On 4 May 2025, on the sidelines of the 83rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) in Banjul, ISHR officially launched its new report on the situation of human rights defenders in the African island states: Cape Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Seychelles.
Our new report sheds light on the lived realities of defenders in six often-overlooked countries: Cape Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, and Seychelles. One thing is clear: human rights defenders in these countries are active, courageous, and committed to building more inclusive and just societies.
This report sheds lights into the lived realities of human rights defenders in six often-overlooked countries in Africa: Cape Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, and Seychelles.
At the adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report for Mauritius by the Human Rights Council, ISHR and Dis-Moi delivered a joint statement calling on authorities to strengthen support for defenders and expand the mandate of the National Human Rights Commission.
In a historic ruling on 4 October 2023, the Supreme Court of Mauritius declared prohibitions of sodomy unconstitutional. This landmark decision marked a significant advancement for LGBTQI+ rights in the country.
Mauritius is one of the island States of Africa. The local civil society can find it challenging to connect to civil society on the continent, and to raise the restrictions they face to international and regional human rights mechanisms. A recent workshop helped address this issue.
"Corruption is often written off as inevitable, harmless, or a victimless crime, but it is none of those things", reported the Special Rapporteur on the situation of HRDs. She called for the recognition of the important work of HRDs on anti-corruption.
As the African Commission tries to overcome the challenges of organising its first ordinary session online, it showed that the current situation doesn't prevent from holding States accountable to their human rights obligation by organising its first ever State review completely online.
