AFRICAN UNION
UNION AFRICAINE
UNIÃO AFRICANA
African Commission on Human &
Peoples’ Rights
Commission Africaine des Droits de
l’Homme & des Peuples
No. 31 Bijilo Annex Lay-out, Kombo North District, Western Region, P. O. Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia Tel: (220) 441 05 05 /441
05 06, Fax: (220) 441 05 04 E-mail: au-banjul@africa-union.org; Web www.achpr.org
50TH AND 51ST COMBINED ACTIVITY REPORTS
OF THE
AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Submitted in accordance with
Article 54 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
1|Page
I.
SUMMARY
1. The 50th and 51st Combined Activity Reports of the African Commission on Human
and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission or ACHPR), which is presented to the Heads
of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in accordance with Article 54
of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter), covers
the period from 4 December 2020 to 5 December 2022.
2. The activities carried out by the Commission during the reporting period, as
outlined in the Combined Report, seek to implement the priority areas set out in
the Commission’s Strategic Plan 2021-2025. In this regard, the Commission’s
statutory meetings were specifically devoted to the improvement of the
administration of justice through the processing of Communications on alleged
human rights violations thereby reinforcing the implementation of its mandate of
protection of human and peoples’ rights by the Commission. This is further
strengthened by the interventions of the Commission on urgent and pressing
human rights issues through urgent appeal letters , press releases, resolutions and
letters of congratulations.
3. The activities of the Special Mechanisms of the Commission and the consideration
of Reports of State Parties to the African Charter on the implementation of the
rights and freedoms guaranteed by the African Charter contributed to the
improvement of national legal and institutional frameworks for the promotion and
protection of rights at the national level through the enactment of new laws, a
review of the existing laws and the creation or reform of relevant institutions in
States Parties. The Report also covers budgetary, staffing and operational issues
relating to the Commission and includes the latter’s recommendations on the
human rights situation on the Continent.
II.
BACKGROUND
4. The Commission is an independent Organ, established pursuant to Article 30 of
the African Charter, which was adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and
Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1981. The African
Charter has been ratified by all Member States of the AU, except the Kingdom of
Morocco, which re-joined the Union in January 2017. The Commission became
operational in 1987 and has its headquarters in Banjul, The Gambia.
5. The Commission is composed of eleven (11) members elected by AU Heads of State
and Government, who serve in their individual capacities on a part-time basis.
During the period covered by the Report, Honourable Commissioners Kayitesi
Zainabo Sylvie and Alexia Gertrude Amesbury resigned from the Commission
and Honourable Commissioner Ndiamé Gaye passed away. Three new Members
were appointed and the appointment of one Member was renewed. The
Commission currently operates with ten (10) Commissioners.1
1
The list of the current composition of the Commissioners is appended to this Report.
2|Page
6. The Commission’s mandate, as set out in Article 45 of the African Charter, is to:
i. Promote human and peoples’ rights and in particular:
(a) Collect documents, undertake studies and research on African problems
in the area of human and peoples’ rights, organize seminars, symposia
and conferences, disseminate information, encourage national and local
institutions dealing with human and peoples’ rights and, where
appropriate, give advice or make recommendations to governments;
(b) Formulate and lay down, principles and rules aimed at solving legal
problems relating to human and peoples’ rights and fundamental
freedoms upon which African Governments may base their legislation;
(c) Cooperate with other African and international institutions concerned
with the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights;
ii. Ensure the protection of human and peoples’ rights under conditions
laid down by the present Charter;
iii. Interpret the provisions of the Charter at the request of a State party, an
institution of the AU or an African organization recognized by the AU;
and
iv. Perform any other tasks which may be entrusted to it by the Assembly
of Heads of State and Government.
III.
MEETINGS OF AU POLICY ORGANS, STATUTORY MEETINGS,
INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER MEETINGS DURING THE REPORTING
PERIOD
A. MEETINGS OF AU POLICY ORGANS
34th African Union Summit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
7. The Commission participated in the AU Policy Organ Meetings which were held
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 20 to 31 January 2021 and from 3 to 7 February 2020
as follows:
i. 41st Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives’ Committee
(PRC): 20 to 21 January 2021;
ii. 38th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council: 3 to 4 February 2021; and
iii. 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and
Government (the Assembly): 6 to 7 February 2021.
8. In accordance with the African Charter and established practice, the 48th and 49th
Combined Activity Reports of the Commission were presented to the 41st Ordinary
Session of the PRC. Following discussions at the PRC and Executive Council levels,
the Activity Reports were authorized for publication through Decision
EX.CL/Dec.7(XXXI). The Report has been published on the Commission’s website
in addition to the responses from a number of States Parties, which are appended
to the Combined Report.
42nd Ordinary Session of the PRC and 39th Ordinary Session of the Executive
Council, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
3|Page
9. The Commission also participated in the following meetings of Policy Organs
which were held virtually from 28 September to 9 October 2021, in-person from 14
to 15 October 2021 and virtually on 16 October 2021:
- 42nd Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC):
from 28 September to 1st October 2021 and from 5 to 9 October 2021; 39th
Ordinary Session of the Executive Council (EC): 14 to 15 October 2021;
- 3rd Bi-annual coordination meeting between Member States, the African
Union, Regional Economic Communities (REC) and Regional Mechanisms:
16 October 2021.
10. During the 42nd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, four (4) Members of
the Commission were elected for a term of six (6) years, one of whom was reelected. These are namely:
- Dr. Solomon Ayele Dersso, from the Federal Republic of Ethiopia;
- Mrs. Ourveena Geereesha Topsy Sonoo from the Republic of Mauritius;
- Mrs. Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie from the Republic of The Gambia; and
- Dr. Idrissa Sow from the Republic of Senegal.
