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SEMINAR ON THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM FOR THE St. George's, Grenada, February 1 & 2, 2001 Panelist Biographies Lic. Marta Altolaguirre is presently a Commissioner with
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She was previously Chair of
the Presidential Steering Commission for Executive Policy in Human Rights
in Guatemala, and has held numerous other advisory and representative
positions with the Government of Guatemala. Her duties in this regard have
included participating in proceedings on behalf of the Government of
Guatemala before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Commissioner Altolaguirre has
published and lectured extensively on human rights, economics and other
domestic and foreign policy issues. She is an attorney and notary, and
completed her graduate studies in Juridical and Social Sciences and
post-graduate studies in Political Science at the Universidad Francisco
Marroquín in Guatemala. Professor Victor O. Ayeni currently holds the position of
Deputy Director, Management and Training Services Division, with the
Commonwealth Secretariat in London. He was previously Professor and Head,
Department of Public Administration, University of the North in South
Africa, and has also held positions with universities in his home country
of Nigeria and in Botswana. A leading authority on the Ombudsman
institution, Dr. Ayeni has published extensively in the areas of
Governance and Administration. He is widely traveled and has conducted
assignments in all regions of the Commonwealth. He is a member of the
Editorial Advisory Board of the International Ombudsman Journal and is
editor of the African Journal of Public Administration and Management. Dr.
Ayeni holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration. Lloyd Barnett, O.J., B.A., LL.B. (Hons.). LL.M., Ph.D. (London), of Lincoln’s Inn. Barrister-at-law, is a practicing attorney in Jamaica and several Commonwealth Caribbean countries. He is the author of The Constitutional Law of Jamaica (OUP) and The Jamaican Constitution – Basic Facts and Questions and has published several legal articles, particularly, in the area of human rights and public law. Dr. Barnett is Chairman of the General Legal Council and the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights. He is a member of the Council of the Jamaican Bar Association and is a past President of the Jamaican Bar Association and the Organisation of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations. He is a former Senator of the Jamaica legislature and a former Chairman of the Caribbean Council of Legal Education. Dr. Barnett is a member of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights and of the Council of the Centre for Independence of Judges and Lawyers. Dr. Barnett is the editor of the Jamaican Law Reports and Consulting Editor of the Trinidad and Tobago Law Reports and the Law Reports of the Eastern Caribbean States. Nicholas Blake, Q.C. is a Barrister with Matrix
Chambers in London, where he practices in public law, including personal
liberty, human, economic and social rights, with special prominence in
immigration, asylum and European free movement law. He has substantial
experience with international tribunals, including the European Court of
Human Rights, the European Court of Justice, the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. He is a
member of the Council of Justice and co-author of Macdonald
and Blake Immigration Law and Practice in the U.K. and the forthcoming
Immigration and the Human Rights Act.
Mr. Blake is also called to the Eastern Caribbean Bar and has handled
numerous cases in or arising from the Caribbean region, including
conducting a murder trial in St. Kitts and appearing as counsel before the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the cases Baptiste
v. Grenada, Guerra v. Trinidad
and Tobago and Thomas v.
Trinidad and Tobago. Victor
Cuffy is President and founding member of the
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights Association. He is also a
member of the Board of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights. He
was Executive Secretary of the Caribbean Human Rights Network from 1990 to
1999, and from 1972 to1974 he was Minister of Health, Housing and Local
Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Mr. Cuffy obtained his law
degree at London University, is currently a member of the Honourable
Society at Lincoln's Inn, and practices law in St. Vincent and the
Grenadines. He has participated in numerous international conferences and
seminars and has published several articles.
