Uganda’s ex-deputy Chief Justice Richard Butera elected to UN Appeals Tribunal
Butera was elected on Monday after securing 110 votes in the General Assembly. He joins China's Lingling Zhang, who was also elected in the same round.
Uganda's former Deputy Chief Justice, Richard Butera, has been elected to the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT) for a seven-year term, marking the first time a Ugandan has secured a seat on the UN's top administrative court.
Uganda's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York announced the victory on X, writing: "Congratulations Justice Richard Butera... on being elected on the United Nations Appeals Tribunal for a term of seven years. I have had the honour of leading the election of Ugandan judges to UN courts and tribunals."
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Butera was elected on Monday after securing 110 votes in the General Assembly. He joins China's Lingling Zhang, who was also elected in the same round.
Established in 2009 as part of sweeping reforms to professionalise the UN's internal justice architecture, UNAT functions as the second and final level of appeal in disputes involving UN staff, ranging from employment grievances to administrative decisions across the UN system.
Its rulings carry significant weight for the integrity and accountability of the world body's workforce.
Butera's election comes at a moment when Africa is registering notable gains in representation across international judicial organs—an area long criticised for structural imbalance.
Just last week, Kenyan international-law scholar Phoebe Nyawade Okowa was elected a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), becoming the first Kenyan to sit on the world court's bench, the eighth woman in its history, and one of only a few Africans currently on the 15-member bench.
Okowa has been an active figure in contemporary international litigation, most recently serving as counsel for Namibia in the ICJ's advisory opinion proceedings on Israel's obligations in relation to UNRWA.
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