B. STATUTORY AND INSTITUTIONAL MEETINGS
31st Extraordinary Session, 19 to 25 February 2021
11. The 31st Extraordinary Session was held virtually from 19 to 25 February 2021 due
to the current pandemic. Details of the activities undertaken by the Commission
during its 31st Extraordinary Session are recorded in the relevant Final
Communiqué, which is available on the website of the Commission:
www.achpr.org.
68th Ordinary Session, 14 April to 4 May 2021
12. The 68th Extraordinary Session was also held virtually from 14 April to 4 May due
to the Covid-19 pandemic.
13. During this Session, the Commission considered, among others, the Periodic
Reports from the Republic of Malawi and the Republic of Niger and organized the
following panels:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
4|Page
Panel on the Launch and drafting of the proposed General Comment on
Article 23 of the African Charter;
Panel on the Launch of the 9th Newsletter of the Committee on the
Prevention of Torture in Africa;
Panel on the Launch of the Guidelines on the Right to Water in Africa;
Joint Panel on Violence against Women in Vulnerable Situations;
Panel on Abuses Against Migrants: The Addis Ababa Roadmap;
Panel on the Human and Peoples’ Rights aspects of Arts, Culture and
Heritage; and
Panel on Human Rights Defenders and Reprisals in Africa.
14. The inter-Session Reports presented by Members of the Commission and Special
Rapporteurs during the 68th Ordinary Session are available on the website of the
Commission: www.achpr.org.
15. Details of the activities undertaken by the Commission during its 68 th
Extraordinary Session are recorded in the relevant Final Communiqué, which is
available on the website of the Commission: www.achpr.org.
32nd Extraordinary Session, 12 May 2021
16. The 32nd Extraordinary Session of the Commission was held virtually on 12 May
2021. During this Session, the Commission considered the human rights situation
in the Tigray region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and decided
to set up a Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in Tigray,
Ethiopia. The details of this Session are recorded in the Final Communiqué which
is available on the website of the Commission: www.achpr.org.
33rd Extraordinary Session, from 12 to 19 August 2021
17. The details of the activities undertaken by the Commission during its 33rd
Extraordinary Session are recorded in the Final Communiqué which is available
on the website of the Commission : www.achpr.org.
34th Extraordinary Session, 24 August 2021
18. The 34th Extraordinary Session of the Commission was held virtually on 24
August 2021. During this Session, the Commission of Inquiry presented the
Commission with an up-to-date report of its findings on the situation in the
Tigray region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The details of the
activities carried out by the Commission during this Session are recorded in the
Final Communiqué which is available on the website of the Commission:
www.achpr.org.
69th Ordinary Session, 15 November to 5 December 2021
19. The 69th Ordinary Session of the Commission was held in Dakar, Republic of
Senegal with the in-person participation of the Commission and its Secretariat
and the virtual participation of the representatives of States, International
Organizations, National Human Rights Institutions and Civil Society.
20. During this Session, the Commission considered, among others, the Periodic
Reports of the Republic of Benin, the Kingdom of Eswatini and the Republic of
Namibia and organized the following Panels and Launchings:
i.
5|Page
Advocacy promoting the ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of
Elderly Persons and the Protocol on the Rights of the Disabled;
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
Panel on the situation of human rights defenders in exile;
Evaluation of the implementation of the Global Pact on Migration by key
stakeholders in Africa;
Launching of the Newsletter No. 15 : Police and Human Rights in Africa;
Panel on the Study of the Working Group on Extractive Industries/
Launching of Newsletter of the Working Group;
Panel of the CPTA: Presentation and discussion of the Study on
Jurisprudence relative to Article 5 of the Charter and of the Report on the
production, sale and use of instruments of torture in Africa; and
Panel on the Death Penalty in Africa and the commitments of States.
21. The Intersession Reports presented by Members of the Commission and its
Special Rapporteurs during the 69th Ordinary Session are available on the website
of the Commission: www.achpr.org.
22. Details of the activities carried out by the Commission during its 69th Ordinary
Session are contained in the Final Communiqué which is also available on the
website of the Commission: www.achpr.org.
13th Meeting of the Joint Bureaux of the Commission and the African Court
held on 28 September 2021 in Arusha, Tanzania.
23. In conformity with their respective Rules of Procedure, the Commission and
the African Court held the 13th Meeting of the Joint Bureaux on 28 September
2021, in Arusha, Republic of Tanzania. On this occasion, members of the two
institutions adopted the Report of the Twelfth (12th) Meeting of the Bureaux;
assessed the status of implementation of the decisions adopted at the Twelfth
(12t) Meeting of the Bureaux and the Eighth (8th) Annual Joint Meeting; and
exchanged views on various joint activities, including the joint commemoration
of the 40th Anniversary of the adoption of the African Charter.
9th Annual Meeting of the Commission and the African Court, held virtually
and in person in Arusha, Tanzania, on 29 September 2021.
24. The 9th Annual Joint Meeting of the Commission and the Court was held in
hybrid format on 29 September 2021. The meeting largely focused on the follow
up of the implementation of the recommendations adopted during the
previous meeting for the purpose of strengthening the complementarity of the
two institutions and of improving their collaboration.
IV.
STATUS OF SUBMISSION OF PERIODIC REPORTS
25. The Commission monitors the implementation of the African Charter and other
relevant legal instruments, including the Protocol to the African Charter on
Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo
Protocol) and the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of
6|Page
Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (the Kampala Convention) through: the
receipt and consideration of periodic reports during the Ordinary Session;
engaging directly with the State on the content of the report; formulating
Conclusions and General Recommendations on the reports; as well as tracking the
non-submission of periodic reports by States Parties..
