Photo: DefendDefenders
At a side event co-organised by ISHR on the sidelines of the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, panellists reflected on developments and regress regarding the protection of defenders’ rights 25 years after the adoption of the UN Declaration on human rights defenders. They also commented on the role of the Declaration +25.
ISHR and its partners organised a side event on 18 October 2024 on the sidelines of the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to launch the Declaration +25. This Declaration is a supplement to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which is grounded in international law and developed with defenders and legal experts to consider aspects that were not included in the UN Declaration and improve the overall normative protection of defenders. Participants in the side event reflected on the contribution of the UN Declaration on the protection of defenders across the continent.
Improved quality of protection
Hannah Forster, Executive Director of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies noted that the UN Declaration brought greater awareness of defenders’ issues despite its non-binding nature. She called for more sensitisation on its content. Marthe Coulibaly, National Coordinator of the Coalition Ivoirienne des défenseurs des droits humains appreciated how the UN Declaration has become an inspiration in drafting national laws on human rights defenders.
The mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, established two years after the Declaration, has become a pillar on which we rely in our countries to exert pressure on the government as much as we do with the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals created by the African Commission.Marthe Coulibaly, National Coordinator of the Coalition Ivoirienne des défenseurs des droits humains
Relevance of the Declaration +25
The Declaration +25 has a positive role to play in the protection of defenders in Africa. Irene Petras, Regional Director for the Sub-Saharan Africa programme at the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law said it considers new challenges defenders face in the digital era, the rights of defenders in exile, the issue of Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) or the need for an intersectional analysis, among others. Panellists suggested how best the Declaration +25 could be used.
The Declaration +25 should be considered when drafting laws on human rights defenders, finalising the draft African Declaration on human rights defenders, submitting and reviewing State reports and in day-to-day activities of the African Commission, in particular when defenders’ issues are concerned.Trésor Makunya, Africa Legal and Advocacy Officer at ISHR.
‘There is also a potential to use the Declaration +25 when litigating defenders’ matters at the domestic and regional level to push courts to engage with it and grant it some persuasive force,’ added Ruth Ogbewekon from the Pan-African Lawyers Union.
Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals, acknowledged the collective efforts of experts in drafting the Declaration +25, approved its content, and called on members of civil society organisations to submit their inputs for the draft African Declaration on defenders to be finalised.
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