ICC appoints Ghanaian international lawyer Evelyn Ama Ankumah as Special Adviser

Evelyn Ama Ankumah, a prominent Ghanaian international lawyer and human rights advocate, is one of two African legal luminaries who have been newly appointed as Special Advisers without portfolio to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The other is Judge Sanji Monageng from Botswana. In making the announcement on Tuesday, the ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, said their “expertise will significantly enhance the Office's work on critical issues”.

“Their involvement will undoubtedly provide tremendous benefits to our Rome Statute stakeholders and staff. I deeply appreciate their generosity in offering their time, extensive experience and valuable insights,” he stated.

Ms Ankumah, founder of Africa Legal Aid (AFLA) based in The Hague, has legal experience across Africa, Europe and North America, and has led initiatives promoting gender-sensitive and victim-centred approaches to international criminal justice.

She was a Research Fellow at Maastricht University and authored a groundbreaking book on the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

A statement by the ICC said Ms Ankumah “shaped key legal frameworks for international justice, including the Review of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression, and she leads the Gender Mentoring Training Programme for judges”.

She also helped establish the International Criminal Court Bar Association (ICCBA), and is a member of the International Gender Champions Network.

As editor and author, she has published six books and over 40 editions of the AFLA Quarterly journal, “continuing to drive global efforts for justice, accountability and human rights,” the ICC said.

Dr Monageng, with 30 years of experience in law and human rights, was an ICC Judge from 2009 to 2018, holding roles such as Appeals Division Judge and First Vice President.

She has served as a Judge in Eswatini and The Gambia, and as Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

She has received numerous accolades, including the Human Rights Award from the International Association of Women Judges in 2014.

The ICC said Special Advisers “are persons with outstanding professional credentials”.

Their appointment on a pro bono basis “is intended to create a network of experts representing different regions of the world with cultural, linguistic and gender diversity.”

“Their specific expertise reinforces the OTP's capabilities to effectively and efficiently discharge its mandate under the [Rome] Statute [of the ICC], and to strengthen specialisation on a wide range of issues and priority areas identified by the Prosecutor,” the ICC statement added.

GNA