Cameroon's removal from AGOA, to argue that justice underpins military, security and economic stability. The accompanying presentation proposes an AfBA legal aid fund and a campaign to put forgotten conflicts on the UN Security Council agenda.

Legal Mechanisms to Ensure Access to Justice in Regions Affected by Security Threats and Economic Instability

Mariam Ibrahim Antar

Examines how international humanitarian law, human rights law and domestic safeguards operate together to protect people during military operations. Finds that practical access to justice is limited by weak institutions, disrupted courts and limited legal aid, and points to mobile courts, community dispute resolution and digital justice as responses.

Victim-Centred Accountability in Sudan: Access to Justice, Strategic Litigation and the Limits of Regional Protection Mechanisms During Armed Conflict

Zipporah Verick Augustine

Examines the limits of domestic, regional and international accountability for atrocity crimes in Sudan since 2023. Draws on The Gambia v Myanmar, South Africa v Israel and Sudan v UAE to weigh the promise and limits of strategic litigation, and argues for victim-centred accountability.

Security in the Great Lakes Region as a Decisive Pathway to Sustainable Development: Rwandan Aggression in the DRC

Jean De Dieu Nsanzabandi

Bilingual analysis note arguing that Rwanda's role in the conflict in eastern DRC amounts to armed aggression under international law, citing UN expert reports, testimony and satellite imagery. Calls for withdrawal, justice and firm political will.

Public Communication: The Proposed Transfer of ICTR Detainees to Rwanda

Jean De Dieu Nsanzabandi

Bilingual public communication (Brussels, 8 May 2026) by relatives of ICTR detainees opposing a proposed UN transfer of detainees held in Benin and Senegal to Rwanda.

The Fragmentation of Access to Justice in Rebel-Held Territories and Under a State of Siege

Tharcisse Gatarama

Examines how justice has fragmented in eastern DRC: a militarised state justice on one side and an unaccountable parallel justice in AFC/M23-held areas on the other, leaving civilians without legal security. Considers local alternatives and their limits.

The Legal and Institutional Frameworks Governing Taxpayer Data Protection in Nigeria and South Africa

Zhihwi Dauda

Compares how Nigeria and South Africa protect taxpayer data, covering constitutional privacy rights, data protection law, tax administration law and oversight bodies. Notes the transparency concerns raised by Nigeria's expanded data-sharing powers.

Intellectual Property and Media, Sports and Entertainment: Protecting IP in Creative Industries to Drive Economic Stability and Cultural Resilience

Rosemary Uchechiamaka Nwogbo

Explains the main types of intellectual property and argues that IP protection can turn Africa's creativity and resilience into economic assets, with a focus on media, sports and entertainment and the challenges that limit growth.

Standard Makers, Not Standard Takers: The Case for a Rights-Centred AI Regulatory Framework in Africa's Digital Transformation

Fope Agbede

Argues that Africa's AI ambitions are outpacing its legal infrastructure, and makes the case for rights-centred, locally grounded AI regulation rather than copying the EU or US models, using Nigeria as a case study.

Guarding the Grid: Data Privacy, Consumer Protection, and Africa's Roadmap to Digital Security

Kelechukwu Uzoka

Asks whether the Malabo Convention, the AU Continental AI Strategy and national laws form a coherent roadmap for digital security. Argues that data privacy and consumer protection are frontline instruments of Africa's resilience.

Legal Security as a Pillar of Economic Stability: The Algerian Experience in Counter-Terrorism and Prospects for Its Application in Africa

Amina Faisi

Studies Algeria's counter-terrorism approach, which combines legal deterrence with national reconciliation, and asks how it could be applied across Africa. Recommends updated legislation, stronger judicial cooperation and joint action on terrorism financing.

Capital Markets and Financial Instruments: Enhancing Capital Markets to Build Economic Resilience Against Military and Security Shocks

Hauwa Muhammad Dada Ibrahim

Examines how bonds, sovereign securities, infrastructure funds and green bonds can finance security initiatives and sustainable projects. Identifies weak regulation, corruption risks and poor transparency as obstacles, and recommends a dedicated legal framework.

AfCFTA Under Fire: Cross-Border Terrorism, Banditry, and Weak Borders Undermine Africa's Economic Integration: Suggested Reforms

Tomi Grace Obagboye and Mimi Ayua

Examines how cross-border terrorism, banditry and weak borders threaten the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Proposes legal and institutional reforms that build security into the agreement without abandoning liberalisation.

Impediments to Restitution and Reparation Justice

Charles A. Taku

Argues that communities and indigenous peoples wronged by colonialism are entitled to restitution and reparations now, and that colonial legacies and the neo-colonial state stand in the way. Uses the case of looted Bangwa cultural heritage objects.