UK High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, has called on African envoys to support the nomination of Nigerian-British Dapo Akande to the International Law Commission (ILC).

Ms Laing made the call on Thursday in Abuja in a reception organised to host Mr Akande, African envoys, and other partners.

ILC is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It comprises 34 individuals recognised for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by the UN General Assembly every five years.

Mr Akande was jointly nominated by the Nigerian and UK government into the ILC, with a joint nomination from Kenya, Japan, and Slovenia.

Ms Laing, who lauded Mr Akande’s nomination, said, “It is my honour and privilege to host Prof Dapo Akande in Abuja today. He is an outstanding scholar and lawyer, and it is wonderful that the UK and Nigeria are jointly nominating him for the position on the International Law Commission.

“This further demonstrates the strength of our partnership and our people-people ties. He is our candidate to serve for the very important organisation which you may not have heard of, but actually affects all of us at the International Law Commission.”

In his response, Mr Akande said, “If I were elected to the International Law Commission, I think that the combination of my academic background, together with having a sense of how international law applies in practice will make me function well.

“The main thing I will like to see is that the work of the commission is focused on contemporary problems of International Relations and how the rules of international law will be adapted.”

(NAN)