Minister of Justice Henriksson to Africa in February 2023 

Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson will travel to South Africa to attend an international conference in Pretoria on 7–8 February 2023. After that, the Minister will visit Namibia.

The conference is organised by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, the Ministry of Justice of Finland and the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). The conference will discuss possibilities for cooperation with African countries in civil and family matters. The aim is to raise awareness of the Hague Conventions in Africa, support African countries’ accession to them and thus facilitate the ever-increasing cross-border commercial and human interaction between countries. 

So far, very few African countries have joined the HCCH or acceded to its Conventions. In an advance meeting held on 5 December, all three partner countries for the project of the Ministry of Justice, South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania, expressed their interest in acceding to new HCCH conventions.

In South Africa, Minister Henriksson will meet with South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, President of the Supreme Court of Appeal and National Director of Public Prosecutions. Henriksson will also visit a foundation that focuses on action against violence against women. From South Africa, Minister Henriksson will travel to Namibia where she will have discussions with Namibia’s Minister of Justice and representatives of the judicial system and civil society organisations on questions related to the rights of women and girls, among other things.

The visit to Africa is related to a project launched by the Ministry of Justice that is being carried out together with the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) in three African countries: South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania. The aim of the project is to promote multilateral international cooperation. The project implements the objectives of Finland’s Africa Strategy and the Africa Action Plan of the Ministry of Justice.

Inquiries: 
Marina Venäläinen, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Justice, tel.+358 295 150 236, email: [email protected]