ACHPR
During the 87th public session of the African Commission, ISHR expressed its concerns on the restrictions and reprisals against defenders and called the ACHPR to adopt measures ensuring the protection of defenders and their safe engagement with the ACHPR activities.
On 15 May 2026, during the 87th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), ISHR delivered a statement following the presentation of the activity report of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Focal Point on Reprisals and Focal Point on the independence of justice in Africa, Commissioner Rémy Ngoy Lumbu.
On freedom of association, ISHR deplored the suspension of several CSO in Burkina Faso, Uganda, and the legislations in some other countries that can lead to the same result.
On the violation of the right to liberty of defenders, the statement recalled the long detention of Hugues Comlan Sossoukpe in Benin and Moussa Tchangari in Niger, and the recent conviction of the journalist Youssouf Sissoko in Mali for criticising a statement of the President of Niger.
Furthermore, ISHR denounced the cancellation of the side event jointly organised by ISHR, FrontLine Defenders, Institute for International Cooperation and Development Studies (HEGOA) and the Working Group on Human Rights in Occupied Western Sahara (WGHRWS), titled ‘Ending the Silence on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara’. This unilateral cancellation constitutes an interference by the SDKJ-ICC in the African Commission’s activities and an infringement of the right of access to information of the African Commission and the participants in the 87th session.
Finally, ISHR reaffirmed its commitment to international standards and called again on the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders to review the draft African Declaration on the promotion of the role of HRDs and their protection in Africa in line with the existing standards while contextualising the norms.
In view of the above, ISHR called the African Commission to invite State parties to the African Charter to:
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.
