Foreign Service Academy, Tower Hill, Freetown- September 2, 2026- Sierra Leone’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay Esq., has called on African states to deepen solidarity, demand more equitable representation in global institutions and recommit to international law as he delivered a keynote address on “The Role of the International Court of Justice in the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes in Africa.” Mr Sesay made remarks on behalf of the Vice President, Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, who was unable to attend due to an urgent engagement.
“As geopolitical tensions increase, armed conflicts persist, and confidence in multilateral bodies wanes, smaller states, and particularly those in Africa, have a vital interest in sustaining a rules-based international order,” said Mr Sesay. He said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is particularly relevant to African countries, who have increasingly turned to judicial procedures to resolve fraught and complex disputes without resort to force.
The Attorney General cited recent examples, with Burkina Faso and Mali, Libya and Chad, and Cameroon and Nigeria, as instances where states had opted for judicial settlement rather than confrontation. He noted that the continent has produced at least 37 contentious cases, with West Africa making up a large chunk of the Court’s docket. “Disagreement between States the Court cannot remove. “It matters because it offers another option for States – to appear as sovereign equals before a court, and not as opponents on a battlefield,” he said.
One of the main themes of the address was the need for greater African representation in major global decision-making bodies, such as the United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice. Mr Sesay stressed that the demands for geographical balance should be pursued with a sense of excellence. ‘We are not advocating for merit over geography. “We are saying that excellence and equitable representation can and must go together,” he stressed, calling for opportunities on international benches to be available to highly qualified African jurists.
Mr Sesay pointed to Sierra Leone’s leadership role in the sub-region under President Julius Maada Bio, especially through the C-10 grouping, and argued that West Africa deserves increased representation on the ICJ bench. He thanked Ghana, Nigeria and other West African States for supporting Sierra Leone’s candidacy for the Court.
Turning to the Sierra Leone nominee, the Attorney-General pled for strong support for the candidacy of Professor Dr Charles Jalloh for election to the International Court of Justice. He said the candidacy aligned with the country’s long-standing commitment to international justice, multilateralism and the rule of law.
He cited Sierra Leone’s historic role in the creation of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, its tenure on the United Nations Security Council and its active participation in international climate negotiations as examples of the country’s commitment, each of which, he said, was indicative of the nation’s long-standing engagement with international legal and multilateral processes.
The Attorney-General appealed to African States, smaller nations and the wider international community to translate their calls for greater African representation into concrete support for qualified African jurists. “We cannot demand more representation of Africans and then be shy rather to propose our own globally respected jurists to serve,” he said, urging allies to support Sierra Leone’s nominee.
In his concluding remarks, Mr Sesay repeated his call for greater unity among African countries and smaller nations, saying that adherence to international law, strong institutions, and collaborative multilateralism are key to their security and interests. The ICJ is a pillar of the international rule of law, and he urged states to continue preferring peaceful dispute resolution and to support credible international institutions as safeguards for regional and global stability. He called on “Africa to Support Africa” in a statement that was both practical and principled.