Dennis Daly, Q.C. is a founding member of the Jamaican Council for
Human Rights, one of the first human rights organizations to be
established in the English-speaking Caribbean, and was elected Executive
Secretary of the Caribbean Human Rights Network in May 1999. Mr. Daly was
called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1961, has been a partner in the
Jamaican law firm of Daly, Thwaites and Company from 1984 to present, and
was admitted to the Inner Bar (Queen's Council) in 1990. He has also been
a member of the Jamaican Bar Association since 1963, serving as
Vice-President from 1977-78 and President from 1978-79. Mr. Daly's areas
of practice include: Civil rights advocacy, including challenges to the
death penalty and corporal punishment; general civil litigation and
advocacy, specializing in actions against government for police abuses;
and criminal defense advocacy. Ambassador John Donaldson is an Attorney at Law and former Chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He has held numerous positions with the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago throughout his career, including Minister of External Affairs, Minister of National Security and Minister of Labour, Social Security and Cooperatives, and has served in numerous diplomatic posts, including Trinidad and Tobago’s High Commissioner to Lagos, Ghana and Sierra Leone and Ambassador to Algeria, Senegal, the Ivory Coast and Liberia. Ambassador Donaldson is a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Bar, and holds a B.A. in Economics and an LL.B. from the University of British Columbia in Canada.
Relinda
Louisy Eddie is a Senior Human Rights Attorney with the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights. She obtained a Law Degree with Honours from
South Bank University in London, United Kingdom, completed post-graduate
work at Antioch Law School, Antioch University, Washington, D.C., and
obtained an LL.M. Degree in International and Comparative Law from George
Washington University in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Bar of
England and Wales, the State of Maryland, the District of Columbia, the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the United
States District Court for the District of Maryland, and St. Lucia, Eastern
Caribbean Supreme Court. She has lectured in law and international human
rights law in the hemisphere, including London, United Kingdom, Georgetown
University, U.S.A., York University, Toronto, Canada, the University of
Suriname, and Arusha, Tanzania. She is a member of Lincoln’s Inn,
London, United Kingdom, the American Bar Association, and the American
Society of International Law. Jean Joseph Exumé is a former Commissioner with the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, and is an Attorney at Law and Human Rights
activist with the Oecumenic Center for Human Rights and the Haitian
Platform for human rights in Haiti. He previously served as Minister of
Justice and Public Safety in Haiti, and in this capacity created the
National School of Magistrates, the National Penitentiary Administration
and began the process of reforming the Haitian justice system. In
addition, he has held a variety of other positions with the Government of
Haiti, including Legal Advisor to the Haitian Electoral Council, Member of
the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Cabinet and Member of the Haitian
Prime Minister Cabinet. Dr. Exumé is also a Law Faculty Professor,
lecturing in the fields of civil and criminal law. Mary M. Francis is currently a Barrister-at-law in private practice
in St. Lucia with a particular interest in human rights law and public
law, and is President of the National Centre for Legal Aid and Human
Rights, a non-profit, non-governmental organization for the promotion and
protection of human rights. She is former Registrar of the High Court in
St. Lucia and Chief Registrar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and
was a Legal Officer with the National Insurance Scheme. Ms. Francis is a
graduate of the University of the West Indies, holding a B.A. in
Government and History, an LL.B. (Hon), and a certificate in Legal
Education from the Hugh Wooding Law School. Professor Robert K. Goldman is a Commissioner and former
Chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and Professor
and Louis C. James Scholar with the Washington College of Law, American
University, Washington, D.C., where he lectures in the areas of public
international law, international humanitarian law, and international human
rights law. Previously acting Dean and Director of the International Legal
Studies Program at the Washington College of Law, Professor Goldman has
written and lectured extensively on the international protection of human
rights and international humanitarian law, and has undertaken related
studies and field work in association with such organizations as the
International Human Rights Law Group and Americas Watch. He obtained his
J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School and is a former Fulbright
Fellow. Monica Joseph, C.B.E. is presently Chair of the Public Service Commission of Grenada. She
is a retired Supreme Court Judge, and serves as Chair of her Diocesan
Youth Division and as a Member of the Vocations Committee, Family Life
Commission and Marriage Tribunal. Judge Joseph is also a member of the
Richmond Fellowship and Girl Guide Association in Grenada. Peter D. Laurie is presently a Commissioner with the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights. He was formerly the Permanent Secretary and
Head of the Barbados Foreign Service, prior to which he served in the
Barbados diplomatic service with postings in Ottawa, Brussels, Caracas and
Washington, D.C. He also served as Barbados’ Ambassador to the United
States and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American
States, in addition to being accredited as Barbados’ non-resident
Ambassador to Cuba, China and Japan, and High Commissioner to Australia.
