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DOI: 10.5553/SJB/056266842023060003002

Surinaams JuristenbladAccess_open

In Memoriam

Memoirs of André Jainundun Saheblal ­(1927-2023)

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Aslan Abashidze, 'Memoirs of André Jainundun Saheblal ­(1927-2023)', Surinaams Juristenblad Aflevering 3 2023, DOI: 10.5553/SJB/056266842023060003002

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      In the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), of which I have been a member since 2010, half of the Committee’s members (9 out of 18 independent experts) is renewed every two years. After the next renewal of the Committee by ECOSOC from the Latin American Regional Group, a new member, Mrs. Lydia Carmelita Ravenberg, a renowned legal practitioner from Suriname, joined the Committee. During a private conversation with her, I recalled a well-known Suriname’s lawyer whom I had accompanied in Moscow as a student in the USSR on behalf of Prof. Igor Pavlovich Blishchenko, Head of the Department of International Law at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice ­Lumumba (UPF named after P. Lumumba) - he was my supervisor and scientific ad­viser for my PhD and doctoral dissertation. It turned out that Mrs. Lydia Ravenberg was closely acquainted with this lawyer and his family. She sent him my regards, but did not specify whether he remembered me or not.
      At the recent regular session of CESCR, which was held in Geneva, Mrs. Lydia ­Ravenberg gave me the sad news that the very same lawyer, dr. Andre Jainundun ­Saheblal, passed away in August 2023 at the age of 97. Mrs. Lydia Ravenberg gave me a small pamphlet which contained a biography of this great son of Suriname.
      Let me briefly recount the biography of Mr. Andre Saheblal and his visit to our university in the 1980s.
      In 1912, Andre Saheblal’s parents immigrated from British India. He was born on April 22, 1927 in the province of Duisburg. From his childhood he was engaged in agriculture (plowing fields, planting and harvesting rice, growing vegetables, etc.). At the same time, he attended elementary school, traveling several kilometers off-road in all weather. In parallel, he took lessons in English and Dutch. With great perseverance, he finished elementary school in 1943, after which he entered a boarding school of the Roman Catholic Church. Thereafter, he continued his sec­ondary school studies on a fee basis. Between 1940-1945 he passed all the required subjects studied at this level of education.
      In 1947, he passed the entrance examination for geodesy, but was unable to con­tinue his studies due to illness (malaria).
      From 1949 to 1961, he worked as an officer at the district administration level in various roles: rice buyer for the government, tax collector, Suriname airline agent, post office director, head of the civil registry office.
      From 1962-1963 he was Chief Commissioner of the Department of District Ad­ministration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
      From the end of 1963 to December 1983, mr. A. Saheblal worked in the Ministry of Justice and Police in various positions including Secretary General and then Director.
      Mr. A. Saheblal parallel teaching at his home university and other universities in the country. In 1973, Mr. A. Saheblal received his master degree in Law from the University of Suriname. After his retirement from the Department of Justice and Police, he worked from 1984 to 1994, as a professor at the same university, now named the Anton de Kom University of Suriname.
      Mr. A. Saheblal made significant contributions to the jurisprudence of his country, including the amendment of the Civil Code. He was a leading expert on the law of succession.
      His practical and academic work was highly recognized by the Presidents of Suriname and the King of the Netherlands.
      In his old age, he managed to publish a collection of his main scientific articles, as well as an autobiography and life history of his parents.
      He characterized himself as follows: ‘You can achieve everything in life through strength, courage, patience, tact and energy. But most of all, through perseverance and persistence’.
      After his retirement, dr. A. Saheblal actively participated in the activities of the national union of lawyers and international associations of lawyers, including the activities of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), which was founded one year after the entry into force of the UN Charter, i.e. on October 24, 1946. It should be emphasized that the first President of IADL was a famous French lawyer, one of the founding fathers of the draft of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) - Prof. Rene Cassin. During the, so-called, ‘Cold War’ period, the Association of Soviet Lawyers (ASL) actively participated in the activities of the IADL. Such leading Soviet lawyers as Prof. V.K. Sobakin, Prof. L.A. Modjoryan, Prof. V.N. Kudryavtsev, Prof. I.I. Karpets, Prof. I.P. Blishchenko and others worked in the Association of Soviet Lawyers.
      Prof. I.P. Blishchenko, being the Head of the Department of International Law of the UPF named after P. Lumumba, was an active member of the ASL and also ­served as a member of the Executive Committee of the IADL. He met Mr. A. Sa­heblal at the IADL Forum.
      Prof. I.P. Blishchenko invited dr. A. Saheblal to the UPF named after P. Lumumba for two months and asked him to give a number of lectures to undergraduate and postgraduate students specializing in international law. I was assigned to accom­pany him and translate his speeches.
      Despite the difference in age, we immediately found a common language (I am also from a peasant family, as a child I helped my parents in growing tobacco, corn, went to a rural school and then studied in a boarding school, like him).
      Mr. A. Saheblal preferred to eat more vegetables, and at that time it was difficult to find a wide range of fresh vegetables in Moscow. I had to ‘engage’ all my acquaint­ances in order to create favorable living conditions in Moscow for my dear guest.
      I remember his lectures: they were informative and full of examples from personal practice.
      We parted with him as relatives! So many years have passed since our meeting, and I still remember with kind words this great son of Suriname and friend of the ­Soviet people!
      Kingdom of heaven to him!
      I wish prosperity to his two children, 7 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. If I will be in Suriname, I would definitely like to see his relatives.
      I wanted my young colleagues in the department and my friends to know about it!


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