Governance
Leadership & Governance
CECJ is governed by an independent board of directors and led by an executive team with deep expertise in law, governance, and early childhood policy.
Executive Leadership
Dr. Amara Nkosi
Executive Director
International Child Rights Law, Public Finance Law, Legal Systems Reform
Dr. Nkosi brings over two decades of experience in international child rights law and legal systems reform across Africa. Prior to founding CECJ, she served as Senior Legal Adviser at UNICEF East Africa and led legal reform initiatives at the Uganda Law Reform Commission. She holds a doctorate from the University of Pretoria and is a visiting professor at Makerere University Faculty of Law.
Board of Directors
CECJ's independent board provides strategic oversight and ensures institutional accountability.
Justice Kwame Asante (Rtd.)
Board Chairperson
Constitutional Law, Judicial Reform, Children's Rights Jurisprudence
A retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, Justice Asante has been a leading voice in children's rights jurisprudence across West Africa for over three decades. He has served on UN treaty bodies and chaired multiple judicial reform commissions.
Prof. Chidinma Okafor
Board Member, Finance & Governance
Public Finance Law, Budget Accountability, African Governance
Professor Okafor is a specialist in public finance law and African governance at the University of Lagos Faculty of Law. She has advised multiple African governments on fiscal transparency, budget law reform, and social sector financing obligations.
Ms. Fatima Al-Rashid
Board Member, Policy & Advocacy
Early Childhood Policy, North Africa Governance, MENA Children's Rights
Ms. Al-Rashid has spent her career at the intersection of early childhood policy and legal reform in North Africa and the Middle East. She served as Director of Child Policy at the Arab League Secretariat and has consulted for UNICEF, Save the Children, and multiple governments.
Mr. David Mwangi
Board Member, Legal Affairs
East African Law, Constitutional Litigation, Public Interest Law
A leading public interest lawyer based in Nairobi, Mr. Mwangi has conducted landmark constitutional litigation on children's rights across East Africa. He is a founding partner of Mwangi & Associates and a former commissioner of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission.
Technical Advisory Panel
Eminent experts who provide independent technical guidance on CECJ's research and advocacy.
Prof. Geraldine Van Bueren KC
International Legal Adviser
International Children's Rights Law, UN Treaty Systems, CRC Jurisprudence
One of the world's leading experts on international children's rights law, Professor Van Bueren was a drafter of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. She holds a personal chair at Queen Mary University of London and is a Queen's Counsel.
Dr. Ibrahim Coulibaly
Public Finance Adviser
Development Finance, West Africa Fiscal Policy, Social Sector Budgeting
Dr. Coulibaly is a Senior Economist at the African Development Bank with specialisation in social sector financing and budget law. He has led fiscal analysis programmes in 15 African countries and is the author of the landmark study on constitutional finance obligations for children.
Dr. Nadia Rasheed
Early Childhood Development Adviser
ECD Systems, Integrated Service Delivery, Child Rights-Based Programming
Dr. Rasheed brings deep expertise in early childhood development systems and rights-based programming, having led UNICEF's global ECD work. She bridges the gap between legal analysis and development practice, ensuring CECJ's legal work is grounded in understanding of ECD service realities.
Ethics & Accountability
We hold ourselves to the same standards of accountability we advocate for in others.
Financial Transparency
CECJ publishes annual financial statements and maintains an open-door policy for institutional audits.
Conflict of Interest Policy
All board members, staff, and advisers are required to disclose potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from relevant decisions.
Editorial Independence
Research and advocacy positions are determined by legal analysis, not donor or partner preferences.
Safeguarding
CECJ maintains robust safeguarding policies for all staff, partners, and the communities we serve.
Data Protection
We adhere to applicable data protection law and international best practice in the management of personal data.
Complaints Mechanism
An independent complaints mechanism is available for staff, partners, and the public.