Sudan: Closure of Civic Space, Crackdown on Humanitarian Workers and Activists
Sudan marked the first anniversary of its war last month amidst unprecedented violence and targeted attacks on civil society and local responders.
The 63rd ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights will be held in Banjul, The Gambia from 24 October to 7 November 2018. The African Commission session will be preceded by the NGO Forum and 37th African Human Rights Book Fair from 20 to 22 October 2018.
The objective of the NGO Forum is to foster closer collaboration among NGOs and the African Commission for the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights in Africa, prior to the African Commission ordinary sessions. Since the African Union declared 2018 as the African Anti–Corruption Year, for this session the overall theme will be: ‘the African Union convention on preventing and combatting corruption: winning or losing the fight’.
The NGO Forum will feature several panel discussions, focusing on the impact of corruption in Africa and celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights as well as the 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on human rights defenders.
The Republic of Botswana’s review will be based on its 2nd and 3rd periodic report, covering the period 2011-2015 and submitted to the African Commission in October 2017. The presentation of the report of the Republic of Botswana will be considered under Item 8 on Monday 29 October 2018.
The Republic of Angola’s review will be based on its 6th periodic report, covering the period 2011-2016 and submitted to the African Commission in March 2018. The presentation of the report of the Republic of Angola will be considered under Item 7 on Monday 29 October 2018.
Togo’s review will be based on the periodic report, combining its 6, 7 and 8 reports, submitted in March 2018. It captures developments within Togo on the realisation of the rights guaranteed by the African Charter from 2011 to the end of 2016. The presentation of the report of the Republic of Togo will be considered under Item 7 on Tuesday 30 October 2018.
25 October 2018, 5pm
Labranda Coral Beach Hotel & Resort, Banjul, The Gambia
Today, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, it is important to assess what is the impact of the recent evolution in the protection of human rights defenders in Africa, more specifically in West Africa through the adoption of national protection laws in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Mali? What are the challenges for their full implementation? How can civil society initiatives be strengthened so that they impact the implementation of these mechanisms? These are the questions our panellists will try to answer during this side event.
Panellists:
For the African Commission’s provisional agenda, click here.
ISHR will monitor and report on key developments at the 63rd ordinary session of the African Commission. Follow us on Twitter at @ISHRglobal, @ISHR_fr and at #ForumAchpr63 or #ACHPR63. Our staff can also be followed @Adelaide_ISHR
Sudan marked the first anniversary of its war last month amidst unprecedented violence and targeted attacks on civil society and local responders.
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.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called on France to respect the demands of the Kali'ña Indigenous community in the village of Prospérité, who oppose construction of a power plant in a location that deprives them of access to their land.