African Commission | Alert to the NGO Forum and the 67th ordinary session

What will happen during the NGO Forum and 67^th ordinary session of the African Commission?

The NGO Forum

The Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the ordinary sessions of the African Commission also known as the ‘NGO Forum’ is an advocacy platform coordinated by the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) to promote advocacy, lobbying and networking among and between human rights NGOs, for the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa. The NGO Forum shares updates on the human rights situation in Africa by the African and international NGOs community with a view of identifying responses as well as adopting strategies towards the promotion and protection of human rights on the continent. This session, like the previous one, will be hosted online and will seek to keep civil society engaged in the work of the Commission.

Panels

• 9 November: panel on the ‘Economic, social and cultural rights affected by the corruption linked to COVID-19 financial support to Africa’
• 11 November: discussion on the ‘Impact of the last resolution of the ACHPR‘

Group discussions

On 10 November participants will have the opportunity to discuss specific issues in groups focusing on the main theme of the Forum: “Post COVID-19: Rebuilding a just and peaceful society in Africa based on human rights principles and good governance” (lessons learnt and recommendations). The groups will be divided as follows:

• Enforcement of COVID-19 measures (their impact on prison conditions, excessive use of force, torture, inhuman, arbitrary arrest and detention/prisons and conditions of detention, policing post-COVID)
• Peace and security in Africa (silencing the guns in Africa and atrocities in Africa)
• Freedom of association, expression and civic space in Africa (strengthening the protection post-COVID)
• Economic and social rights (2063, SDGs)
• Women, vulnerable and most at-risk groups (including gender-based violence and conflicts in the context of COVID-19)

Register for the NGO Forum here.

The 66^th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Panel discussions (item 3)

• Human and Peoples’ Rights for Silencing the Guns in Africa, 13 November, 11.30am to 12.30pm
• Launch of General Comment No. 6 on Art. 7(d) of the Maputo Protocol, 14 November, 11.15am to 1pm
• Launch of the Simplified Version of the Principles on Decriminalisation of Petty Offences in Africa & Newsletter No. 14 on Police and Human Rights in Africa, 16 November, 9 to 11am
• The right to health and its financing towards building health systems for universal access to health care (proposed to be organized together with UNAIDS and with the participation of CDC), 17 November, 11.15am to 1pm
• Panel on Addis Ababa Roadmap on ACHPR and UN Human Rights Mechanisms Relationship, 18 November, 11.30am to 12.30pm
• Extractive Industries and illicit financial flows in Africa & Launch of the WGEI Newsletter, 20 November, 10 to 11.30am
• Panel on the issue of forced displacement and conflicts in Africa, 21 November, 10 to 11am
• Panel on the Role of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in the Work of the ACHPR, 24 November, 11.15am to 1pm

State periodic reports (Item 7)

During this session, pursuant to article 62 of the African Charter and State parties’ obligation to report every two years on the legislative or other measures taken with a view to giving effect to the rights and freedoms recognised and guaranteed by the Charter, one country will be reviewed: Cameroon, 19 November, 9am to 1pm.

The review will be based on Cameroon’s combined 4^th to 6^th periodic report, covering the period 2015-2019 and submitted to the African Commission in January 2020.

Activity reports (Item 6)

During every session, special mechanisms from the African Commission present their activity report. These reports catalogue the activities and initiatives undertaken by each mechanism inter-sessionally:

• Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa
• Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women
• Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information
• Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa
• Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa
• Working Group on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Working Group on Death Penalty, Extra-Judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings and Enforced Disappearances in Africa
• Working Group on Rights of Older Persons and People with Disabilities Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa
• Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations
• Committee on the Protection of the Rights of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and Those at Risk, Vulnerable to and Affected by HIV

What will ISHR do during this session?

During this session, ISHR will make several statements under Items 4 and 6:

• The situation of human rights in Africa
• Activity reports: Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa; Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations

How can you follow the session?

The ordinary session will be livestreamed on Youtube.

How can you participate in the session?

• Public session, 13 – 25 November 2020: register here
• Closing ceremony (public session), 3 December 2020: register here

ISHR will monitor and report on key developments at the 67th ordinary session of the African Commission. Follow us on Twitter at @ISHRglobal, @ISHR_fr and at #ACHPR67. Our staff can also be followed @Adelaide_ISHR, @StephanieWamba.

Photo: DefendDefenders