We’re only a few days away from 2023. There’s so much more I’ve got to catch you up on:
The Gambia in Transition Published!
Our book, The Gambia in transition: Towards a New Constitutional Order, was published open access in August by the Pretoria University Law Press. The book is edited by (myself) Dr. Satang Nabaneh, Research Professor of Law, University of Dayton; Dr. Adem Abebe, Programme Advisor, International IDEA, and Extraordinary Lecturer, Centre for Human Rights; & Mr. Gaye Sowe, Executive Director, Institute for Human Rights in Africa (IHRDA).
The volume brings together practitioners and scholars of political science, law, human rights, and media studies to discuss issues of governance and democracy, constitution-making, and human rights protection in the Gambia, in response to the social, economic, political, and governance challenges the country faces.
We had a series of events marking the book’s publication.
Book Launch
Law Hub Gambia, with support from the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative and in partnership with the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), and Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), organized a dialogue on “Building strong Rule of Law Institutions” and the book launch of “The Gambia in Transition” Towards a new Constitutional Order.” On 21st October 2022, as a side event at the 73rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
We had the honor of having the Chief Justice of The Gambia, Hon. Hassan B. Jallow give the keynote statement and launched the book.
——————————————–
Law Hub Gambia- Report and Videos from the Dialogue & Book Launch event >>
ABA Hosts Roundtable and Book Launch Event on Building Strong Rule of Law Institutions in the Gambia >>
Pre-event: Authors Meet Critics
We also had a Book Talk at my alma mater, the University of The Gambia Faculty of Law, where we held an interactive and dynamic discussion with book chapter authors. Several of the chapter authors also had media engagement promoting the book.
African Commission sessions
Launch of the Guidelines on Shadow Reports of the African Commission
Happy to see the culmination of years of work with the launch of the Guidelines on Shadow Reports of the African Commission on October 23, 2022, in The Gambia. It was indeed an honor working closely with the Honourable Commissioners under whose mandate this guideline was developed and engaging in extensive consultations with various stakeholders, including NGOs and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs). For the first time since its establishment, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights published guidelines on shadow reporting ahead of state reviews for relevant stakeholders, including NHRIs, NGOs with observer status, institutions, and any other interested party submitting shadow reports under the African Charter and its supplementary protocols. During the panel, I gave an overview of the content of the Guidelines.
Access the Guidelines >>.
Side-event on #FGM
Along with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, Hon. Janet Sallah-Njie, I participated in the side event on ‘Lessons on using Multi-Sectoral approaches to address Female Genital Mutilation,’ organized by Equality Now.
Panel at the NGO Forum
Building on the 2021 University of Dayton Human Rights Center Social Practice of Human Rights conference, I organized a panel on the theme ‘Democracy and the Social Practice of Human Rights in Africa’ as part of the NGO Forum during the 73rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in The Gambia. Read my blog >>
Keynote Speaker
I delivered a keynote statement titled ‘Limits and possibilities for international human rights and gender agreements’ Pathway to 17 Summit. The Pathway to 17 Summit is a global event focused on bringing together thought leaders, industry experts, and practitioners working to solve complex issues aligned with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 3-day summit focused on five thematic areas of achieving inclusive: digital finance, digital economies, payments, green economies, and inclusive societies through gender equality with a particular lens on how these affect emerging economies.
Roundtable on the State of Governance in the Sahel
It was thrilling to be in Dakar in November for the Roundtable on the State of Governance in the Sahel organized by the UNDP Regional Hub for West and Central Africa and International IDEA. I got to speak on the Panel on “Respect for Constitutions as a Cornerstone for Democratic Governance.”
It was delightful to see collaborators/coauthors and spend time with amazing Gambians who continue to inspire, encourage, and learn.
65th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association
I attended the African Studies Association Annual Meeting held in Philadelphia for the first time, focusing on African Urbanities: Mobility, Creativity and Challenges. I fangirled as I met #Afrifem living legend and pioneer Amina Mama.
I was part of the Roundtable on Governance and Law in Senegambia, sponsored by the Senegambia Studies Group. I presented on ‘The Gambian Supreme Court and the Transition to Democracy: An empirical analysis of the Court’s Rulings from 2017-2021’. The Gambia’s transition is still fragile while pursuing the longer-term process to ensure justice and accountability. It has thus become essential to study the new role of the Supreme Court within this transition period. This work investigates under-researched yet critical questions and contributes to law, judicial politics, and democratization literature.
The convening provided a warm and welcoming environment for collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Teaching Highlight: Critica Race & Feminist Legal Theory
During the fall semester, I got to teach this fascinating, timely, and complex course for the University of Dayton School of Law. I learned so much from the students, class interactions, discussions, reflections, and collaborations. I tremendously enjoyed it a lot and the co-learning experience.
#traveldiaryofsatang 2022
2022 In Travel Round-Up
I had a really great year of travel to build and expand our partnerships in Africa, join new spaces for convening, see friends, eat, and just vibe. I returned to my favorite place, Bergen (twice), and had fantastic food and conversations in Dakar and Philly.
Summer Africa Trip
As the Director of Programs at the UD Human Rights Center this summer, I traveled and met some of our African partners doing ground-changing work in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, South Africa, Ghana, and The Gambia.
