DR
Henry Darlington Richmond Carrol (M.R.G.), a Doctor Of Laws (U.K.), a Solicitor
General Emeritus Of The Gambia, a Visiting Professor Of Land Law at Kwame
Nkrumah University Of Science & Technology (K.N.U.S.T.), (2012) and The
Head Of the three- Man high –level Gambian Delegation to The U.N. H.C. R.
Sponsored Training On “Statelessness And Nationality”, convened at The Faculty
Of Law Of The University Of Ghana, Legon, Accra, from 12th to 16th
December 2016, has recently returned
home. The other two Members of The
Gambian High Level Delegation were:-
Alhaji Mbye Omar Saho, a Senior
Law Lecturer at The Faculty Of Law Of The University Of The Gambia (U.T.G.) and
Mr. Malick Jallow, a Law Lecturer Of The Faculty Of Law Of The U.T.G. and DR
Carrol’s Junior at The Gambia Bar Association for 2 decades. The aforesaid
prestigious Ghanaian University, is the first and oldest University in
Independent Ghana, and it was founded by the late, His Excellency DR. Kwame
Nkrumah (OSAGYEFO), the first President Of Independent Ghana, and he was the
able Statutory Chancellor of the aforesaid Citadel Of Learning, which is “The Oxford
University Of Ghana”. Vel Primus, Vel
Cum Primus (Latin i.e. either the first or among the first).
The
intensive U.N. Training Programme was attended by 24 Participants / Delegates
from: - The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Tanzania,
Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia (i.e. Anglophone or English-Speaking
African Countries). The U.N. Training
Programme had 5 highly qualified and experienced Facilitators / Resource
Persons namely: - (1) Ms. Emannuella Mitte, Senior Regional Protection Officer
(Statelessness) U.N.H.C.R. Regional Representation For West Africa in Dakar,
Senegal, (2) Professor Geoff Gilbert, a
Professor Of International Human Rights & Humanitarian Law, University Of
Essex, U.K. (3) Mr. Ibrahima Kane, a Senior and famous Senegalese Human Rights
Lawyer, (4) Ms. Bronwen Mandy, a Senior Human Rights Consultant and Author
(U.K.) and (5) Mr. Ayalew Getachew, a Human Rights Consultant from Ethiopia.
The
24 Participants / Delegates were given lectures by the aforesaid Facilitators /
Resource Persons, on different aspects of Statelessness and Nationality, twin
topics in Jus Gentium (Latin i.e. Public International Law or The Law Of
Nations). The key Human Rights Legal
Instruments for this U.N. Training were:- (1) The U.N. Convention Relating To
The Status Of Stateless Persons (1954), (2) The U.N. Convention On The
Reduction Of Statelessness (1961), (3) The Abidjan Declaration On Ministers Of
E.C.O.W.A.S. Member States On Eradication Of Statelessness (2015), (4) The African
Charter On The Rights And Welfare Of The Child & (5) The African / Banjul
Charter On Human And People’s Rights (whose Headquarters/ Secretariat is
situated in The Gambia, from 12th June 1989 to date. QuicQuic Plantator Solo Solo Cedit (Latin
i.e. what is attached to the land, goes with the land). The Gambia has Signed and Ratified all of the
said important Human Rights Legal Instruments.
Article 1 of the 1954 U.N. Convention authoritatively defines “A
Stateless Person” as “a person who is not considered as a National by any
State, under the operation of its law”.
This is both a mixed question of fact and law.
On
13th December, 2016, DR. Henry D.R. Carrol (M.R.G.), a Senior Human Rights
Lawyer, was taken by DR. Stephen Kofi
Sondem (a Law Lecturer at K.N.U.S.T.), to pay a laconic Courtesy Call on
Professor Kofi Quashigah, the present
able Dean Of The Faculty Of Law, University Of Ghana, Legon, and DR. Carrol
(M.R.G.) presented to Professor Kofi Quashigah, a copy of the final proof of
his latest Law Book or his Fourth Law Publication entitled:- “VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE GAMBIA (CASE STUDY)”. Professor
Ms. Akuaa Kuenyehia, a predecessor of Professor Kofi Quashigah L.L.B. Honours (Ghana), LLM, PhD (Nigeria), like DR. Carrol
– M.R.G., was also a co –author of “ WOMEN AND LAW IN WEST AFRICA” , which was
published by The University Of Ghana, Legon in 1998, with funding from Carnegie
Corporation, U.S.A. In 2003, Professor
Ms. Akuaa Kuenyehia, was Officially appointed as a Judge of The
International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) in The Hague in The Netherlands, whose
present able Chief Prosecutor is, Gambian-born Honourable DR Mrs Fatou B.
