Hon. Irene Ovonji-Odida is a lawyer and women’s rights activist. She is a Member of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa (Mbeki High Level Panel) and of the UN FACTI Panel. She is also a Non-Executive Director at Tax Justice Network, a member of the South Center Tax Initiative and the Pan African Lawyers Union task force on Illicit Financial Flows. She previously served in the East African Legislative Assembly, and was International Board Chair for ActionAid International and Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers.
She has a masters degree in Comparative Jurisprudence from Howard University, USA. As CEO of the Uganda Women Lawyers Association from 2013 – 2018 she repositioned it as a strong force for women’s human rights, social justice and the Rule of Law, on issues such as labour, business and human rights, governance and democracy, using national, regional and international mechanisms for redress, policy change and voice.
As a regional MP in EALA from 2001 to 2006 she led initiatives for regional conflict resolution and effective oversight by African legislators in trade negotiations. From 1994-2001 she worked in key government agencies which anchored major national initiatives.
Hon. Ovonji-Odida has been a leader in civil society since 1988 in the women’s and human rights movements. She has been a member of national and international boards, and was international board chair of ActionAid International and also a member of the African Advisory Board of The ONE Foundation. She has contributed to reports and co-authored chapters in two books, on constitutionalism and women’s land rights and currently completing a chapter on Illicit Financial Flows in a book on tax justice.
Follow her at: @IOvonjiOdida