January 2026

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐈𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐂𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐑. 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐇 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃 (𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐂) 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐉𝐔𝐋, 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International cooperation and Gambians Abroad is pleased to announce The Gambia’s Candidature as Member of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). The Election of Candidates to the ACERWC is scheduled to take place at the 48th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union in February 2026, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Gambia’s Candidate, Dr. Satang Nabaneh, is a leading Gambian Legal scholar, Human Rights expert, and an advocate with extensive experience in Child Rights and Child Protection, Advocacy, Gender Equality, and African Human Rights Systems. Her work reflects a deep commitment to rights-based education, policy reform, and normative development at national, regional, and international levels. Possessing a formidable academic background, Dr. Nabaneh holds a PhD in Law from the University of Washington, United States of America, a Doctor of Laws (LLD), a Master of Laws in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa (LLM) from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Hons) from the University of The Gambia. This foundation has enabled her to contribute significantly to scholarship, teaching and policy engagement on complex issues affecting women and children. Professionally, Dr. Nabaneh has built a distinguished career that combines academia, research, advocacy, policy development and institutional leadership. Since August 2021, she has served as a Research Professor of Law at the University of Dayton Human Rights Center, USA where she engages in research, teaching, and mentoring in Human Rights Law. She is also an Extraordinary Lecturer at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, following her tenure as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the same institution from 2021 to 2023. Between 2019 and 2021, Dr. Nabaneh managed the Academic Program on Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa at the Centre for Human Rights, contributing to curriculum development, research coordination, and capacity building across the continent. Earlier in her career, Dr. Nabaneh served as a Project Officer on Women’s Rights at the Centre for Human Rights from 2016 to 2019, where she worked on legal reform, advocacy, and norm-setting initiatives as Legal Adviser for the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa. At the national level, she has also lectured at the Faculty of Law of the University of The Gambia and has held leadership roles within civil society, including serving as Coordinator of the Female Lawyers Association of The Gambia and co-founding Think Young Women (TYW). Notably, she has been a long-standing Technical Adviser to the Child Protection Alliance (CPA), a role she fulfilled over more than a decade, underscoring her sustained commitment to child protection and welfare. She has played key roles in the advocacy campaigns that led to the enactment of the Tourism Offences Act 2003, Children’s Act 2005, Trafficking in Persons Act 2007, Women’s Act 2010, and Sexual Offences Act 2013 and the Domestic Violence Act 2013. Dr. Nabaneh is also the Founder and Editor of Law Hub Gambia, an initiative established in 2019 to promote legal awareness, research, and dialogue on law and governance issues. She also serves as the Deputy Secretary General of the African Network of Constitutional Lawyers (ANCL). Dr. Nabaneh’s scholarly output is extensive and highly regarded. She has authored and edited numerous books, book chapters, policy briefs, and peer-reviewed articles on harmful practices, women’s rights, sexual and reproductive health, disability rights, and constitutionalism in Africa. Her recent publications include major works on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), harmful practices, Girls’ Education and the implementation of the Maputo Protocol and the African Children’s Charter. She regularly contributes to global policy and public discourse through platforms such as The Conversation, Open Global Rights, and leading academic publishers including Palgrave Macmillan and Pretoria University Law Press. Dr. Nabaneh’s insights have been featured in The New York Times, Reuters, and Time. She was named one of 10 exceptionally talented African scholars to watch in 2024 by The Africa Report. Beyond academia, Dr. Nabaneh has provided high-level consultancy and technical assistance to Governments around the world, United Nations Agencies, African Union organs and national organizations and institutions. She has played a key role in developing The Gambia’s National FGM Policy and Plan of Action, supported the implementation of the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and contributed to normative development on women’s rights within the African Human Rights System. Her work includes drafting guidance on the Maputo Protocol and the African Children’s Charter through Joint General Comments, supporting both state and shadow reporting processes and conducting research on litigating Women’s and Girls’ Rights before African Union Human Rights Mechanisms. Through this candidacy, The Gambia reaffirms its commitment to the promotion and protection of children’s rights in Africa by presenting a candidate of exceptional merit, scholarship, leadership, and expertise.