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On 6 November 2024, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (‘the African Commission’ or ACHPR) officially concluded its 81st Ordinary Session, held in person in Banjul (The Gambia), which chiefly saw the periodic review of Angola and Burkina Faso, as well as the launch of Declaration+25 and the Tracker on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa This was followed by the publication of the final communiqué.

Are you a human rights defender keen to use the UN to push for change at home? If so, apply for the 2025 edition of ISHR’s flagship training, the Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP)!

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The international community must fulfill its obligation to protect civilians facing war crimes.

On 17 October 2024, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, presented her latest report in an interactive dialogue with United Nations member States during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in the Third Committee.

Two years after the publication of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' landmark assessment on the situation in the Uyghur region (Xinjiang), global scrutiny of China's human rights violations remains strong.

Civil society calls for the immediate release of human rights defender Hoda Abdelmonem, arbitrarily detained for six years in Egypt.

Following the presentation of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders’ Intersessional Report, ISHR delivered a statement calling on his mandate to release his long-awaited report on reprisals and remind States of their obligations to ensure a safe environment for defenders to conduct their activities.

At the review of Burkina Faso’s periodic report to the African Commission, ISHR noted a worrying trend of arrests, conscription, and abductions of human rights defenders, some of whom are deployed to the battlefield.

At a side event on the relevance of the African human rights system to the conflict in Gaza, panellists urged States and the Commission to ensure Israel ends its unlawful occupation and respect international human rights norms.

In the wake of its periodic State review, we call on the Angolan government to do more to protect and support the work of human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society organisations.

We call on all African States, including Burkina Faso, Mauritius, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to do more to ensure defenders are safe and supported in their vital work.