On 6 November, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) concluded its 81st session. Highlights included the periodic review of Angola and Burkina Faso, and the launch of Declaration+25 and a tracker for civic space in Africa.
The 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Commission, or ACHPR) will be held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 17 October 2024 to 6 November 2024. The session will be preceded by the NGO Forum, which will also be held in Banjul from 13 to 15 October 2024.
Participants in a two-day workshop on the operationalisation of the defenders’ protection mechanism in Côte d’Ivoire developed an action plan centred around four pillars to strengthen the visibility of the Committee and its collaboration with civil society organisations, among others.
On 14 May 2024, ISHR delivered a statement on the situation of human rights in Africa, with a particular focus on the impact on civic space of the implementation of recommendation 8 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in African States as well as the need to ensure that existing measures and mechanisms to protect defenders are effective.
The NGO Forum took place between 11-13 May, in hybrid format in Banjul, The Gambia prior to the 79th ordinary session of the Commission.
Participants at the strategic workshop on the operationalisation of the Protection Mechanism for Defenders held on 24 and 25 April in Bamako, Mali, adopted an action plan to strengthen the national mechanism's capacity to protect defenders.
Effectively realising human rights for everyone, everywhere is the pathway to free, fair and just communities and a more peaceful and sustainable world. This must remain our north star as we face the multiple and worsening crises and conflicts around the world, write ISHR Director Phil Lynch and Board Chair Vrinda Grover.
The 55th UN Human Rights Council session will discuss the protection of human rights defenders, freedom of religion, human rights while countering terrorism, and rights to food and housing. It will also address grave human rights issues in countries like Sudan, Nicaragua, Venezuela, China, Syria, South Sudan, Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, Eritrea, and the Palestinian territories/Israel, amongst others.
As the year end looms, ISHR executive director Phil Lynch shares reflections on the context in which we operate, the importance of applying a principled, non-discriminatory approach to human rights, and the crucial work of defenders.
On 21 November, ISHR celebrated the vital work of human rights defenders at a conference on 'The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Seventy-Five Years On: Achievements and Current Challenges.' A slightly shortened version of our speech is reproduced below.
