Adama Dieng (born 22 May 1950,

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

) is a former UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and former board member of the

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization that works to support and strengthen democratic institutions and processes around the world, to develop sustainable, eff ...

and a former registrar of the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; french: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; rw, Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nation ...

. He was designated an expert on human rights in Sudan on November 12, 2021 by the UN.

Life and career

Adama Dieng holds degrees in law from

Dakar University Cheikh Anta Diop University (french: Université Cheikh Anta Diop or UCAD), also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheikh ...

(CFPA) and in

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

from the Research Centre of

The Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law (french: Académie de droit international de La Haye) is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taugh ...

. His legal career started in Senegal where he held several positions before becoming registrar of Supreme Court of Senegal and, from 1976 to 1982, personal assistant to its president. He then served as Legal Officer of Africa for the International Commission of Jurists from 1982 to 1989, Executive Secretary (1989-1990) and Secretary-General from October 1990 to May 2000.

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary- ...

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

appointed him in January 2001 as the Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He has worked as a consultant for many international organizations including UNITAR, the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

, the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, the

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

and the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

. He is a council member of the Observatoire Panafricain de la Démocratie, a member of the executive committee of

Africa Leadership Forum The Africa Leadership Forum (ALF) is a not-for-profit organization founded in Nigeria in 1988 by Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. The primary focus of ALF is to help improve the current quality of leadership in Africa while at the same tim ...

and a board member of the

International Institute of Human Rights The International Institute of Human Rights (French: ''Institut international des droits de l'homme,'' IIDH) is an association under French local law based in Strasbourg, France. It includes approximately 300 members (individual and collective) wor ...

. Dieng, a Muslim, strongly criticized the

Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI) is a declaration of the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) first adopted in Cairo, Egypt, on 5 August 1990, (Conference of Foreign Ministers, 9–14 Muharram 14 ...

, saying, among other things, that it introduced "intolerable discrimination against both non-Muslims and women". On 17 July 2012,

Ban Ki-moon appointed him the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide.

Some publications

* L'Organisation internationale du travail et la justice sociale * The Quest Forward - which way forward for Africa * Democracy and the Rule of Law * The Role of Lawyers and Judges on the International Stage * Nature of Conflicts * The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights * New trends in Human Rights and Corruption in Africa

References

External links

Entry on the IDEA Homepage

1950 births Living people 20th-century Senegalese lawyers International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda officials Place of birth missing (living people) Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni Senegalese officials of the United Nations Senegalese Muslims 21st-century Senegalese lawyers {{Africa-law-bio-stub