Meeting of States parties

Thirty-second meeting

New York,6 September 2012

Item 5 of the provisional agenda

Election, in accordance with articles 28-3 2

of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of nine members of the Human Rights Committee to replace those whose terms are due to expire on 31 December 2012

Election of members to the Human Rights Committee*

Note by the Secretary-General

Addendum

1.In accordance with articles 30, paragraph 4, and 32 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the thirty-second meeting of States parties to the Covenant will be convened by the Secretary-General at United Nations Headquarters on Thursday, 6 September 2012.

2.The curricula vitae of 11 candidates received by 26 June 2012 and other candidates received after 26 June 2012 are reproduced in documents CCPR/SP/81/Add.1-3.

3.Attached to the present document is the curriculum vitae of a candidate proposed by Gambia on 31 August 2012.

4.In connection with document CCPR/SP/81/Add.3, the Permanent Mission of Bahrain to the United Nations informed the Secretariat, in a note dated 4 September 2012, that the Government had decided to withdraw the nomination of Mr. Ahmed Abdulla Farhan as a candidate for election to the Human Rights Committee.

Annex

Curriculm vitae of a candidate

Naceesay Salla-Wadda

Date and place of birth: October 27, 1971, Banjul

Working languages: English

Current position/function

Appointed as Justice of the Gambia Court of Appeal

Main professional activities (1978 to 2010)

(i) December 1992 to September 1994: Worked as a legal clerk at The Attorney General’s Chambers, Ministry of Justice. Attached to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions – which is the Criminal Division of The Attorney General’s Chambers and Department of State for Justice of The Gambia. Here I was responsible for the recording of all criminal case – files, the filing of substantive cases in court for State Counsel and also the filing of miscellaneous application at the High court registry as well as the deposition to, of affidavits for State Counsel. I also worked at The Department of the Curator of Interstate Estates, of the same Department of State.

(ii) November 1997 to September 1998: Worked as a public prosecutor at the CRIMINAL DIVISION of The Attorney General’s Chambers and Department of State for Justice. My duties included the writing of legal opinion on mostly criminal cases, drafting of statements of claim and defences, drafting of indictments and other types of legal documents and the prosecuting of all types of cases at the magistrate courts level.

(iii) December 1999 to 2001: Worked as a state counsel at the Attorney General’s Chambers and Department of State for Justice. I was still assigned at the Criminal Division of the Department of State for Justice. My responsibilities now included the writing of legal opinion on criminal cases; drafting of legal documents on mostly criminal cases; the prosecution of all types of cases at the Magistrates Courts, High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court, and the giving of advice to the Government on criminal law issues.

(iv) January 2002 to December, 2003 – Promoted to the position of senior state counsel. My duties now include, in addition to those mentioned supra, the leading of junior counsel to court in both Criminal and Civil cases.

(v) July 2002 - Deputizing as acting curator of intestate estates for three month period.

(vi) January, 2004 to April, 2005 – Promoted to the position of principal State counsel. My duties included, in addition to those mentioned above, the prosecuting and litigating of high profile criminal cases on my own with little or no supervision.

(vii) April 2005 to December, 2005 – Promoted to Position of deputy director of public prosecutions, at The Criminal Divisionof this Department of State. At that stage, I was working directly and under the supervision of The Director of Public Prosecution. My Duties here included the prosecution of major criminal cases of all types ranging from the following:-

Homicide Offences, Other Offences against the Person, Transnational Crimes, Narcotics and other Drug offences, Offences involving child trafficking, Economic Crimes etc.

At that stage, i acted in the capacity of the director of public prosecutions, criminal division when the D.P.P. is not within the jurisdiction.

I also headed the Homicide Unit of the Criminal Division at the Attorney General’s Chambers.

I also served as the Desk Officer/Legal Adviser for certain institutions such as Women’s Bureau Desk and my responsibilities here included the giving of legal advice on gender issues, interpretation and analyzing of International Conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the 1997 Constitution and other laws of The Gambia and also any other legal matter that may arise.

I also worked in the preparation of the instruments of ratification of the Rome Statute creating the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the Republic of The Gambia and therefore attended the First Assembly of State Parties to The International Criminal Court held at the United Nations Headquarters In New York between the 3rd and 10th of September, 2002.

Furthermore, i was the desk officer responsible for the acitivities of the international criminal court/assembly of state parties – (ICC/ASP) at The Hague, Netherlands and the other ad – hoc tribunals such as the following:-

I.C.T.R. – the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda;

I.C.T.Y. - the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia;

Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Special Court for Iraq.

I also acted as the Desk Officer on The Advisory Committee on Government Records.

December 2005 to September 2006:- Appointed as the acting Solicitor General and LEGAL Secretary at the Attorney General’s Chambers and Department of State for Justice and my duties included advising the Government of The Gambia and Government Departments on a wide range of legal issues as well supervising the administration of the Ministry of Justice.

September 2006 to September 2007 – Obtained a Chevening Scholarship from the British Council through the Department for International Development (DFID) to pursue a one year’s Master of Laws (LLM) Program in Human Rights Law at the London Metropolitan University in London, the United Kingdom.

October 2007 to December 2010- Appointed as a Judge of the High Court and served in several Divisions of the High Court such as in the Criminal Division, Miscellaneous & Family Division, Brikama Division and presently assigned to the Commercial Division.

Educational background

Gambia High School, Banjul, The Gambia: G.S.C.E. Ordinary level, 1990. Division One: AGG: 18

Gambia High School, Banjul, The Gambia: G.C.S.E. Advanced level 1992. Three (3) ‘A’levels achieved in October 1992

Anglia Polytechnic University, United Kingdom LLB (Hons) 2.2

Sierra Leone Law School, Barrister at law Programme, B.L. 2:1

Called to the Gambian bar on 22 December 1999 and awarded certificate of practice as barrister and solicitor of the superior courts of the Gambia

London Metropolitan University- Master of Laws