On 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
Post tagged in "Rule of Law"
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 Joins UNGA Side Event on Strengthening Democratic Foundations in Africa
Posted on October 1, 2025Presenters at the September 18 event, L-R: speaker Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, Nigerian economic policy expert and co-founder of Transparency International; moderator Adaobi Egboka; panelist Bodunrin Joseph Adebo; panelist Ashley Law; panelist Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi; and KDI Team Lead Bukola Idowu. Photo credit: KDI On September 18, Adaobi Egboka, Director, Africa Initiatives participated in “Strengthening Democratic Foundations in Africa: From Old to Emerging Forms of Cooperation,” a high-level conference alongside the 80th UN General Assembly in New York. The event was organized by Vance Center client and partner Kimpact Development Initiative, a research and advocacy nonprofit dedicated to advancing democratic governance.... read more
Vance Center Hosts Discussion on Military Trials, Rule of Law and Human Rights in Uganda
Posted on May 20, 2025On May 7, the Vance Center, along with international partners, hosted a virtual panel discussion on “Principles of justice and military trials in Uganda.” The panel, the first in a planned series delving into rule of law concerns in Africa, drew more than 100 attendees over the course of the wide-ranging conversation, which covered human rights violations and the use of military trials against civilians in Uganda as well as concerning legal trends in East Africa. read more
Message from Vance Center Executive Director Alex Papachristou
Posted on February 7, 2025This week, the National Public Radio show On Point invited me to speak about the freezing of US foreign aid and the shutdown of USAID, and what they mean for our international community. This conversation couldn’t be timelier, or more urgent. These events have preoccupied me since the January 20 executive order freezing all foreign aid, and I’ve only grown more concerned as each day has brought more notices and orders instructing our clients that projects should be paused, put on hold, or shut down entirely. We’ve received these messages, too. Yes, the Vance Center has lost some federal funding... read more
Vance Center Continues Judicial Independence Series with Conversation on the New York and Mexican Judiciary
Posted on May 25, 2024Pictured (from left): Diego Sierra Laris, Jaime Chávez Alor, Justice Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, Justice Belen, and Michael Fernandez. Photo credit: Vance Center On May 15, the Vance Center and the Mexican Bar Association (Barra Mexicana de Abogados) brought together two distinguished judicial actors, Hon. Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, of Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice and Hon. Ariel E Belen, retired Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, for a timely discussion surrounding judicial independence. Over the hourlong conversation, the two judges outlined the parallels and contrasts between the... read more