26. As already indicated, the Commission considered during its 68th and 69th Ordinary
Sessions, the 2nd and 3rd combined Periodic Reports of the Republic of Malawi
(2015-2019), the 15th Periodic Report of the Republic of Niger (2017-2019) the 6th to
10th combined Periodic Reports of the Republic of Benin (2009-2018), the 1st to 9th
combined Periodic Reports of the Kingdom of Eswatini (2000- 2021); and the 7th
Periodic Report of Namibia (2015-2019). Consideration of the combined 12th and
13th Periodic Reports of the Republic of Kenya was deferred to another Session at
the latter’s request.
27. During the period covered by the Report, the Commission also received the
Periodic Report on the implementation of the Maputo Protocol for the 2006- 2019
period.
28. According to Article 62 of the African Charter, States Parties are required to submit
a Periodic Report every two (2) years. The status of submission of Periodic Reports
to the Commission by States Parties from the previous reporting period to date is
given below:
Status
State Party
Two (2) States are
up to date:
Eswatini and Kenya.
Nine (9) States have
one (1) Report
outstanding.
Benin, Cameroon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia,
Niger, Seychelles and Zimbabwe.
Seven (7) States
Angola, Egypt, Eritrea, Lesotho, Nigeria, Rwanda, Togo.
have two (2) Reports
outstanding:
Seven (7) States
have three (3)
Reports
outstanding:
Algeria, Botswana, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Mauritania,
South Africa
Twenty-three (23)
States have more
than three (3)
Reports
outstanding:
Burkina, Burundi, Cape Verde, CAR, Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia,
Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali,
Mozambique, RASD, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania,
Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia.
7|Page
Six (6) States have
never submitted a
Report:
29.
Comoro Islands, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tomé
and Principe, Somalia and South Sudan.
To date, out of the 42 States Parties to the Maputo Protocol the following 20
States have already submitted a Report in accordance with Article 26 of the
Protocol: South Africa, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DR Congo,
Eswatini, The Gambia, Kenya, Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritania,
Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Togo, Zimbabwe.
30. To date, 31 States Parties have ratified the Kampala Convention, namely:
Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo,
Djibouti, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea,
Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda,
Rwanda, Democratic Arab Sahrawi Republic, Central African Republic, Sierra
Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Chad, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Among the
above-mentioned thirty-one (31) States, only Cameroon has complied with
Article 14(4) of the Kampala Convention on the obligation to present its Reports
on the legislative and other measures taken to give effect to its provisions.
V.
RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE COMMISSION
31. During the period under review, the African Commission adopted the following
Resolutions:
Session
31st
Extraordi
nary
Session
Adopted Resolutions
i.
ii.
iii.
68th
Ordinary
Session
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
8|Page
Resolution on the need to undertake a Study on Human and Peoples'
Rights and Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and other New and
Emerging Technologies in Africa;
Resolution on the Prohibition of Excessive Use of Force by the Police in
African States; and
Resolution on the need to protect civic space and freedom of association
and assembly.
Resolution on the Conduct of a Study on the Impact of COVID-19 on
Indigenous Peoples/Communities in Africa;
Resolution on military instability in northern Mozambique;
Resolution on the human rights situation in Niger;
Resolution on the human rights situation in Benin ;
Resolution on the reallocation of mandates of the country rapporteurs
and special mechanisms among the Commissioners and
vi.
32nd
Extraordi
nary
Session
33rd
Extraordi
nary
Session
Resolution on the need for a Study on African Responses to Migration
and the Protection of Migrants with a view to developing guidelines on
the fundamental rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
i. Resolution on the investigation of the human rights situation in Tigray
i.
Resolution on the need for better protection of women sentenced to
death;
ii.
Resolution on the respect of the principle of non-refoulement of
asylum seekers and refugees;
Resolution on the commemoration of the genocide against the Tutsi
in Rwanda and the Prevention of Genocide and Genocide Denial and
Revisionism; and
Resolution on Missing Migrants and Refugees in Africa and the
Impact on their Families
iii.
iv.
34th
Extraordi
nary
Session
i. Resolution on the Renewal of the Mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on
the Situation in the Tigray Region of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia; and
ii. Resolution on the Validation of the Appointment of Co-opted Members of
the Commission of Inquiry on the Situation in the Tigray Region of the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
69th
Ordinary
Session
i.
ii.
9|Page
Resolution on the recognition and protection of the right of
indigenous and local peoples in Africa to participation, governance
and use of natural resources.
Resolution on the Deterioration of the General Human Rights
Situation in Sudan following the Coup d’état of 25 October 2021
iii.
Resolution on the Development of a Training Manual on the Use of
Force by Law Enforcement Officials and Prison/Correctional Guards
in Africa
iv.
Resolution on the recognition and protection of the right of
indigenous and local populations in Africa to participation,
governance and use of natural resources.
v.
Resolution on climate change and forced displacement in Africa
vi.
Resolution on violence against women in armed conflicts in Africa
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
xii.
xiii.
xiv.
xv.
xvi.
xvii.
xviii.
xix.
xx.
xxi.
Resolution on the Development of Standard Usual Procedures for the
Alert Mechanism and Report ACHPR on Situations of Torture and
Related Acts.
Resolution on the elaboration of a General Comment on the
prohibition of female genital mutilation in Africa.
Resolution on the Renewal of the Mandate of the Commission of
Inquiry into the Situation in the Tigray Region of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Resolution on the reallocation of the mandates of the Country
Rapporteurs among the Commissioners.
Resolution on the reconstitution of the Resolutions Committee.
Resolution on the reconstitution of the Working Group on Indigenous
Populations/Communities and Minorities in Africa.
Resolution on the reconstitution of the Advisory Committee on
Budgetary and Personnel Matters.
Resolution on the reconstitution of the Working Group on Specific
Issues Related to the Work of the Commission.
Resolution on the Reconstitution of the Working Group on the Death
Penalty, Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings and Enforced
Disappearances in Africa.
Resolution on the Reconstitution of the Committee on the Protection
of the Rights of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and Those at Risk,
Vulnerable and Affected by HIV.
Resolution on the Reconstitution of the Working Group on
Communications.
