Salimata Sawadogo

Salimata Sawadogo (December 31, 1958 in Ouagadougou, Upper Volta) is the President of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. She is also a magistrate, and (as of 2006), the ambassador of Burkina Faso to Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Cape Verde, and Gambia. She is also involved in many associations like the Jurist Women's Association of Burkina Faso.

Family

Her father, Souleymane Tapsoba, was a trader who was working between Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Burkina. Her mother, Rasmata Tapsoba, was a housewife.

Since 1985, Sawadogo has been married to Joseph Sawadogo, an educator who works in Burkina Faso. She has 2 children, Laetitia and Philippe.

Education

Sawadogo earned her scientific baccalaureate (called in Burkina “BAC D”) in 1979. Then she entered the University of Ouagadougou's law school. In 1980 she got her “DEUG I” (a degree of general academic studies) and in 1981 her “DEUG II”. In 1982, she got her law degree. In 1983 she received her master’s law degree. In 1985, she received her magistracy degree in Paris at the “Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature de Paris.”

Professional career

Work experience

As work experience she did some professional training like the training of social security executive; the national seminar on the professional risks; she also did a professional training in Belgium.

Magistracy

* Examining magistrate to the Court of Bankruptcy of OuagadougouThis job consists, in a penal conflict, to find the elements and the authors of the case punished by the law
* President of the Court of the Work of OuagadougouThat job which consist to judge the individual conflicts and also judge the questions about the social security.
* Magistrate in the Court of Appeal of OuagadougouShe was participating to the judgment of civil, commercial affairs.
* Vice president of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de OuagadougouThis position job consists to judge familial affairs, civil and commercial affairs, penal affairs and so forth.
* Technical adviser to the Minister of Transport and TourismIn this job she was assisting the minister about the entire judicial questions clause to the politic of Transport and the Tourism in Burkina.
* Secretary-general of the Ministry for JusticeIn this position job she assisted the minister in the application of the politic of the Justice Ministry. She also assured the administrative and the technical coordination of central, external services; to finish she assured the relationship of the department with the others ministries.

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights

In 2001 she was nominated a member of the African Commission of Human Rights. For her good job, in November 2003, she was nominated the President of the African Commission of Human Rights. This position required a lot of job, a perfect knowledge about human rights and also the capacity to control and work in Group. The African Commission of Human Rights is an organization that was officially inaugurated on 2nd November 1987 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after its members had been elected in July of the same year by the OAU (Organization of African Unity) 23rd Assembly of Heads of State and Government. The African Commission is officially charged with three major functions: the promotion of human and peoples' rights, the protection of human and peoples' rights, and the interpretation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. CADHP (2005, December) Commission Africaine des droits de l’homme et des peoples.Retrieved April 2006, from http://www.achpr.or.africancommissionofhumanandpeoplerights.commis] Wildaf/feddaf- Afrique(2004, July) de L’Ouest. African Commission Retrieved March 2006, from http://www.wildaf-ao.org/fr/article.php3id-article=350.html]

Ambassador of Burkina Faso in Senegal

Since July 2003, Salimata Sawadogo is the ambassador of Burkina Faso to Senegal (where she is living) but also in Mauritania, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, and in Gambia. It is the first time for Salimata Sawadogo to be ambassador, but she is a courageous woman and she has enough self confidence which allows her to work in serenity without any complex, and also to bring her little stone to the development of Burkina. Being ambassador and living in Senegal, the two countries (Burkina and Senegal) has created some good relationshipLe Fasot.net. (2005, August) Salimata SAWADOGO ambassador or Burkina in Senegal, chairperson of the African commission of human and people’s rights.Le Fasot.net. (2005, August) Salimata SAWADOGO ambassador or Burkina in Senegal, chairperson of the African commission of human and people’s rights.Retrieved March 2006, from http://www.lefaso.net/article.php3=8844-500k.html]

Professional associations

Salimata Sawadogo is also active in many associations. For instance, she was the president of the jurist’s women association of Burkina called “AFJ/BF”. This association has been created in November 1993 in order to fight for the promotion of right, and against all forms of women discrimination. The main role of this association is to be in the service of the woman and the family especially, and the burkinabé people in general. To make know and to promote all the women’s rights and the family. In addition, to study the national and the international legislation for women and the family; assist the woman in the defence of her rights, train and sensitize all society about the women rights and so forth.AFJ/BF (2000, September) Association des femmes jurists du Burkina Faso Retrieved April 2006, from http://courantsdefemmes.free.fr/assoces/burkina/AFJBF/AFJBF.html]

Footnotes