ISHR
On 11 May 2026, the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Centre (SDKJ-ICC) unilaterally cancelled the joint side event organised by ISHR, Institute for International Cooperation and Development Studies (HEGOA) the Working Group on Human Rights in Occupied Western Sahara (WGHRWS), and FrontLine Defenders on “Ending the silence on protection of defenders in Western Sahara” scheduled during the 87th session of the ACHPR.
As part of civil society practices to organise side events ahead of the review of a State party report before the African Commission, ISHR, WGHRWS, HEGOA, and FrontLine Defenders planned a side event on “Ending the silence on protection of defenders in Western Sahara”.
In fact, the perception of the involvement of the African Commission in the protection of human rights in the occupied territories of the Saharawi Republic as expressed by Mahfud Bechri, Sahrawi HRD, is the following:
“The African human rights mechanisms, and particularly the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, have chosen silence regarding the situation of Saharawis in the occupied territories. It has now been more than ten years since the ACHPR issued its last statement or conducted a visit concerning the human rights situation in the occupied territories of the Saharawi Republic. Saharawis increasingly feel abandoned by the very continental institutions to which we proudly belong”. Mahfud Bechri, Sahrawi HRD
This event was thus organised not only to give an opportunity to defenders from Western Sahara to present the situation in the occupied territories of the Saharawi Republic and urge the African Commission to take needful measures but also give an opportunity to the ACHPR to break the silence on their action to redress the human rights situation in that territory.
The side event scheduled on 12 May 2026 was unilaterally cancelled by SDKJ-ICC preventing Sahrawi defenders from enjoying their participation in all aspects of the 87th session of the African Commission. Before this unexpected cancellation, Yaguta-Fatma Moulay, Sahrawi WHRD, explained that:
“Silencing Sahrawi human rights defenders does not erase the violations we face every day in occupied Western Sahara. The African Commission must uphold its mandate by ensuring that Sahrawi voices are heard, protected, and included in all discussions concerning our rights and future”. Yaguta-Fatma Moulay, Sahrawi WHRD
Calling for the African Commission to take action, Hassanna Abba, Sahrawi HRD, said:
“We call upon the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to break the silence surrounding the situation in Western Sahara, to pay particular attention to the protection of Sahrawi human rights defenders, and to take concrete measures to address the reprisals they face for their legitimate cooperation with international and regional human rights mechanisms”. Hassanna Abba, Sahrawi HRD
ISHR reiterates its concerns over this unilateral cancellation that consists in an infringement of the right of defenders to fully participate in the ACHPR session and the right of the Commissioners to be impartially informed by all stakeholders.
In a joint NGO call to reinstate the cancelled side event, over 50 organisations affirmed that any attempts to exert external pressure to undermine the Commission’s independence and silence civil society are unacceptable and must be rejected, emphasising that such actions hinder the Commission’s mandate to effectively carry out its work and protect civic space.
At a Human Rights Council debate with the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, ISHR delivered a joint statement with Sudanese Women’s Rights Action and the Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in South West Asia and North Africa.
At the last session of its current membership, the NGO Committee’s rate of approval for organisations awaiting consultative status dropped to a record low of 5% amidst continued politicisation of NGO engagement at the UN.
During its 87th session, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) heard about the human rights situation on the continent, reviewed the periodic report of the Republic of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and of the Republic of Kenya, and held different panels to advance the protection of human rights on specific themes and countries.