Resolution on the appointment of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom
of Expression and Access to Information in Africa.
Resolution on the appointment of the Special Rapporteur on the
Rights of Women in Africa.
Resolution on the reconstitution and expansion of the mandate of the
Working Group on Extractive Industries, the Environment and
Human Rights Violations in Africa.
Resolution on the Reconstitution of the Working Group on the
Rights of Older Persons and People with Disabilities in Africa.
HUMAN RIGHTS COMPLAINTS/COMMUNICATIONS TO THE
COMMISSION
Communications
32. As part of its protection mandate, the Commission is specifically tasked under the
African Charter to receive and consider communications (complaints) submitted
to it on alleged human rights violations.
10 | P a g e
33. Of the two hundred and sixteen (216) communications pending before the
Commission at the beginning of the period under review, the following were
considered during the said period :
31st
Extraordi
nary
Session
Decisions adopted on merits – 3
Working
Group on
Communi
cations
(WGC)
Admission - 9
1. Communication 415/12 - Edouard Nathanaël ETONDE EKOTO v.
Cameroun ;
2. Communication 446/13 - Jennifer Williams and others ((represented by
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights) v. Zimbabwe; and
3. Communication 475/14 – Family of the late Médard Ndayishimiye v.
Burundi.
Admitted (6)
1. Communication 671/17 – Ahmed Abdel Hady El-Sihaimy (represented
by aed and others) v. Egypt ;
2. Communication 720/19 – Daniel Felipe da Silva Guerra and Rodrigo
Lima Dantas (represented by Paulo Henrique Reis de Oliveira and
Silmara Veiga de Souza) v. Cabo Verde ;
3. Communication 746/21 – Displaced Ogoni people (represented by World
Service Authority) v. Benin ;
4. Communication 752/21 – Somali Minority Rights Council v. Somalia;
5. Communication 753/21 – Kgagudi Kenneth Sekhukhune (represented
by Shadrack Tebeile) v. South Africa ; and
6. Communication 754/21 – Mr. NZOKIRA Emmanuel v. Burundi.
Admitted with request for provisional measures (1)
1. Communication 750/21 – Gehad El-Haddad (represented by Center for
Human Rights & Humanitarian Law) v. Egypt.
Not admitted (2)
1. Communication 673/17 – Khalid Mohammed Abdel Raouf (represented
by EDA, AMAN and Professor Mostafa Metwally) v. Egypt ; and
2. Communication 755/21 – Alex Nain Saab Moran (represented by Falana
and Falana’s Chambers) v. Cabo Verde.
Request for guidance - 4
1. Communication 376/09 – Acleo Kalinga (represented par REDRESS,
OMCT and CIRT) v. Uganda ;
11 | P a g e
2. Communication 577/15 – Hassan Ishag Ahmed (represented by African
Centre for Justice and Peace Studies and others v. Sudan ;
3. Communication 399/11- – Minority Rights Group International and
UNIPROBA (on behalf of the Bahakwaninda family) v. Burundi ; and
4. Communication 650/18- – Kum Bezeng and 75 others (represented by
Professor Carlson Anyangwe) v. Cameroun.
68th
Ordinary
Session
Decisions adopted on the merits – 2
1. Communication 472/14 – Family of the late Audace Vianney
Habonarugira v. Burundi; and
2. Communication 577/15 – Hassan Ishag Ahmed (represented by African
Centre for Justice and Peace Studies and others) v. Sudan.
Decisions adopted on admissibility – 3
Admissible : 2
1. Communication 599/16- – Ethiopian Human Rights Project (represented
by Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights et IHRDA) v. Ethiopia ; and
2. Communication 716/19 – Three Jehovah's Witnesses (represented by
Lawyers Associated for Human Rights in Africa) v. Eritrea.
Inadmissible : 1
1. Communication 500/14 - Gérard Salamiate v. Congo.
Working
Admission - 5
Group on
Communi Admitted (4)
cations
(WGC)
1. Communication 747/21– Van- Heerden and 2 others v. South Africa
2. Communication 751/21- Mybourgh Le Roux v. South Africa;
3. Communication 756/21- NZOMUKUNDA Guy Fleury v. Burundi
4. Communication 758/2 - Queen Ntombikayise Ambe v. South Africa
Admitted with request for provisional measures (1)
33rd
Extraordi
nary
Session
1. Communication 749/21 - Mr. Charles Kabwa (represented by Mr. Lambert
Nigarura, Esq.) v. Republic of Burundi
Decision adopted on the Merit : 1
1. Communication 444/13 – Judge Thomas S. Masuku v. Eswatini
Decision adopted on the Admissibility
Admissible: 1
1. Communication 622/16 - Aline BAHOGWERHE v. Democratic Republic of
Congo.
12 | P a g e
Working
Admission – 6 Communications
Group on
Communi Admitted (1)
cations
1.Communication 724/19 – AB (represented by the International Federation for
(WGC)
Human Rights (FIDH), the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies
(ACJPS) and the Africa Program of the International Commission of Jurists
(ICJ) v. Sudan
Admitted with request for Provisional Measures (4)
1. Communication 763/21 - William Sipai and 13 other representatives of the
ùKeekonyokie Clan of the Maasai People of Kitet (represented by Dr. Duncan
Ojwang) v. Kenya
2.
Communication 766/21 - Alex Nain Saab Moran (represented by lawyer
Femi Falana SAN) v. Cabo Verde ;
3.
Communication 767/21 - Abdel Rahman Abdel Hamid Ahmad Al-Barr
and 11 Others (Represented by Justice for Human Rights Organization) v. Arab
Republic of Egypt; and
4.
Communication 768/21 - Abdul Rahman Albar and 25 Others
(Represented by International legal representatives for the Freedom and Justice
Party of Egypt (FJP) v. Arab Republic of Egypt
Not Admitted (1)
Communication 748/21 – Prince and Princess Charles Offokaja Foundation v.
