Clément Nyaletsossi Voule

Clément Nyaletsossi Voule
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 2018
Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres
Preceded byAnnalisa Ciampi
Succeeded byGina Romero
Personal details
BornTogo
EducationNantes University
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
ProfessionDiplomat, jurist

Clément Nyaletsossi Voule is a Togolese diplomat and jurist. Voule served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association from 2018 to 2024. Prior to this, Voule served as African Advocacy Director International Service for Human Rights (ISHR).[1]

Early life and education

Born and raised in Togo, Voule received his degree in fundamental rights from Nantes University in France. Voule went on to receive his master's degree in international law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.[1]

Human rights career

Voule served as Secretary-General of Amnesty International's Togo branch.[2] Voule also served as Secretary-General of the Togolese Coalition of Human Rights Defenders. In 2011, he became an advisor to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Voule joined the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) in 2006, and served as the organization's African Advocacy Director. In this capacity, Voule pushed the government of Mali,[3] Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso to enshrine human rights protections.[4]

United Nations

In 2018, Voule was selected to serve as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, replacing Annalisa Ciampi.[5] Voule is the second African to serve in this position, after inaugural holder Maina Kiai, a Kenyan national.

Voule's appointment was praised by the Community of Democracies (CoD), which stated it "look[ed] forward to supporting him in his mandate".[6] In his first report to the U.N. Security Council, Voule identified the oppression of LGBTI people as a top human rights concern.[7] Voule has endorsed new civil liberties protections for internet users, arguing that freedom of assembly should apply in digital spaces.[8]

In office, Voule joined a group of experts condemning the Hong Kong national security law as "incompatible" with international human rights law.[9] In the run-up to the 2021 Nicaraguan election, Voule urged the country's leaders to cease violations of human rights.[10] While in his UN post, Voule remains a researcher at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.[11]

He was succeeded in 2024 as the Special Rapporteur by Gina Romero from Colombia.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "OHCHR | Clément Nyaletsossi Voule". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  2. ^ "A Conversation with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association | Global Partnership for Social Accountability". www.thegpsa.org. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  3. ^ "Mali | Groundbreaking new law strengthens legal protection of human rights defenders". ISHR. 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  4. ^ "Researcher - The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights". www.geneva-academy.ch. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  5. ^ Matthew. "New UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of assembly and association". www.civicus.org. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  6. ^ "The CoD welcomes Mr. Nyaletsossi Clément Voule as the new UNSR on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association – CoD". Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  7. ^ "Clément Voule: Eight challenges to one of our most essential rights". IFEX. 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  8. ^ "UN expert welcomes landmark protection for online assembly". www.icla.up.ac.za. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  9. ^ "UN experts urge review of Hong Kong security law; say arrests 'incompatible' with human rights and int'l law". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2021-10-14. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  10. ^ Managua, Staff and agencies in (2021-02-19). "Nicaragua leaders face backlash after forming space agency amid human rights crisis". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  11. ^ "Promoting and Protecting the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association and Civic Space Worldwide - The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights". www.geneva-academy.ch. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  12. ^ "Current and former mandate holders (existing mandates)". OHCHR. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.