Bensouda (O.R.G.). Professor Ms. Akuaa Kuenyehia, has now successfully
completed her tour of duty at The I.C.C.
In
his masterpiece lecture to Participants / Delegates on 13/12/2016 entitled:-
“STATE SUCCESSION, DECOLONISATION & STATELESSNESS”, the famous and erudite
Senegalese Senior Human Rights Lawyer, Mr. Ibrahima Kane, alluded to the famous
Human Rights Case entitled:- “EX PRESIDENT KENNETH KAUNDA OF ZAMBIA Vs THE ZAMBIAN GOVERNMENT,
which was ably adjudicated upon by The African Commission On Human &
People’s Rights, in which the African Defendant State, under the then
leadership of the late President Fredrick Chiluba, in 1996 passed a Law which
retroactively stripped Mr. Kaunda off his Zambian Citizenship, making him
legally unqualified to re-contest a Zambian Presidential Election, because his
parents were Malawians. Concerning Ex Post Facto (Latin i.e. retroactive/
retrospective) Law, Section 100 (2) (c) of The Gambia’s 1997 Constitution
reads: - “The National Assembly shall not pass a Bill – to alter the decision
or Judgment of a Court in any proceedings, to the prejudice of any party to
those proceedings, or deprive any person retroactively of vested or acquired
rights, but subject thereto the National Assembly may pass Bills designed to
have retroactive effect”. This important
Constitutional Provision, was the ratio decidendi (Latin i.e. Legal Principle),
of the locus classicus (Latin i.e. best known) The Gambia Supreme Court Case
entitled: - I.G.P. Vs OUSMAN SABALLY (2001), which was ably adjudicated upon by
the Honourable Mr. Justice Hassan B. Jallow (C.R.G.), a then Gambian Judge Of
The Gambia Supreme Court, who later became the able Chief Prosecutor Of The
United Nations International Criminal Tribunal For Rwanda (U.N. - I.C.T.R.) in
Aarusha, Tanzania.
After
all of the Twenty Four Participants / Delegates had successfully completed the
intensive / marathon Training Programme, they were all awarded Certificates on
“Statelessness And Nationality”, which were signed by (1) Ms. Emmanuelle Mitte
(a French Citizen) and (2) Professor Geoff Gilbert (a U.K. Citizen). The said
Certificates, were presented to them by The Head Of The U.N.H.C.R. Office in
Accra, Ghana. At the end of the Closing
Ceremony of the Training, at The Conference Room Of The Faculty Of Law Of The
University Of Ghana, Legon, (in which Ghana’s Focal Point For Statelessness
spoke), DR Henry D.R. Carrol (M.R.G.), a Senior Oxford-Trained Lawyer, was
unanimously and democratically elected by his fellow Participants / Delegates
(unopposed), to deliver The Vote Of Thanks, on their behalf. But since DR Carrol (M.R.G.), is both an
author and a passionate advocate for Women’s Rights, he voluntarily and
unilaterally decided to relinquish this Professional Responsibility to
Professor Ms. Niveda Cindy Ricks of The University Of Liberia. This was not an alleged violation of the
famous Latin Maxim: - delegatus non potest delegare (i.e. a delegated power
cannot be sub – delegated. Members of
The 3-Man High Level Gambian delegation, are extremely grateful to 3 Senior
Officials of The Gambia Office of U.N.H.C.R., for efficiently facilitating
their participation in the aforesaid U.N. Training on Statelessness And
Nationality namely: - (1) Mr. Sekou K. Saho- Head Of U.N.H.C.R. Office, (2) Ms.
Anna A. Sarr – Senior Admin/Finance Assistant And (3) Mr. Buramaneing Jaiteh,
The Protection Associate.
