The President of the International Bar Association (IBA), Almudena Arpón de Mendívil Aldama, has accepted an invitation to deliver a keynote address on 29 November 2024 at the 29th East Africa Law Society (EALS) Annual Conference . She will attend the event, taking place in Kampala, Republic of Uganda from 27-30 November 2024, with a contingent of senior IBA officers in a show of the Association's heightened commitment to the African region.
The IBA President is included in a speaker line-up that features Uganda's President, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and EALS President, the Honourable Justice Dr Fauz Twaib. Currently in its 29th year, the EALS Conference primarily brings together members of the national bars in the East African community, industry leaders and government officials from across East Africa to share best practice and discuss matters affecting the legal profession, the rule of law and human rights in the region.
Ahead of the Conference, President Arpón de Mendívil commented: 'I was honoured by the invitation of the EALS to be a key-note speaker at their Conference, which offered the IBA a great opportunity of showing our renewed interest in Africa. The IBA is the global voice of the legal profession. In view of that ambition, the IBA needs "more Africa", ensuring that the voice of the African legal profession is heard within our Association and stepping up our activities in the African continent. Additionally, even greater efforts are needed to guarantee that IBA objectives - to promote and defend the rule of law and human rights, advance legal education, and enhance unity amongst legal professionals across the planet - are also achieved in the African region. This necessity is not "one way", it is reciprocal. Africa, on its side, requires "more IBA". Africa needs to be more visible in the international legal community, the IBA being a great platform for that purpose. Raising awareness of the legal opportunities and challenges that exist in Africa. can only bring advantages.
For those reasons, a strategic plan for Africa was approved by the IBA last July 2024 thanks to the great work of our African Regional Forum and the Africa Working Group, under the leadership of the Chair of the IBA Legal Practice Division, Carola van den Bruinhorst. The plan contemplates practical steps to be undertaken within the next three years such as organising more activities in African countries, supporting the obtaining of visas, lowering the financial barriers which are an obstacle for engagement for a high number of African colleagues, and investigating whether a local IBA office should be set up in Africa, to support the activities.'
Caliis Badoo, Chair of the IBA African Regional Forum stated: 'Having the IBA President Almudena Arpón de Mendívil as a Keynote Speaker at the 29th East African Law Society [EALS] Annual Conference is a great honour for us at the IBA African Regional Forum [ARF]. For the ARF, the EALS is a true partner and friend. This special relationship began in Kigali, Rwanda in 2023 when a team led by Florida Kabasinga, current Secretary-General of EALS, and Moise Nkundabarashi, President of the Rwanda Bar Association, collaborated with us to successfully execute the IBA ARF Biennial Conference.'
He continued: 'The recent adoption by the IBA Management Board of a three-year strategic plan with a focus and an African pivot is an important development that has a clear objective of increasing the participation of African lawyers and bringing the African perspective to bear on the IBA's activities. Our involvement in the EALS Annual Conference this year reaffirms the IBA's continued commitment to the African region. We believe that this occasion is an opportune one, and another sign of the great bond and friendship between our Forum, the IBA in general and the EALS. On behalf of the ARF I wish the EALS a very successful Annual Conference and General Meeting.'
The theme of the 2024 EALS Conference is 'Leveraging the legal profession for sustainable growth and development in the East African community'. On 29 November, President Arpón de Mendívil's keynote address will focus on said topic, which perfectly matches the findings of the positive impact of lawyers' work and the rule of law included in the landmark IBA report on the social and economic impact of the legal profession , as they pertain to Africa and the status of the rule of law in Uganda. Senior IBA officers will join the President to deliver different aspects of the presentation. The delegation includes Babatunde Ajibade, Vice Chair/Treasurer of the Section on Public and Professional Interest ; Caliis Badoo, Chair of the African Regional Forum ; Ken Murphy, Chair of the IBA Bar Issues Commission (BIC); Pascale Lagesse, IBA Legal Practice Division Secretary-Treasurer/IBA Treasurer; and Tshepo Shabangu, incoming junior Vice Chair of the BIC and representative of the Law Society of South Africa at the IBA Council .
The EALS is the regional umbrella bar association of the legal profession in East Africa, bringing together the Law Society of Kenya , Burundi Bar Association , South Sudan Bar Association, Tanganyika Law Society , Rwanda Bar Association , Uganda Law Society and Zanzibar Law Society .
