The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) examined the combined report of the 12th and 13th periodic reports of the Republic of Kenya during the virtual session held from 21 April to 13 May 2022. The report presents the progress made by the country regarding the state of human rights in Kenya.
"So I saw the need of engaging different activists and human rights defenders across the region to make sure that this kind of arrest should not happen to anybody because of their gender identity or sexual orientation." Mauricio Ochieng' is a transgender activist and a SOGIESC human rights defender from the Western part of Kenya.
To date, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ (the African Commission) recommendations to the Kenyan Government on reparations for the eviction of Endorois indigenous people from their ancestral lands in the 1970s remain largely unimplemented. On 13 April 2021, the NGO Forum met to discuss the status of the implementation of the African Commission’s 2010 decision 276/2003 on the rights of the Endorois people.
On the ocassion of the annual meeting of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural (ESC) Rights with non-governmental and civil society organisations, ISHR highlighted the fundamental role played by ESC rights defenders and the need for their protection.
ISHR has called on the Human Rights Council President to urge 55 States to respond to communications by UN experts regarding alleged human rights violations.
Civil society bolsters multilateralism through demands for an effective UN. This has been a key message of the Human Rights Council session so far, voiced by the High Commissioner, States and civil society advocates.
In two statements, ISHR and Amnesty International have called on the President of the Human Rights Council to urge 71 States to respond to communications by UN experts regarding alleged human rights violations, and have raised the alarm regarding personal attacks on such experts.
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Every year, the NGO Forum takes place ahead of the African Commission session. For its 35th edition, the NGO Forum was organised and facilitated by the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHR) in collaboration with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) and the NGO Forum Steering Committee. Among the high number of participants, various stakeholders took part in the forum including civil society organisations (CSOs), national human rights institutions (NHRI) representatives as well as Commissioners of the African Commission.
Reacting to a report by UN experts exposing ongoing threats and attacks against human rights defenders across the globe, ISHR calls on States to work together and cooperate with the UN to protect civil society.
The recently appointed high-level UN official mandated to combat acts of intimidation or reprisals should ensure that he is visible and accessible to victims and rights holders and active in pursuing accountability for perpetrators, ISHR told the Human Rights Council today.
