Djibouti: Human rights lawyers, including their treatment by the Djibouti government; a list from the Bar Association of lawyers practising human rights law; whether a Midgan with a French law degree was permitted to practice law and if so, the number of Midgan lawyers in practice (1977-1991)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 April 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | DJI31519.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Djibouti: Human rights lawyers, including their treatment by the Djibouti government; a list from the Bar Association of lawyers practising human rights law; whether a Midgan with a French law degree was permitted to practice law and if so, the number of Midgan lawyers in practice (1977-1991), 1 April 1999, DJI31519.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab8278.html [accessed 29 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No information on the existence of Djiboutian human rights lawyers nor whether members of the Midgan clan were permitted to practise law during the time period of 1977-1991 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, the following information from telephone interviews with a Djibouti lawyer and human rights defender also member of the Djboutian Bar Association may be of interest (1, 6 Apr. 1999).
Founded in 1987, the Djibouti Bar Association is a small organization, which comprises only 12 members. According to the law, all Djibouti citizens, including members of the Midgan clan have a right to choose their career. However, no member of the Midgan clan has been member of the Djibouti Bar Association. He also stated that to the best of his knowledge, he was not aware of the existence of any Dibouti lawyer who is a specialist in human rights law. The only lawyer and human rights defender who had some problems with the current Djibouti authorities is Aref Mohamed Aref. He added that he acts as his representative barrister in the court.
A 8 February 1999 Amnesty International Urgent Action states that Aref Mohamed Aref, a human rights defender and lawyer "has been summoned to appear in court in Djibouti on 15 February 1999 on charges of fraud, an imprisonable offence."
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Amnesty International. 8 February 1999. Djibouti: Aref Mohamed Aref, 46, Human rights lawyer. (AI Index AFP62/04/99). London: Amnesty International.
Djibouti Lawyer and human rights defender. 1 and 6 April 1999. Telephone interviews.
Additional Sources Consulted
Resource Centre country file. Djibouti. 1990-1991.
Electronic sources : Internet, LEXIS/NEXIS, World News Connection.
Three oral sources consulted did not provide information on the above mentioned subjects.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact the office of the Djibouti Bar Association were made.
