Born: 21 March 1951, Senegal
Died: 12 May 2005
Country most active: Benin
Also known as: NA
Beninese lawyer, feminist and human rights activist Grâce d’Almeida Adamon was born in Dakar, Senegal and moved to Benin as a child with her family. As an adult, she earned her diploma, master’s and law degree at Panthéon-Assas University in Paris. She worked briefly as a lawyer in Paris before returning to Cotonou in 1978, where she became a professor of law at the National University of Benin and worked for women’s rights in the country.
In 1990, d’Almeida was elected one of 13 legal representatives – and the only woman – to establish a new, democratic federal constitution at Benin’s National Conference. The same year, she established the Association of Jurists of Benin, a human rights organization that increased women’s access to legal services and defended the rights of women and children. She also co-founded and served as president of the Association des Femmes Juristes du Bénin (Association of Women Lawyers of Benin), which created a 114-page guide to women’s legal rights in Benin. She contributed to the creation of the Benin section of the Women in Law and Development in Africa in 1999.
D’Almeida also co-founded the African Institute of Human Rights and the Promotion of Democracy and worked with non-governmental organizations’ programs. Internationally, she was part of several human rights committees over her career, played a key role in the United Nations’ Democratic Center for Domestic Governance in Burkina Faso and participated in the Independent International Commission on Kosovo. She attended the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. She also served as the UN Development Programme’s Chief Technical Advisor and led the UN’s Justice Project in Haiti from 2000 to 2003.
From November 1995 to April 1996, d’Almeida served as the Keeper of Seals and Minister of Justice Legislation for Benin’s federal government. She was also vice-president of the Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians of Benin, starting in 2004 and worked as an international consultant advising on democracy, electoral integrity, human rights, good governance, and justice.