SPEECH BY THE AMBASSADOR OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA TO THE ROYAL

KINGDOM OF NETHERLANDS, DR. NIMOTA NIHINLOLA AKANBI, AT THE OCCASION OF THE 7TH

SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF STATES PARTIES MEETING, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS

14 – 22 NOVEMBER 2008.

Distinguished members of the Diplomatic Community,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you on behalf of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – His Excellency, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar Adua (GCFR) – to this august gathering to mark the occasion of the 7th Session of the Assembly of States Parties here in The Hague, Netherlands.

Since the inception of the civilian administration of President Yar Adua, Nigeria has made the respect for the rule of law, the cornerstone` of its policy and has demonstrated this in its continued support for the work of the International Criminal Court.

This follows the long tradition of sterling leadership provided by Nigeria in the field of diplomacy, peacekeeping and support for an international legal order.

Since its birth as a nation, Nigeria has supported international peacekeeping initiatives and provided both material and human resources for peace initiatives in regions as diverse as Congo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia, Liberia and Sierra Leone to mention a few.

The current efforts of Nigeria in the crisis in Dafur, Sudan is only following a long tradition which has spanned 27 United Nations peace keeping missions, two African Union peace arrangements, three ECOMOG operations and one Bilateral Mission in Tangayika (now Tanzania), since its independence.

Nigeria has also contributed in no small measure to the training and development of the legal institutions of various African nations, not only by opening the doors of its Law School and Universities to the students from these other nations, but also by providing high ranking Judicial Officers to assist in institutional capacity building.

Unfortunately, however, this massive deployment of human and material resources has failed to translate into any real gains in administrative or judicial positions in the international fora. An opportunity has now presented itself for the country to contribute part of its formidable legal arsenal to the growth and development of international criminal justice.

To this end, Nigeria is proud to present its candidate for the Judgeship position at the International Criminal Court – Mr Chile Eboe Osuji.

As you all must be aware, Mr Osuji is a seasoned international lawyer with established competence in substantive international criminal law and procedure. His experience derives from over two decades of practice as a legal practitioner before the courts of Nigeria and Canada as well as before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

His experience includes more than ten years in the field of international criminal law, as a senior prosecution trial counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, senior appeals counsel at the Special Court for Sierra Leone and as senior legal adviser to the Judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. As a researcher, Mr Eboe Osuji has an extensive record of research and publications in the area of International criminal law and international law.  He has taught International Criminal Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Canada.  In addition, he has appeared as guest lecturer or speaker on numerous speaking engagements on the subject of international criminal law.  Mr. Eboe-Osuji is also an expert on the issues of gender violence and child abuse in armed conflicts.

Currently, Nigeria occupies only two part-time positions in international legal institutions – one on the International Law Commission and the other as a Judge at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. This cannot be compared to the situation of some of our brother African states with diverse positions in the International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as well as the International Criminal Court and the office of the Prosecutor for International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Distinguished members of the diplomatic community, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, with these few words, I present Nigeria’s candidate for the esteemed position of a Judge of the International Criminal Court – Mr Chile Eboe Osuji.

Thank you all for listening and enjoy the evening