Commissioner Laurie holds a B.A. from Oxford University, and both an M.A.
in International Relations and Ph.D. in Political Economy from the
University of Toronto. Saul
Lehrfreund, M.B.E. is a constitutional and human
rights lawyer with the firm Simons Muirhead & Burton in London, where
he provides pro bono legal
representation to prisoners under sentence of death in the Caribbean. His
responsibilities in this regard include initiating appeals to the Privy
Council against convictions for murder and sentences of death,
coordinating constitutional litigation seeking to uphold the human rights
and fundamental freedoms of condemned prisoners, and petitioning
international human rights bodies alleging violations of fundamental human
rights standards. Mr. Lehrfreund holds an LL.B.(Hons.) from the University
of Reading, and an LL.M. in International Human Rights Law from the
University of London, and has published and lectured extensively on the
issue of capital punishment and human rights.
Charles Moyer is presently Director of Administration and Finances
of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights. Mr. Moyer joined the
staff of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 1970 and was
subsequently appointed Assistant Executive Secretary of the Commission. In
January 1980, Mr. Moyer was elected Secretary of the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights, a position which he held until 1989. Mr. Moyer holds B.A.
from Gettysburg College, an LL.B. from the University of Michigan and is a
member of the Bar Association of California. David
J. Padilla is currently Assistant Executive
Director of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. During his
career, Mr. Padilla has held several positions in the Organization of
American States, including Director of the Department of Human Resources
and Deputy General Counsel and Director, Office of General Legal Services.
He has also practiced law in the United States, privately and as an
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney. Mr. Padilla is a Member of the Board of
Directors of Ayuda, Inc., a non-profit legal aid society in Washington
D.C., and has lectured and written extensively in the area of
international human rights law. Mr. Padilla holds a Master of Public
Administration degree from Harvard University, an LL.M. in International
Law from the George Washington University Law Center, an M.A. in
International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D and
B.A. from the University of Detroit. He is also a member of the Michigan
and District of Columbia Bar Associations and the United States Supreme
Court Bar.
Hon. Patrick L. Robinson is presently a Judge with the UN
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague. He
is a former Chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,
previously served as Deputy Solicitor General of Jamaica and Senior
Assistant Attorney General of Jamaica, and held numerous other legal
advisory positions with the Jamaican Government. He is a Barrister-at-Law
with Middle Temple in London and holds an LL.M. degree in International
Law from King’s College, University of London. Judge Robinson has
published numerous articles and papers in the field of international law. Eric P. Rudge is currently a Romulo Gallego Fellow with the
Inter-American Commission in Human Rights. He holds an LL.M. in
International Legal Studies from the American University in Washington
D.C. and serves as a Professor of Law at the Anton de Kom University of
Suriname where he lectures in the areas of International Law, Human Rights
Law and Comparative Law. Mr. Rudge is also stationed at the Department of
Justice, High Court of Justice, in Suriname. Sheila Stuart is presently the Coordinator of the Caribbean Human
Rights Network, with responsibility for coordination of programmes of the
regional human rights office, developing proposals for funding,
conceptualization and implementation of projects. Ms. Stuart holds a B.A.
(Hons.) in Sociology from the University of Reading, United Kingdom, and
an M.A. in Caribbean Studies from the University of Warwick, United
Kingdom. She is a member of the Consultative Committee on Crime and
Criminal Justice of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus
and was also recently elected to serve on the Ecumenical Advocacy
Committee of the World Council of Churches and the Advisory Committee of
the ligue des droits et libertes, which has responsibility for organizing
the Human Rights Forum for the People's Summit in Quebec in April 2001. Brian
Tittemore is a Human Rights Attorney with the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Prior to joining the
Commission, Mr. Tittemore practiced as a barrister and solicitor with the
Civil Litigation Branch of the Canadian Department of Justice in Ottawa.
He also held positions as Acting Executive Director and Senior Research
Associate with the War Crimes Research Office in Washington D.C., and has
lectured and published in the fields of international humanitarian law,
international human rights law and civil litigation. Mr. Tittemore holds a
B.Comm. and LL.B. from the University of Saskatchewan and an LL.M. in
International Legal Studies from the American University in Washington,
D.C., and is a member of the Law Society of Saskatchewan and the Law
Society of Upper Canada.
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