Arusha, 09 June, 2020: The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights has received with deep sadness the news of the death of its First Vice-President, Hon Justice Modibo Tounty Guindo (66) of Mali. He died in Bamako on Thursday, 4 June 2020, after a short illness.
The Judges observed a minute’s silence and signed a condolence book in memory of the late Justice Guindo today before the start of the on-going 57th Ordinary Session.
‘’He will be remembered as among the first eleven Judges who pioneered the work of the African Court at its inception in 2006 and also for the enormous contribution he made in the judiciary in his country where he served as a Judge for over 30 years,’’ remarked President of the African Court, Hon Justice Sylvain Oré.
Justice Guindo was elected Judge of the Court in 2006 for a six-year term and served as the first Vice-President from 2006 to 2008. At the time of his death, Justice Guindo was a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Mali.
‘’ Justice Guindo’s historic work lives on and the posterity will come to appreciate and recognise his contribution for laying the foundation to issues of protection of human rights on our continent,’’ added Justice Oré.
Paying his respect, the first President of the Court, Hon Justice Gérard Niyungeko, said:
‘’As members of the Court’s first Bureau, we had the daunting task of establishing the Court immediately and fully operational…Judge Guindo gave me multiform support at all times. He made himself available whenever necessary, even as he continued his professional career in Bamako.’’
The African Court has conveyed its condolences to the family of the late Justice Guindo and the people of Mali on this great loss.
TRIBUTE TO JUDGE MODIBO TOUNTY GUINDO
By Hon. Justice Gérard Niyungeko,
First President of the African Court (2006-2008)
Judge Modibo Tounty Guindo and I were among the first members of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights who were elected in January 2006 and took office in July 2006. In September of the same year, we, he and I, were elected by our Colleagues, respectively, as Vice-President and President of the Court.
As members of the Court’s first Bureau, we had the daunting task, in collaboration with all our other Colleagues, of establishing the Court immediately and fully operational. It was incumbent on us to, in particular, develop and implement advocacy vis-à-vis the policy organs of the African Union, especially the Permanent Representatives Committee of member States and the Executive Council, so that the Court could obtain, from the outset, sufficient means for its functioning particularly in terms of the structure of the Registry, the status of the Judges and the budget of the Court. We, as representatives of the Court, were able to achieve satisfactory results in all of these respects, and by the end of our mandate in 2008, the Court had become administratively operational.
In this task, as in others that followed, such as the recruitment of the first Registry staff members or the identification of the premises which temporarily houses the Seat of the Court in Arusha, Judge Guindo gave me multiform support at all times. He made himself available whenever necessary, even as he continued his professional career in Bamako, thus exhibiting his full commitment to the Court and the value he attached to the success of the new institution.
Throughout his tenure as a member of the Court (2006-2012), Judge Guindo was characterized by unwavering dedication and loyalty to the Court. A man of few words, humble, never projecting himself, respectful of the little ones, a keen observer, he was always listening to others and intervened only when it was strictly necessary, and in general, to unlock complicated situations.
I remember him as an honest Colleague of integrity who became an endearing and loyal Friend.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
Justice Modibo Tounty Guindo is from Mali. He was elected in 2006 for a term of six years. He served as the Court’s first Vice-President from September 2006 to September 2008.
He had previously worked as technical consultant at the Ministry of Justice, Mali, and served as a Judge at the Court of First Instance in Timbuktu, Mali.
He had been Judge for 29 years in his country before joining the African Court and has assumed various responsibilities both at the level of the Courts (President of the Justice of Peace, President of the Criminal Court, President of the Children’s Court; “Procureur de la République” (Attorney General), Puscine Judge at the Court of Appeal (the Civil Chamber, Rehabilitation Court) where he presided over sessions, President of the Trial Chamber, President of the Labour Court, Deputy Procureur General of the Appeal Court.
In the administration of the Judiciary, he was Advisor in the Ministry of Justice in charge of human rights; to that end, he presented the second Periodic Report of Mali on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Liberties before the Human Rights Committee in Geneva, he was a panellist in the United Nations inter-Agency Workshop on the human rights-based approach which started in 2002 in Stanford, the USA, he was an Expert at the Conference of governmental bodies in charge of human rights in Francophone countries, which held in Brazzaville from 25 – 28 April 2003; he proof-read the draft document establishing the National Human Rights Commission, he was UNFPA Consultant for the realization of the Hurist Programme in collaboration with the OHCHR in Mali, in April 2003 for the implementation of the Project to strengthen human rights and support democratic institutions.
He was a Legal Consultant for the UNPFPA in Mali for civil status registration matters which lead to the drafting of a new civil status legislation (laws and civil status registration documents).
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