Zenon Mukongo Ngay

Zenon Mukongo Ngay (born 3 July 1966) is a Congolese diplomat, lawyer, educator, and writer. He is the current Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations and has acquired significant knowledge in the field of law and is an expert in multilateral diplomacy. Ngay was appointed as Ambassador and Permanent Representative by President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo in July 2023. He assumed office on September 1st 2023. 
==Early life and education==
Mukongo Ngay was born on July 3rd, 1966 in Tango, Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly known as Zaire) to Jules Mukongo Nawele and Alphonsine Lebete Ewuta. Ngay had a fruitful childhood in Congo, attending College Saint Lwangain Katanga Province, as the youngest of eight siblings in 1982. Ngay studied Law at the University of Lubumbashi from 1986 to 1992. During this time, he developed a passion for sports, particularly boxing and bodybuilding. After receiving his master's degree, Ngay began his full-time career as a lawyer.
==Professional experience==
Ngay became a registered lawyer with the Bar Association at the Appeal Court in Lubumbashi in 1993. The following year, he was appointed as an assistant professor at the University of Lubumbashi, where he taught law to students. During this particular period, Ngay actively supported and promoted the signing and ratification of the International Criminal Court (ICC) statute by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He participated in meetings of the Preparatory Commission for the ICC and prepared for the Congolese delegation's participation in the Diplomatic Conference in Rome on the creation of the ICC in New York and The Hague. In 2005, Ngay participated in the Inter-Sessions meetings of the Special Working Group of the Assembly of States Parties on the crime of aggression that took place at Princeton University. During the meetings, he actively interacted with several NGOs at the national level such as Asadho, Katanga, and CDH, as well as internationally with organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, NGO Coalition for the ICC, Parliamentarians for Global Action, and No Peace Without Justice. The purpose of these interactions was to promote the statute of the International Criminal Court. In 2006 through 2009, Ngay coordinated legal issues for the African Group of Experts and the Group of Experts of Permanent African Missions on the International Criminal Court. He facilitated negotiations and coordinated the General Assembly resolution on the Kimberley Process during the 66th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly, from 2011 to 2012. Ngay also facilitated the negotiations and was the Coordinator of the draft resolution of the United Nations Legal Commission in 2011 and 2014. The resolution was titled "Scope and Application of the Principle of Universal Jurisdiction." From 1997 to 2015, Ngay served as the negotiator of the Security Council resolutions for the critical situations occurring in the DRC. As of 2023, He has resumed duties as negotiator for the DRC at the Security Council.
==Diplomat career==
After completing his role as an assistant professor at the University of Lubumbashi in the Faculty of Law, Ngay was appointed as the Second Counselor and Legal Officer at the Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the United Nations from 1998 to 2001. Ngay held various positions at the mission, including First Counselor, Minister Counselor, and Head of Legal Section. From 2015 to 2019, Ngay served as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the United Nations Office and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2020, Ngay was chosen to be the General Rapporteur for the Panel that supports the mandate of His Excellency, President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi at the African Union Presidency. Later in 2022, Ngay was appointed as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Francophonie. His duty as Chief of Staff ended in 2023 as he was later on appointed as Permanent Representative of The Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations.
==Writings & publications==
===Academic works===
* Liability without fault in Zairian law, findings and proposals for the future, Memory, Academic year
1991-1992.
* The nullity of illicit contracts and the application of the adages “Nemo auditur…” and “in paricausa”, End of cycle work, Academic year 1988-1989.
===Selected publications===
* "The rebellion of the African Union towards the International Criminal Court: Chronicle of a suspended divorce", Rev. by Dr. Afric., No. 87-2018.
* “The new rules of procedure and evidence of the ICC: a discreet incursion of immunities in the Rome Statute”, Revue de Droit Africain, N° /2018, Brussels, May 2018.
* “Congo/Kinshasa: peace put to the test by a stuttering and stammering justice”, in Les Analyzes Juridiques, N° 21/June 2011, Lubumbashi, April-May-June 2011, pp 30-44.
* “Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (New Application 2002) (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Rwanda), Jurisdiction of the Court and Admissibility of the Application: The Breach Bringing Rwanda Back to Pace”, in Horizons, No 3 /December 2006, CEJA, Butembo 2006, pp 50-69.
* “The war against the Democratic Republic of Congo: an analysis according to international law” in Revue de Droit Africain, N° 39/2006, Brussels, July 2006, pp. 303-352;
* “The draft United Nations Convention on the fight against corruption: observation of a negotiator (Second Part)”, in Les Analyzes Juridiques, No. 4/2004, Lubumbashi, October-November-December 2004;
* “The Draft United Nations Convention on the Fight against Corruption: Findings of a Negotiator (First Part)”, in Les Analyzes Juridiques, No. 3/2004, Lubumbashi, July-August-September 2004;
* "About the article entitled: "ICC: the choice of the date of July 1, 2002 leaves perplexed: Kabila between the good and the bad criminals", another jurist gives reason to Kabila" in Le Phare, edition N0 2315 of April 12, 2004, online at http://www.le-phare.com.
Category:1966 births
Category:Congolese people
Category:Lawyers 
Category:Writers