Alice Mogwe

Alice Bahumi Mogwe (born 1961) is a Botswanan activist and lawyer. She is the founder and director of the human rights organization Ditshwanelo.

Alice Mogwe
Alice Mogwe in 2010
Born1961
Molepolole, Botswana
OccupationPresident of the International Federation for Human Rights; Director of Ditshwanelo

In 2019, she was elected to a three-year term as president of the International Federation for Human Rights.

Mogwe's work focuses on protecting political freedoms, abolishing the death penalty, and ensuring rights for minorities, women, children, LGBTQ people, domestic workers, and refugees and other migrants.

Early life and education

Alice Mogwe was born in 1961 in Molepolole, Botswana. She began university in South Africa during apartheid at the University of Cape Town. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1982 and then a bachelor of laws in 1985, she moved to England to obtain a master of laws from the University of Kent in 1990.[1]

Career

After returning to Botswana, Mogwe began her career as a human rights lawyer, becoming a founding member of the organization Women and Law in Southern Africa.[1][2]

In 1993, she established the human rights organization Ditshwanelo, which she has continued to direct.[1][2][3] The organization, also known as the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, provides legal aid and otherwise advocates for human rights causes.[4]

Her human rights work with Ditshwanelo included supporting the rights of indigenous groups in Botswana such as the Basarwa.[1][5][6] She is also known for having organized legal fights against death penalty cases and against the deportation of refugees.[1][3][7]

Mogwe founded and worked with various other civil society organizations in Botswana, including the Domestic Workers’ Foundation and the Botswana Labor Migrants Association.[1] She has also worked as an election observer in Botswana and as co-chair of Tanzania Elections Watch.[8][9][10]

A practicing Anglican, she is a member of the Anglican Peace and Justice Network.[11] Early in her career, she served as a delegate for the World Council of Churches.[12]

In 2019, Mogwe was elected president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), a major nongovernmental human rights federation and watchdog group. Her three-year term is scheduled to end in 2022.[3][13] She had previously served as deputy secretary-general, then secretary-general of the organization.[14][15]

Awards and recognition
  • Human Rights Prize of the Commission Nationale Consultative des Droits de l’Homme (CNCDH) (2012)
  • David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award (2010)
  • Recognition of Contribution as a Vanguard Women's Leader of Botswana (2005)
  • Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite awarded by the Government of the Republic of France (2005)[1][16]

References
  1. "MOGWE Alice Bahumi". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2018-01-21. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05.
  2. The governance of legal pluralism : empirical studies from Africa and beyond. Zips, Werner, 1958-, Weilenmann, Markus, 1954-. Wien. ISBN 978-3-7000-0517-9. OCLC 706409713. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2020-12-02.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. "La militante botswanaise Alice Mogwe élue présidente de la FIDH". Le Monde (in French). 2019-10-25. Archived from the original on 2020-11-16.
  4. "Ditshwanelo - the Botswana Centre for Human Rights". Eldis. Archived from the original on 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  5. Meldrum, Andrew (2004-03-05). "San fight to keep Kalahari hunting grounds". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  6. Kenyon, Paul (2005-11-06). "Row over Bushmen 'genocide'". BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  7. Tebele, Mpho (2019-09-02). "Bots gives Nam refugees ultimatum to return home". The Southern Times. Archived from the original on 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  8. "Alice Mogwe". International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  9. "Tanzania Election Watch Panel of Eminent Persons Calls for Release of Arrested Opposition Leaders". AllAfrica. 2020-11-03. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  10. Mutambo, Aggrey (2020-10-30). "Magufuli takes wide lead over Lissu in Tanzania presidential election". The East African. Archived from the original on 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  11. "Alice Mogwe is elected President of the International Federation for Human Rights". Anglican Peace and Justice Network. 2019-10-29. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  12. Anderson, David E. (1993-06-26). "Making human rights a universal objective". St. Petersburg Times.
  13. Lynch, Justin (2020-02-12). "Will Sudan's Bashir Be Handed to the ICC at Last?". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  14. "FIDH opens an office in South Africa". Fédération internationale pour les droits humains. 2015-05-27. Archived from the original on 2020-09-30. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  15. "Botswana activist Alice Mogwe, new FIDH President:"The universality of human rights is under attack - we must fight back!"". International Federation for Human Rights. 2019-10-24. Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  16. "DITSHWANELO receives human rights award". Sunday Standard. 2012-12-13. Archived from the original on 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
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