© African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
On 23 October, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights gave an update on its cooperation between its institution and national human rights institutions as well as with non-governmental organisations.
During the panel, Commissioner Mudford Zachariah Mwandenga recalled that article 45 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights mandates the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Commission) to ‘cooperate with other African and international institutions concerned with the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights’, namely national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Resolution 361 establishes the relationship of the African Commission with NGOs while resolution 370 governs its relationship with NHRIs. These resolutions both recognise the important role played by these stakeholders in supporting the Commission’s mandate of promoting and protecting human and peoples’ rights in Africa. They also emphasise responsibilities such as submitting periodic activity reports every two years.
Since its last public ordinary session, the African Commission received the activity report of the Tanzania Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance, bringing to 3 the number of NHRIs having submitted activity reports in 2023 with 29 owing one report or more. It also granted observer status to 8 NGOs bringing to 552 the number of NGOs having been granted Observer Status with the Commission and received 7 activity reports with 398 out of the 552 having submitted at least one report.
‘The Commission would like to commend both NGOs and national human rights institutions for fulfilling the requirement of submitting activity reports, and takes this opportunity to call on all those which enjoy the benefits of observer and affiliate status, to consistently submit activity reports to the Commission every two years, in line with the provisions of resolutions 361 and 370,’ concluded Commissioner Mwandenga.
On 5 and 6 May 2025, during its 83rd Ordinary Session, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) held the second joint forum of its special mechanisms. This serves as an opportunity to bring actors from various backgrounds to discuss the possibility of converging human rights and sustainable development for the benefit of Africans.
At the 83rd ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, held in Banjul (The Gambia) from 2 May to 22 May, ISHR delivered an oral statement calling for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the continuation of the process toward a human rights defenders protection law in Zambia, reparations for Africans and people of African descent, and a binding treaty on environmental rights in Africa.
On 3 May 2025, on the sidelines of the 83rd ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ISHR co-sponsored a side event on the situation of human rights defenders in the Sahel, organised by the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organisation against Torture.