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Request for guidance (2)
7. Communication 376/09 – Acleo Kalinga (represented by REDRESS,
OMCT andCIRT) v. Uganda ;
8. Communication 399/11- – Minority Rights Group International and
UNIPROBA (on behalf of the Bahakwaninda family) v. Burundi ; and
69th
Ordinary
Session
Decision adopted on Admissibility
Admissible: 3
i. Communication 529/15 - 22 Parliamentarians v. Republic of Burundi ;
ii. Communication 686/18 - Association des femmes avocates défenseurs des
droits humains, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa &
Equality Now v. Democratic Republic of Congo
13 | P a g e
iii. Communication 693/18 – Bunyoro Kitara Reparations Agency Ltd
(BUKITAREPA) v. Republic of Uganda
Request for guidance: 1
i. Communication 399/11 – Minority Rights Group International and
UNIPROBA (on behalf of the Bahakwaninda family) v. Burundi
34. It appears from the above table that, during the period under review, the
Commission admitted eleven (11) communications; decided not to admit three (3);
granted six (6) requests for provisional measures; declared six (6)
Communications admissible and one (1) inadmissible. The Commission also took
six (6) decisions on merits and gave guidance on six (6) other communications.
35. A table showing the geographical and country breakdown of all pending
communications is attached to this Activity Report.2
VI.
APPLICATION FOR OBSERVER AND AFFILIATE STATUS
36.
In accordance with Resolution ACHPR/Res.361(LIX)2016 on criteria for
granting and maintaining Observer status to non-governmental
organizations working in the field of human and peoples' rights in Africa, at
its 68th and 69th Ordinary Sessions, the Commission granted Observer status to
ten (10) NGOs:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
SOS Information juridique multisectorielle ;
Plataforma Mulheres em Acão ;
Associacao Observatorio de Politicas Publicas da Perspective de Genero;
Akina Mama wa Afrika ;
Association of the Egyptian Female Lawyers ;
Association des utilisateurs des technologies de l’information et de la
communication;
Changement social Bénin ;
Institut Panafricain pour la Citoyenneté, les Consommateurs et le
Développement (CICODEV Afrique) ;
Paradigm Initiative for Information Technology Development ; et
Mouvement pour la défense de l’Humanité et l’abolition de la torture
(MDHAT).
37. This brings the total number of NGOs with Observer status to five hundred and
thirty-eight (538) at the end of the period under review.
38. Pursuant to ACHPR Resolution/Res.370 (LX) 2017 on the granting of Affiliate
status to NHRIs and Specialized Human Rights Institutions in Africa, the
Commission granted Affiliate status to the following NHRIs and Specialized
Institutions at its 69th Ordinary Sessions:
2
Annex II.
14 | P a g e
i.
ii.
iii.
National Human Rights Commission of The Gambia;
Benin Human Rights Commission; and
Institute of Human Rights and Peace of Cheikh Anta Diop University.
39. This brings the total number of NHRIs with affiliate status to thirty-three (33)
at the end of the period under review
VII.
IMPLEMENTATION BY STATES OF THE COMMISSION'S DECISIONS,
REQUESTS FOR PROVISIONAL MEASURES AND URGENT APPEAL
LETTERS
40. The status of implementation by States Parties of the Commission's Decisions,
Requests for Provisional Measures and Urgent Appeal Letters remains poor as
evidenced by the information below:
Implementation of Decisions on Communications
41. During the period covered, the Commission did not receive any information from
States Parties on the implementation of its final decisions on Communications,
pursuant to Rule 125 of its 2020 Rules of Procedure.
42. However, the Commission has received the Complainants' report on the
implementation of the decision in Communication 396/11 - Mohammed
Abderrahim El Sharkawi (represented by Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
(EIPR) and Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI)) v. Arab Republic of Egypt,
pursuant to Rule 112(2) of the Commission's Rules of Procedure (2010) under
which the Communication was instituted. EIPR and OSJI have informed the
Commission that the Respondent State has not informed them of the measures
taken to implement the Commission's decision on the Communication.
43. The Commission also heard from the Complainant in Communication 389/10Mbiankeu Geneviève v. Cameroon, adopted by the Commission at its 56th Regular
Session, held from 21 April to 7 May 2015. The State partially implemented the
decision by awarding the Victim a portion of the amount that the Commission had
requested in its decision.
The last update, which included various
correspondences with the relevant departments of the Respondent State, indicated
that the Commission’s request for a parcel of land of equal value and nature to be
awarded to the Victim was still awaiting implementation.
Implementation of Requests for Provisional Measures
44. During the period under review, the Commission did not receive any response to
the requests for Provisional Measures issued during that period, as indicated in
the table on Complaints/Communications examined during the period under
review.
15 | P a g e
Implementation of Letters of Concern and Urgent Appeal
45. During the period under review, twenty-nine (29) Letters of Concern and
Urgent Appeal were sent to States Parties regarding various allegations of
human rights violations
State
Date of Letter
Republic of
Zimbabwe
19 November
2020
People's
Democratic
Republic of
Algeria
19 November
2020
Urgent
Appeal
letter
regarding Mr. Abdullah
Benaoum’s critical condition
and urgent need for medical
care and heart surgery.
7 September
2021
Urgent appeal letter
regarding the dissolution of
the association
Rassemblement Action
Jeunesse (RAJ
Joint urgent appeal letter on
the human rights situation of
Amazighs in the country
The State has not yet
responded
Joint appeal letter regarding
retaliation by State and nonState actors against suspected
#ENDSARS organizers and
supporters.
Urgent
appeal
letter
regarding
the
recent
indefinite suspension of
Twitter operations in Nigeria.