Publication List: 2022
Peer-reviewed Books
- Nabaneh, S. Abebe, A & Sowe, G. The Gambia in Transition: Towards a New Constitutional Order (Pretoria University Law Press, 2022)
Peer-reviewed Book chapters
- Nabaneh, S. ‘From a ‘crusade to root out homosexuality like malaria’ to a ‘non-issue’: The absence of sexual minority lawfare in The Gambia’ in Jjuuko, A, Gloppen, S, Msosa, A & Viljoen, F. Queer lawfare in Africa: Legal strategies in contexts of LGBTIQ+ criminalisation and politicisation (Pretoria University Law Press, 2022)
- Nabaneh, S. & Bah, B. ‘The Covid-19 Pandemic and Constitutional Resilience in The Gambia’ In E Durojaye & D.M. Powell (eds) Constitutional Resilience and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from Sub-Saharan Africa (Routledge, 2022) 201-221
- Nabaneh, S. ‘The Future in Transition: Realising Respect for Human Rights in the ‘New’ Gambia’ in R Adeola & MW Mutua (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Democracy, Governance and Justice in Africa (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022)
- Nabaneh, S. Abebe, A & Sowe, G. ‘The Gambia in transition – Towards A New Constitutional Order’ in Nabaneh, S. Abebe, A & Sowe, G (eds) The Gambia in Transition: Towards a New Constitutional Order (Pretoria University Law Press, 2022) 1-6
- Jammeh, S. & Nabaneh, S. ’A Case for Constitutional Guarantees for Freedom of the Media in The Gambia’ in Nabaneh, S. Abebe, A & Sowe, G (eds) The Gambia in Transition: Towards a New Constitutional Order (Pretoria University Law Press, 2022) 66-94
- Nabaneh, S. in Nabaneh, S. ‘Women’s political participation in The Gambia – One step forward or two back?’ in Nabaneh, S. Abebe, A & Sowe, G (eds) The Gambia in Transition: Towards a New Constitutional Order (Pretoria University Law Press, 2022) 125-152
- Nabaneh, S. Abebe, A & Sowe, G. ‘A new constitution in The Gambia- A people’s appeal’ in Nabaneh, S. Abebe, A & Sowe, G (eds) The Gambia in Transition: Towards a New Constitutional Order (Pretoria University Law Press, 2022) 327-333
- Nabaneh, S. ‘The APRM As a Tool for Democracy and Political Governance in The Gambia’ Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Africa Governance Insights Vol 1: Governance, Human Rights and Migration in Africa (2022) 27-34.
Peer-reviewed blogs
- Nabaneh, S. ‘The Status of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Africa,’ Völkerrechtsblog, March 9, 2022. Doi: 10.17176/20220309-120935-0.
- Nabaneh, S. ‘Why The Gambia should fast-track gender quotas for women’ The Conversation January 27, 2022.
- Nabaneh, S. ‘Women’s Political Participation in The Gambia: Gender Quotas as Fast Track to Equality’, IACL-AIDC Blog, January 25, 2022.
Other articles
- Nabaneh, S. & Katsoni, S. ‘Chatting with Satang Nabaneh’ Völkerrechtsblog, December 12, 2022. Doi: 10.17176/20221209-121442-0
- “We must channel all our anger into taking action to safeguard existing abortion rights” – Dr. Satang Nabaneh (The Gambia), Eyalablog, May 16, 2022.
Seminars, lectures, conferences, workshop presentations
- Workshop on Gender, rights and health: resistances and contestations, South Africa Sweden University Forum (SASUF), September 22, 2022
In this session, I joined other scholars researching contestations and resistances related to different aspects of gender, sexuality, reproduction, and health in South Africa and Sweden to present ongoing and planned research projects. Varied and interesting areas included conservative mobilization against sexual and reproductive rights and gender equality, obstetric violence and obstruction to access/conscientious objection, assisted reproductive technologies with a specific focus on surrogacy, and xenophobia as structural violence.
- Bergen Exchanges 2022, 22-26 August 2022
- Panelist for South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC) Women Month Webinar Series, Current Trends in the Legal Regulation of Abortion: Reflections on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, August 2, 2022
- Nabaneh, S. (2022). ‘Dobbs Decision: Comparative Lessons from the African Region’ in the Roundtable: Abortion Rights after Roe: International Human Rights and Comparative Legal Approaches, Law and Society Annual Meeting, July 14, 2022
- Nabaneh, S. (2022). ‘Best practices at the national level to alleviate harmful practices against children – The Gambia’ at the Hybrid Conference on the Domestication and Application of the African Children’s Charter organized by the Children’s Rights Unit, at the Centre for Human Rights, June 29, 2022
- Nabaneh, S. (2022). Presented on Abortion Reform: Lessons from Africa as part of the panel on Comparative Legislative Approaches, Harvard Human Rights Journal’s 2022 Symposium “Legislating Abortion: Comparative Legal Perspectives on Statutory Abortion Rights,” March 25, 2022
Awards & Honors
During International Women’s Day 2022, I was honored to be the winner of the Florence Mahoney Award for Women in Academia by She Awards Gambia. Dr, Mahoney is the first Gambian woman to be awarded a Ph.D. The award recognized my scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and service contributions. I am committed & dedicated to the advancement of women in academia, mentoring colleagues & supporting communities!
Press
My 2022 takeaway is that building and nurturing relationships are vital!
I’d love … my tribe – the kind of people who will show up for me with a few questions asked. My life has truly been affected by my friends around the world. It’s a small but very impactful and resourceful group, and I could rely on them for everything. Our shared value, passion, and interest in advancing human rights, mainly women’s and girls’ rights, make every meeting with them meaningful and resourceful. It is how we ask more of ourselves. They also exude friendship, goodwill, joy, and love.
— Satang Nabaneh, ‘Chatting wth Satang Nabaneh’
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a marvelous New Year! Thanks for joining me on this journey.
You might also like
