Marie Thérèse Mukamulisa (born 29 June 1965) is a

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

n jurist who was appointed to a six-year term on the

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, also known simply as the African Court, is an international court established by member states of the African Union (AU) to implement provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Right ...

in 2016.

Early life and education

Mukamulisa was born in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

on 29 June 1965. She has a degree in civil law from the

University of Rwanda University of Rwanda (, ) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate, multi campus university based in Kigali, Rwanda. Formed in 2013 through the merger of previously independent education institutions, the University of Rwanda is the largest ...

(1990) and a master's degree in common law from the University of Moncton in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada (1993). She has a Masters in Genocide Studies and Prevention from the Center for Conflict Management at the University of Rwanda.

Career

Mukamulisa was an accountant and cashier at the Project of Agricultural Investigation and Statistics. Director Car Insurance at Sonarwa and Executive Secretary of the NGO umbrella organization CCOAIB. Mukamulisa was one of twelve commissioners who drafted the Rwanda post-

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, and has been a lecturer in

Comparative Law Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law and legal systems of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal systems (or "families") in existence around the world, includ ...

at the University of Rwanda. Mukamulisa was appointed as a judge of the

Supreme Court of Rwanda The Supreme Court of Rwanda is the highest court of Rwanda, as defined by Article 143 of the 2003 Constitution of Rwanda The Constitution of Rwanda was adopted by Rwandan constitutional referendum, 2003, referendum on May 26, 2003. It replaced ...

in 2003. She has spoken about the difficulties women face within the judicial system, particularly with

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

cases, due to cultural and gender factors. In 2015, she became a member of the High Judicial Council of Rwanda. She is also a member of the International Hague Network of Judges. Mukamulisa was elected to a six-year term on the African Court on Human and People's Rights alongside Ntyam Mengue in July 2016. Her appointment has since been criticised due to Rwanda's decision to withdraw from allowing individuals and NGOs to appeal directly to the court, and to Mukamulisa's involvement on the panel of judges who sentenced opposition politician

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza (born 3 October 1968) is a Rwanda, Rwandan politician who served as chairwoman of the United Democratic Forces of Rwanda, Unified Democratic Forces from 2006 to 2019. As an advocate for democracy and critic of Presiden ...

, who appealed to the African Court.

Personal life

Mukamulisa is married and has two sons.

References

External links

The Honourable Marie Thérèse Mukamulisa at the Nuremberg Symposium - May 4, 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukamulisa, Marie Thérèse 1965 births Living people People from Kigali National University of Rwanda alumni Université de Moncton alumni Rwandan women lawyers Rwandan lawyers Rwandan judges Rwandan feminists Judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Rwandan judges of international courts and tribunals