The State has not yet
responded
27 September
2021
Federal
Republic of
Nigeria
30 November
2020
9 June 2021
16 | P a g e
Issue justifying the Urgent
Appeal Letter
Urgent
Appeal
Letter
regarding
judicial
harassment against human
rights lawyer Ms. Beatrice
Mtetwa.
State Party Response
The State responded on
28 January 2021 to
refute the allegation
that Ms. Mtetwa was
targeted or intimidated
by the State for
representing
human
rights defenders in
Zimbabwe
The State responded
on 21 January 2021
stating that the
prisoner is receiving
the necessary medical
care for his physical
and mental health in
prison.
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
Arab
Republic of
Egypt
2 December
2020
United
Republic of
Tanzania
15 December
2020
Republic of
South Sudan
20 December
2020
23 August
2021
Democratic
Republic of
Congo (DRC)
18 January
2021
21 March 2021
31 May 2021
17 | P a g e
Joint Urgent Appeal Letter
regarding the crackdown on
staff of the Egyptian Initiative
for Personal Rights
Urgent
Appeal
letter
regarding the situation of
Burundian
refugees
in
Tanzania
The State has not yet
responded
Letter of Appeal regarding
the death sentence of Mr.
Bambu Emmanuel Lokiri, a
medical student at the
University of Juba on charges
of murdering a sibling group
of three children, Noama,
Blessing, and Nura, on
August 1, 2020 in the Rock
City residential area of Juba.
Urgent
appeal
letter
regarding
reports
of
extrajudicial killings of at
least 42 people, including
children and the elderly, and
the continued deterioration
of peace and security in the
country.
Urgent
Appeal
letter
regarding the arbitrary arrest
of LUCHA activists.
The State has not yet
responded
Joint Urgent Appeal Letter
regarding allegations of the
murder of forty-six (46)
members
of
the
Batwa/Bambuti community
by an unidentified armed
group in the village of Masini
in the Ituri Province of
Eastern DRC.
Urgent appeal letter on the
death sentence handed by
the High Court of the
Commune of Gombe,
Kinshasa on thirty people
accused of violent clashes
that occurred on 14 May
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded.
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
12 August
2021
Federal
Democratic
Republic of
Ethiopia
Republic of
Sudan
Republic of
Djibouti
Republic of
Mauritius
Republic of
Ghana
Great
Socialist
People's
Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya
18 | P a g e
2021 between two Muslim
communities.
Joint appeal letter on the
human rights situation in the
Democratic Republic of
Congo
20 January2021 Joint urgent appeal letter
regarding the death of over
eighty
(80)
Ethiopian
civilians on 12 January 2021
in Daletti, Metekel Zone of
Benishangul-Gumuz Region,
Western Ethiopia, due to
ethnic violence in the area.
16 March 2021 Joint urgent appeal letter
regarding the imminent
execution
of
Sudanese
nationals, Mr. Amin Bushra
and Mr. Yassin Kuku.
25 May 2021
Urgent appeal letter
regarding the arrest of
blogger Barkat
Abdoulwahab Oudoum, in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 30
March 2021, upon request of
the Republic of Djibouti.
3 June 2021
Urgent appeal letter
regarding the proposed
amendments to the ICT Act,
on regulating the use and
curbing the abuse and
misuse of social media
9 June 2021
Urgent appeal letter on the
arrest of 21 human rights
defenders, including 16
women and five men, while
attending a paralegal
training for the protection of
the human rights of sexual
minorities in Ho, Ghana.
24 June 2021
Urgent appeal letter on the
abduction of human rights
defender and journalist
Mansour Mohamed Atti AlMaghrabi by unidentified
individuals
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
Republic of
Chad
8 July 2021
Republic of
Burundi
26 July 2021
Republic of
Mozambique
29 July 2021
Republic of
Madagascar
9 August 2021
Republic of
Kenya
24 August
2021
Republic of
Sudan
27 August
2021
19 | P a g e
Urgent appeal letter
concerning the conviction of
Mr. Baradine Berdei Targuio,
to a three-year prison
sentence and a 250,000 CFA
fine.
Urgent appeal letter on the
alleged
enforced
disappearance of Mr. Elie
Ngomirakiza,
leader
of
Agathon Rwasa's opposition
party
CNL,
in
rural
Bujumbura province.
Urgent appeal letter
regarding the existence of a
network of sex workers
composed of staff members
of the Ndlavela women's
prison in Maputo, who were
involved in the sexual
exploitation of female
prisoners.
Urgent
appeal
letter
regarding the food crisis
caused by the drought in
which approximately 340
people died and one million
people are at risk of
starvation in the remote
south of the island.
Appeal letter regarding the
murder of two young men in
police custody following
police brutality and excessive
use of force.
Urgent
appeal
letter
concerning Mr. Moaz Abdel
Majid Ismael, who was
prosecuted for war crimes
and sentenced without legal
assistance, to the amputation
The State has not yet
responded
The State replied that it
rejects the procedure of
direct transmission of
urgent appeal letters to
the President of the
Republic. It also
indicated that the
competent services will
provide the answers as
soon as the request
complies with the
normal procedure.
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded
Republic of
Zimbabwe
8 September
2021
Republic of
Malawi
20 October
2021
Kingdom of
Eswatini
22 October
2021
of hands and feet on opposite
sides (Hirabah Hadd)
Urgent appeal letter on the
arrest of Ms. Alice Kuvheya
after she obtained a court
order on behalf of CHITRET
prohibiting local and central
governments from
demolishing informal
business structures and
houses in Chitungwiza and
Harare.
L Urgent appeal letter
regarding the reversal of the
Supreme Court of Appeals
decision sentencing 26
people to death after the
Supreme Court had declared
the death penalty
"unconstitutional".
Urgent
appeal
letter
regarding
the
partial
shutdown of the internet
during
pro-democracy
protests.
The State has not yet
responded
The State has not yet
responded.
The State has not yet
responded.
