The Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA) says its unwavering and unequivocal stance on enhancing a pragmatic rule of law regime in West Africa has been validated and acknowledged by the recent overwhelming election of its National Secretary General, Cllr. Bornor M. Varmah, as Vice President of the West African Bar Association (WABA), during the just-concluded annual general conference of that regional body.
The election of the LBA Secretary General as WABA Vice President took place in Cotonou, Benin Republic. The annual conference of WABA took place on June 25—27, 2024, in partnership with the United Nations office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS). The objective of the conference was to adopt the amended constitution of WABA and elected members of WABA’s governing bodies.
The LNBA, in a release issued Tuesday, July 2, 2024, various bar associations in the sub-region, as well as the WABA Secretariat, UNOWAS and partners from the United Nations system took part in the annual conference. During the conference, the bar said, bar associations and legal practitioners exchanged views on a variety of subjects, including the role of the lawyers and of an organization such as WABA in ensuring a democratic and peaceful society free from tension and conflict.
At the end of the proceedings, the participants adopted the new WABA constitution and elected for a two-year term a new executive committee drawn from the three language groups of the sub-region: francophone, anglophone and lusophone. The Malian Bar President, Ousmane Bouba Traore, was elected as President, while the Liberian Bar’s Secretary General was elected Vice President. The Secretary General of the Nigerian Bar, Adesina Adegbite, was elected Secretary General of WABA, among others.
The West African Bar Association (WABA), which brings together leading members of bar councils and lawyers in the sub-region, was created in 2004 in response to human rights and rule of law challenges that undermine efforts to promote democratic consolidation, good governance, sustainable peace and development in the region. Since its inception, the association’s primary role has been to mobilize bar associations and legal practitioners to play a proactive role in the development of legal systems and institutions in the region and to contribute significantly to efforts that deepen democratic governance through respect for the rule of law and human rights.
In a related development, the LNBA National President, Cllr. Sylvester D. Rennie, has returned to the country from the United States of America, after successfully participating in the Justice and the Rule of Law Global Forum, organized by the World Bank’s Governance Global Practice, which brought together over 200 partners, leaders and practitioners from government and judiciaries, the private sector, academia, civil society and other international development organizations working in areas of justice and rule of law.
At the meeting in Washington, D.C., the LNBA National President assured the World Bank of the LNBA’s continued collaboration with the Bank to enhance global rule of law.
The LNBA disclosed that the two trips to Washington, D.C., USA, and Cotonou, Benin, were fully sponsored by the World Bank and the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS).