Uganda elected vice president of Asian African legal body

Uganda's Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka has been elected as the Vice President of the Asia Africa Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO).

Mr Kiryowa was elected at the ongoing annual 62nd Session in Bangkok Thailand, under the theme “Advancing the development of international law through Asian and African leadership.”

AALCO was originally constituted on November 15,1956 as a tangible outcome of the historic Bandung Conference, held in Indonesia, in April 1955 with Seven Asian States, namely Burma (now Myanmar), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, and the United Arab Republic (now  Republic of Egypt and Syrian Arab Republic) as the original member states.

Its main objective is to "serve as an advisory body to its member states in the field of international law and as a forum for Asian-African co-operation in legal matters of common concern.”

The name was changed later, in 1958, to Asia African Legal Consultative Committee, to include the participation of countries from Africa.

 In 2001, it was changed to its current Asian African Legal Consultative Organization, (AALCO), reflecting the growing status of the Organization.

In his maiden address as the vice president, Mr Kiryowa expressed his sincere gratitude to the session for entrusting Uganda with the responsibility of Vice Presidency of the 62nd Session of AALCO and promised that the country will do her best to deliver in the new role that she has assumed today.

Further in his remarks, the chief government legal adviser noted that although there had been a eurocentric approach to public international law where Asia and Africa were seen primarily as objects rather than active participants, AALCO had consistently taken a meaningful approach to addressing the pressing legal issues facing the world and reshaped the perception.

“Asia and Africa are seen as formidable subjects of international law and equal members of the international community,” he said

The Attorney General commended AALCO for forging many close connections with the United Nations and its agencies plus several intergovernmental organizations such as the Commonwealth Secretariat and the African Union, also noting that even though AALCO faced challenges, he was pleased with key successes such as the launch of the Integrated Scheme for Settlement of Disputes in Economic and Commercial Transactions.