ELECTION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 43 OF THE CONVENTION ON
THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD, OF FIVE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON
THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD, TO REPLACE THOSE WHOSE TERMS ARE
DUE TO EXPIRE ON 28 FEBRUARY 1997
Note by the SecretarynGeneral
Addendum
1. The present addendum contains biographical
data concerning Mrs. Rita Félicité Sodjiedo, whose
candidacy was presented by the Republic of Benin in
document CRC/SP/21/Add.3.
GE.97n15517 (E)
Rita Félicité Sodjiedo (Republic of Benin)
I. CIVIL IDENTITY:
Born: 18 December 1955, in Cotonou, Benin
Civil Status: Married, mother of three children
Occupation: Magistrate, Judge of the Court of Appeal of
Cotonou
Grade: Magistrate A1n9
II. DIPLOMAS:
1996: Diploma of advanced studies (DEA) in Human
Rights at the Human Rights Institute n Catholic University of
Lyon. Class: AMention Assez Bien@.
Special subjects:
n Law of Minorities
n Humanitarian law.
Memorandum on the Rights of the Child entitled: ALe
Bénin d'hier et d'aujourd'hui face à la Convention
relative aux droits de l'enfant@ (Benin past and present and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child).
1979: Master's Degree in Legal Sciences.
Special subject: Business law and judicial careers.
National University of Benin.
III. TRAINING:
1. Initial training course in magistracy:
16 April 1980 n 16 April 1981: Magistrate's training
course at the Appeal Court of Cotonou.
2. Improvement courses:
n JanuarynJune 1985: Improvement
course at the Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature in Paris.
n SeptembernOctober 1993:
Specialization course on Economic disputes.
Course on the law of summons (Référés) (Ecole
Nationale de la Magistrature, Paris).
3. Human Rights courses:
n July 1989: Human Rights course
at the Centre for Human Rights in Geneva, (Switzerland).
n Human Rights course at the
International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg (France).
October 1996: Training seminar on the drafting and
presentation of periodic reports, organized in Cotonou from 7 to
11 October 1996 by the Ministry for Legislation, Justice
and Human Rights, the Centre for Human Rights in Geneva and
UNICEF.
4. A list of further courses and training
followed by the candidate may be consulted at the Secretariat.
IV. EXPERIENCE:
1. Professional experience:
Since 18 March 1992: Judge at the Court of Appeal at
Cotonou.
September 1990 n March 1992: Magistrate for Social Affairs
at the Court of First Instance of Cotonou.
January 1989 n September 1990: Deputy Public Prosecutor at
the Court of Appeal of Cotonou.
February 1984 n December 1988: Senior Deputy Public
Prosecutor at the Court of First Instance of PortonNovo.
August 1982 n February 1984: Investigating Magistrate at
the Court of First Instance of Ouidah.
April 1981 n August 1982: Serving with the Court of Appeal
of Cotonou.
2. Other experience:
n Since August 1996: Member
(Director) of the Governing Board of the International Office for
Children's Rights, Montreal, Canada.
n Member of the Scientific Committee of
the Institute for Human Rights and the Promotion of
Democracy: Democracy on a dayntonday basis, Cotonou,
Benin.
1995: Assistant
SecretarynGeneral to the Autonomous National Electoral Commission
(CENA) (as representative of the Benin Human Rights Commission) for
the legislative elections.
Since 1993: Lecturer at the Institute for Human Rights and
the Promotion of Democracy: Democracy on a dayntonday
basis. Subjects taught: Rights of the Child and Rights
of Women.
1985n1990: Chaired several ad hoc (administrative)
disciplinary committees.
3. Participation in seminars, study trips and
other activities.
3.1 Simple participation:
List available at the Secretariat.
3.2 Participation with written contributions:
19n21 August 1996: Les droits de l'enfant:
Méthodologie et pédagogie de leur enseignement dans le
milieu préscolaire et scolaire, (the Rights of the
Child: Methodology and pedagogy of children's education in a
preschool and school environment) at the WorkshopnSeminar on the
Application of article 40 of the Constitution on 11 December 1990,
Institute for Human Rights and the Promotion of Democracy:
Democracy on a dayntonday basis (IDH and DQ), Cotonou, Benin.
March 1996: Reports on the Rights of the Child in
Benin, Regional Seminar on the Rights of the Child, organized
by the International Commission of Jurists, Abidjan,
Côte d'Ivoire.
20n22 November 1995: The Rights of the Child:
Human Rights for Children, at the National Seminar on the
Rights of the Child to life and a family and customary practices in
Benin, Ecole Normale Intégrée de Parakou, organized by
the DEInBenin National Section of the l'Association Béninoise
d'Assistance à l'enfant et à la famille, and the World
Organization for Early Childhood Education.
11n14 December 1994: La Communauté, instrument
indispensable pour la surveillance (The Community,
indispensable monitoring instrument), at the European Conference on
the Monitoring of Children's Rights, organized by the University of
Gand, Belgium.
29n31 July 1992: Droits de l'enfant et législation
en matière d'adoption (Rights of the Child and adoption
legislation), at the National Seminar on AAdoption, a new chance
for abandoned children@, Centre d'Accueil et de Formation (CCAF),
PortonNovo, Benin. (Organizers: Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs, Terre des Hommes Foundation, UNICEF).
22n24 April 1993: La protection juridique et sociale de
l'enfant au Bénin (Legal and Social Protection of Children
in Benin), at the Seminar on the Plan to set up Centres for the
Legal and Social Defence of Children, organized by Defence for
Children International and DEInBenin, Centre Paul IV, Cotonou,
Benin.
4. Lectures delivered:
June 1994: Lecture on
the Convention on the Rights of the Child (for the public
and officials), Ifangni, Benin, organized by the DRAVO NGO).
Lecture on the Convention on the Rights of the Child at
the Seminar for the Training of rural organizing mothers,
PortonNovo, Benin (Organizers: DRAVO NGO).
Lecture on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of
the Child, PortonNovo, Benin (at the request of the DRAVO
NGO).
June 1992: Lecture on
The Rights of the Child, PortonNovo, Benin, organized by the
DRAVO NGO.
9n27 March 1992: Procedure for preparing
legislation
Initiatives for the defence of children's rights in
Africa: the case of Benin
Seminar on AThe Right to Development n Regional Programme of
Training for Urban Organizers in Frenchnspeaking and
Portuguesenspeaking Africa@, ENDAnThird World, Centre Paul IV,
Cotonou, Benin.
September 1991: Lecture on The Legal Protection
of the Child, Cotonou, Benin, organized by the National Section
of Defence for Children International (DEInBenin).
VI. SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATIONS:
A list of the scientific associations to which the Candidate
belongs may be consulted at the Secretariat.
MEETING OF STATES PARTIES
