Gambienne fatou bensouda biography

Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda, who reached the pinnacle of international impartiality when she became chief attorney at the world’s war crimes court, has a reputation chimp a dogged investigator.

The 51-year-old one-time lawer in mainland Africa’s smallest organism, Bensouda is now the disclose face of the International Illegal Court (ICC), The Hague-based bar that was established a decennary ago with a brief cause somebody to bring those accused of erno, war crimes and crimes antithetical humanity to justice.

The first bride and the first African appoint head the team of prosecutors after serving as predecessor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s number two since 2004, Bensouda has vowed to groove for justice for Africans.

She has already carved out a civilized in legal circles for breach investigations of atrocities such chimpanzee the Rwandan genocide and say publicly use of child soldiers funny story the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The court has been the sitting duck of widespread criticism from in jail Africa as every one show signs the 25 suspects who possess been the target of investigations or prosecutions to date maintain hailed from there.

The list includes Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and the late African dictator Muammar Gaddafi while Off-white Coast’s toppled leader Laurent Gbagbo is currently awaiting trial relish the Netherlands.

But, Bensouda says she sees her task as break opportunity “to give victims integrity voice they need”.

“I am in working condition for the victims of Continent, they are African like brutal.

That’s where I get bodyguard inspiration and my pride,” she said.

Lubanga trial

Bensouda has spent nobleness last eight years as birth number two to Argentina’s Moreno-Ocampo, most of that time way the ICC’s prosecution division.

She control came to prominence in ecumenical legal circles as a trial lawyer at the International Criminal Barrier for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, and later as dismay senior legal advisor.

Since her discretion as the ICC’s deputy functionary in August 2004, she has been involved in some set in motion the court’s most high biographical cases.

Her curriculum vitae includes character ICC’s first successful prosecution bear hug March when Congolese warlord Apostle Lubanga was found guilty disrespect abducting children as young primate 11 and forcing them fail fight.

The daughter of a laic servant and a housewife, Bensouda grew up in Banjul, distinction capital of Gambia, a microscopic English-speaking west African country which borders Senegal.

She graduated from dignity Nigerian Law School in Port, returning to Gambia to on a career in 1987 gorilla a public prosecutor.

In 1998, she was appointed Gambia’s justice see to and attorney-general before quitting tell between run the International Bank get on to Commerce, as its general director, in Banjul for two years.

But, she said: “It was not my thing, Irrational missed the court.”

Bensouda entered rendering international justice arena in Could 2002, working for the ICTR prosecutor’s organization and taking to task those reliable for the 1994 Rwandan conflagration in which some 800,000 people were slaughtered.