Participants in the first training session, for judges and magistrates, in Nigeria’s Kaduna State, April 16, 2026. Photo credit: CYPLP From April to July, Vance Center attorneys participated in a series of training sessions organized by Children and Young People Living for Peace (CYPLP), a youth-led organization in Nigeria. The trainings were the final phase of a recent project for CYPLP, for which the Vance Center’s Africa Initiatives team worked with Nigerian law firm Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie (UUBO) to produce a training manual for pro bono lawyers, prosecutors, registrars, and magistrates to better understand and respond to cases involving... read more
Post tagged in "Africa Initiatives"
Vance Center Supports Client-Led Training on TFGBV for Legal Professionals in Nigeria
Posted on July 23, 2026
Vance Center Hosts Panel Discussion on Internet Shutdowns in Africa
Posted on February 26, 2026On February 26, the Vance Center and international partners hosted a virtual panel discussion on “Internet Shutdowns in Africa: Implications for Democracy, Human Rights, and Fundamental Freedoms.” The panel, part of a series examining rule of law issues in Africa, drew more than 100 attendees for a discussion of governments’ growing use of internet, communications, and social media shutdowns in countries across Africa, especially around elections. The conversation was co-sponsored by the New York City Bar Association’s African Affairs and International Human Rights Committees, the Pan African Lawyers Union, and the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center. Vance Center... read more
Vance Center Participates in 85th African Commission Session in Banjul
Posted on October 29, 2025The Vance Center’s Adaobi Egboka, center, with speakers at the African Commission side event, “The role of African Human Rights Institutions in Responding to the Intensifying Crackdown on Civil Liberties and Human Rights Defenders ahead of Elections in East Africa,” in Banjul, The Gambia, October 23, 2025. Photo credit: Vance Center Adaobi Egboka, the Vance Center’s Director, Africa Initiatives, arrived in Banjul several days before the session began to engage with various forums preceding the session. These early events included the NGO Forum, from October 17-19, which brings together representatives of local and international NGOs to share updates on their... read more
Vance Center Promotes Pro Bono in Africa in Events with Bar Association Leaders in Kenya and Nigeria
Posted on October 20, 2025Ramadhan Abubakar, President of the East Africa Law Society, offers opening remarks at a meeting of bar association leaders in Nairobi, Kenya, October 9, 2025. Photo credit: Bowmans Kenya While in Kenya to attend the African Bar Association Presidents’ Summit in October, Adaobi Egboka, the Vance Center’s Director, Africa Initiatives, hosted a constructive meeting with leaders of bar organizations from half a dozen countries. The conversation, held on on October 9, 2025, highlighted the Vance Center’s existing pro bono efforts in Africa and offered a space to discuss collaborative ideas to advance pro bono in the bar leaders’ respective jurisdictions.... read more
Vance Center Staff Contribute to Inaugural African Bar Association Presidents’ Summit in Kenya
Posted on October 13, 2025Panelists (L-R): Prof. Kivutha Kibwana of Daystar University; Patricia Kameri-Mbote, Director of UNEP’s Law Division; Adaobi Egboka, Director, Africa Initiatives at the Vance Center; and Maria Mbeneka, Council Member and Treasurer of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association. Photo credit: Vance Center This inaugural summit, titled “Catalyzing Environmental Rule of Law for Environmental Action in the African Region,” was organized by the Law Society of Kenya and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with the East Africa Law Society and Daystar University in Kenya. On October 8 and 9, the event brought together presidents of bar associations, jurists, academics, policymakers,... read more
Vance Center Welcomes New Human Rights & Access to Justice Staff Attorney
Posted on November 13, 2025Yasmine Palmer joined the Vance Center in November 2025 as Staff Attorney, Africa Initiatives, Human Rights and Access to Justice Program. She works on programmatic activities and projects across all four of the Vance Center’s practice areas, with a focus on rule of law and human rights issues in Africa. Prior to joining the Vance Center, Yasmine worked as a freelance international legal consultant for Dr. Olufemi Elias, Judge ad hoc at the International Court of Justice. She provided research and editorial support on the treatment of the immunity of international organizations by African national courts and contributed to... read more