African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights ©ISHR
The African Commission on Human & Peoples’ Rights is Africa’s main human rights body, holding public sessions twice a year at which States’ compliance under the African Charter on Human & Peoples’ Rights is reviewed.
Preceding these sessions, human rights defenders gather at the NGO Forum to discuss human rights concerns and urge the Commission to take action. Such engagement is key to strengthening the African human rights system.
For over a decade ISHR has engaged actively with the Commission. Through lobbying, support to Special Rapporteurs, membership of Commission working groups and the NGO Forum Steering Committee, and by the publication of biannual reports and periodic monitors on the NGO Forum and Commission sessions, ISHR contributes to building this human rights system.
To learn more about this mechanism and how human rights defenders can engage, please visit our ISHR Aacademy, clicking here.
The 83rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) will be held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 2 to 22 May 2025. The session will be preceded by the NGO Forum, which will be held in hybrid format from 28 to 30 April.
Are you a human rights defender looking for tips on how to engage with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Commission, or ACHPR)? If so, delve into our new e-learning module and discover all you need for real world advocacy in Africa!
Developed for human rights defenders, the Road map provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities when engaging with the State reporting procedure of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
On 6 November, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) concluded its 81st session. Highlights included the periodic review of Angola and Burkina Faso, and the launch of Declaration+25 and a tracker for civic space in Africa.
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.
The Road map for civil society engagement outlines a programme through which civil society organisations (CSOs) can maximise their impact while engaging with the African Commission for Human and Peoples' Rights through the State Reporting Procedure.
The health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has led States to take measures to combat the spread of the virus. Despite the state of health emergency, some of these measures were considered inappropriate and have considerably limited the rights of defenders with a considerable impact on their work.
In order for the African human rights system to function to its fullest potential, human rights defenders must be able to share crucial information and perspectives regarding situations on the ground. However, many defenders still face unacceptable risks and are unable to cooperate safely with the African human rights system.
A landmark new manual for and about women human rights defenders has just been launched by the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition. Providing women human rights defenders with the tools to document their experience and that of colleagues, the manual aims at generating awareness about violations and abuses against defenders and supporting demands for human rights change.
This issue of Kumulika - our analytical publication on the African Commission - covers key developments at the 55th session and the NGO Forum which preceded it.
