May 7, 2004

Guests:          Kossi Houssin, Supreme Court Magistrate; Gisele Charlotte Coulibaly, Law Officer; Aleine Djessi Ndine-Mpessa, Ministry of Justice; Djonata Djatto, Office of the Prime Minister; William Fernandez, Magistrate’s Court of Conakry; Dit Balobo Guindo, Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Youssoupha Diao Mbodj, Kaolack Court of Appeals

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, and Investigators Chris Farrell and Geoff Lyon met with the Africa delegation at the invitation of the State Department’s Professional Exchange Program.  The delegation included high-ranking judicial officials from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Togo – countries located in West Africa.

“To promote an appreciation for the rule of law in democracy building, including the protection of individual rights…” was one of the stated goals of this exchange.  The Judicial Monitoring Program proved to be of primary interest.  Following a friendly and lively exchange regarding judicial oversight, a consensus was expressed by the African delegation that such a program would be beneficial in Africa and they hoped to see one established in the near future.