VIII. LETTERS OF APPRECIATION/CONGRATULATIONS
46. During the period under review, nine (9) letters of appreciation were sent to
Heads of State and Government:
State
Republic of
Kenya
Date of
Letter
21
December
2020
25 March
2021
20 | P a g e
Issue justifying the Congratulatory Letter
Joint letter of congratulations welcoming the decision of the
Government of Kenya to grant citizenship to one thousand six
hundred and seventy (1670) members of the Shona community and
one thousand three hundred (1300) stateless persons of Rwandan
origin and requesting the Government of Kenya to extend this
measure to other groups in similar situations as a necessary
solution to end their discrimination and exclusion from the benefits
of equal citizenship.
Letter of congratulations to His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta,
President of the Republic of Kenya, on the important decision of the
High Court of Kenya to enforce the ban on female genital
mutilation (FGM) in accordance with the FGM Prohibition Act of
2011.
Republic of
Zambia
United
Republic of
Tanzania
Republic of
Zimbabwe
Republic of
The
Gambia
Democratic
Republic of
Congo
(DRC)
IX.
Letter of congratulations regarding the government's decision to
commute the death sentences of two hundred and forty-six (246)
inmates on death row to life imprisonment in order to decongest
the overcrowded Mukobeko Prison and protect inmates from
exposure to COVID-19.
Letter of congratulations to Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan,
22 March
2021
President of the United Republic of Tanzania, on her assumption of
office, marking a milestone in women's political participation and
leadership in the country.
3 September Letter of Appreciation of the Government of Tanzania's response
2021
to the press release issued by the Commission on 28 July 2021 on
the arrest of Mr. Freeman Mbowe, Chairman of CHADEMA, and
several party leaders at a public forum.
Letter of Appreciation regarding the change of position on a
25
November
decision adopted in 2017 that banned pregnant girls and teenage
2021
mothers from attending school on account of their status of
pregnancy and motherhood and which had led to the
discriminatory exclusion of the girl-child from exercising the right
to education and the right to non-discrimination.
Letter of congratulations on the recent release of three hundred and
29 April
2021
twenty (320) prisoners from the country's largest prison as part of a
plan to alleviate overcrowding and combat the spread of COVID19 in national prisons.
27 August
Congratulatory letter welcoming the adoption and signing of the
2021
Access to Information Act in The Gambia
10 February
2021
26
November
2021
Letter of appreciation regarding the initiative of the DRC to
suspend the issuance and trading of mining permits and to audit
the country’s mining registry, as a measure of combating fraud
within the country’s mining sector.
COMMUNICATIONS/LETTERS OF CONDOLENCE
47. During the period under review, on 11 March 2021, the Chairperson of the
Commission issued a statement on the untimely death of the Honorable
Commissioner Ndiamé Gaye, who was a member of the Commission and
Chairperson of the Working Group on the Death Penalty, Extrajudicial, Summary
or Arbitrary Killings and Enforced Disappearances in Africa; He was a member of
the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa and the Working Group on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; he was also the African Commission's
Country Rapporteur on the promotion of human rights in Guinea, Uganda, the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, the Central African Republic and Sierra
Leone..
21 | P a g e
48. During the period under review, on 22 March 2021, the Chairperson of the
Commission and the Country Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in
Tanzania sent a letter to Her Excellency Mrs. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of
the United Republic of Tanzania, expressing condolences to her and to the
Government and people of Tanzania on the death of the late President John Pombe
Joseph Magufuli, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
X.
PRESS STATEMENTS AND PRESS RELEASES
49. During the period under review, the Commission issued forty- four (44) Press
Releases on various human rights issues. The press releases are available on the
Commission's website: www.achpr.org.3
XI.
PROMOTION AND FACT-FINDING MISSIONS
50. The Commission did not undertake any advocacy or fact-finding missions during
the period under review, primarily due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Fact-finding mission to the Tigray region of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia
51. During the reporting period, the Commission was called upon by H.E. Moussa
Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), following a
meeting of the Peace and Security Council held on 9 March 2021, during which the
Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, H.E. Dr. Abiy
Ahmed, expressed his willingness to mandate the Commission to investigate the
ongoing crisis in the Tigray Region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
52. The Commission welcomed this commendable initiative to investigate the ongoing
crisis in the Tigray region and, in this regard, requested the government’s
authorization to undertake a fact-finding mission to the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia. Despite the authorization granted by the Ethiopian
authorities to carry out the field mission, the ACHPR was unable to reach an
agreement with them on the terms and conditions for conducting the mission,
which included, among other things, the conduct of a joint mission under the
supervision of the Public Prosecutor, the participation of the State in the
composition of the ACHPR Delegation, which reserved the right to remove
persons it deemed unsuitable, and the validation of the report by the Ethiopian
authorities prior to its publication. These terms and conditions have direct
consequences on the independence and neutrality of the Commission, in addition
to undermining the credibility of its work.
53. In view of the deteriorating human rights situation, the Commission decided to
establish a Commission of Inquiry into the human rights situation in Tigray,
3
Annex IV.
22 | P a g e
Ethiopia pursuant to Resolution 482 (EXT.OS/XXXII) 2021 on the Fact-Finding
Mission to the Tigray Region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in
accordance with Article 45(2) read in conjunction with Article 46 of the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter). In carrying out its
mission, it organized various meetings with different actors including the
Ethiopian authorities. In addition, it held oral hearings to receive the testimonies
of witnesses and victims and also received reports on the human rights situation
in the Tigray region. A report on the findings and recommendations will be
presented in this regard.
THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION ON THE CONTINENT
54. This section was introduced in the Activity Report pursuant to Executive Council
Decision EX.CL/Dec.639 (XVIII) calling upon the Commission to brief the Policy
Organs on the human rights situation on the continent. The practice of the
Commission is to draw the content of this section from the interactions of the
Commission with State Parties, NHRIs with Affiliate Status and NGOs with
Observer Status with the Commission during Ordinary Sessions of the
Commission, supplemented by information collected as part of its monitoring of
the human rights situation in the various State Parties during the intersession
period.
a) Positive developments
55. The Commission notes with appreciation the following major positive human
rights developments observed during the reporting period:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
23 | P a g e
Ratification of the Convention on the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearance by the Government of Sudan;
The adoption of a new Media Law in Ethiopia on 2 February 2021, to
enhance freedom of expression and access to information, as well as
decriminalizing defamation;
The adoption of the National Action Plan on Rape and Defilement
and the National Action Plan on Persons with Albinism specifically
geared at addressing the concern in the rising numbers of cases of
rape and defilement, and enhancing the protective framework for
persons living with albinism in Malawi;
The adoption of the Miscellaneous Amendments Act No. 2 of 2021
by the Parliament of Tanzania, officially making Kiswahili the legal
language of the Court and of writing legislation in the country. This
has been followed up with the establishment of guidelines to
translate all laws from English to Kiswahili and to make them
available to the public;
v.
The adoption of a new Constitution by the People’s Democratic
Republic of Algeria, strengthening all human rights guarantees,
including, express enshrinement of respect for the right to life;
vi.
The adoption of a national law protecting the rights of indigenous
Pygmy peoples and local communities on 7 April 2021 by the
National Assembly of the DRC;
vii.
The judgment of the Constitutional Court of Uganda of 19 August
2021, ordering the state to compensate Batwa indigenous
communities for unlawful evictions suffered as a result of the
creation of forest reserves and protected areas on their ancestral
lands;;
viii. Adoption of a Strategy and National Human Rights Plan as a
measure for the protection and promotion of human rights in
Angola, as well as the entry into force of the Criminal Procedure
Code which penalises FGM and abolishes discrimination;
ix.
The amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act 1991 of Sudan,
providing for the explicit prohibition of torture of an accused person
and protection from torture;
x.
The joint initiative of the Presidents of Burundi and the Democratic
Republic of Congo to collaborate on security matters as regards the
activities of armed groups along their borders;
xi.
The reaccreditation of the Independent National Human Rights
Commission of Burundi to ‘A’ status in June 2021, in accordance
with the UN Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions
(Paris Principles);
xii.
The commitment made by Chad on 23 February 2021 to ratify the
Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR at the UN Human Rights
Council's biannual panel on the death penalty;
xiii. Assumption of office of the first female President of Tanzania, which
marks a significant milestone in women’s political participation and
leadership in the country, and sets another sterling example in the
East African region and the wider continent of the recognition of the
equal rights of women, including girls and elderly women;
xiv. The peaceful and democratic transition of power in Niger;
xv.
Successful elections and peaceful transfer of power in Cabo Verde
and Sao Tome and Principe ;
xvi. The establishment of an interim Government in Libya, and the
ongoing process for the convening of national elections by December
2021;
xvii. The decision by the High Court of Kenya to uphold the ban on FGM;
xviii. The production of a draft document entitled the “National
Development Plan for Indigenous Peoples” which aims at fighting
poverty and social inequalities among Indigenous Peoples in
Cameroon;
xix. The grant of citizenship to one thousand, six hundred and seventy
(1,670) members of the Shona community and one thousand, three
24 | P a g e
hundred (1,300) stateless people of Rwandan origin by the
Government of Kenya;
xx.
The signing of the Refugee Act by the President of Kenya allowing
refugees to work;
xxi. The publication of a new Penal Code in Angola explicitly
criminalising torture and ill-treatment;
xxii. The trial and conviction of three (3) militiamen in the DRC for
committing multiple war crimes including mass rape, murder,
sexual slavery, pillage and recruitment of child soldiers. These
crimes took place between the years of 2010 and 2014 in the Walikale
and Masisi territories in North Kivu, Eastern DRC;
xxiii. The release of three hundred and twenty (320) prisoners by
Zimbabwe;
xxiv. The decision taken by some State Parties to commute death sentences
to life sentences, including Tanzania (256), Niger (19) and Zambia
(246);
xxv. The enactment of the law abolishing the death penalty in the
Republic of Sierra Leone on 8 October 2021;
xxvi. The commitment made by the President of the Central African
Republic, at his inauguration on 30 March 2021, to pursue his efforts
to abolish the death penalty;
xxvii. Continued support for a moratorium on the continent expressed in
the December 16, 2020 vote on UNGA Resolution A/RES/75/183 for
a moratorium on the use of the death penalty; and
xxviii. The new extradition agreement prohibiting the death penalty signed
between France and Algeria in December 2018 and effective as of 11
March 2021.
Human Rights Situation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
i.
ii.
iii.
The rapid development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and the
roll out of vaccination currently ongoing across the continent;
The release of prisoners who have served most of their sentence, as well
as pre-trial detainees by authorities in multiple countries, namely
Angola, Cameroon, the DRC, South Africa; South Sudan and Zimbabwe,
in order to decongest prisons and curb the potential spread of the virus;
and
The pardon of five thousand (5000) prisoners by presidential clemency
in Burundi in a move to decongest prisons.
b) Areas of Concern
i.
La non présentation des rapports périodiques par les Etats parties au
titre du Protocole de Maputo et de la Convention de Kampala ;
ii.
The long-standing civil unrest in Cameroon between the government,
Anglophone fighters and Boko Haram which has continued to cause
25 | P a g e
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
xii.
xiii.
xiv.
xv.
26 | P a g e
grave violations of the rights of innocent civilians, particularly attacks
on school buildings, multiple kidnappings, and the forced displacement
of populations;
The incessant attacks and violent abductions of students in Nigeria,
including the reported abduction of thirty-nine (39) students of the
Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Kaduna state, and 200
students of the Salihu Tanko Islamic School, Niger state on 30 May 2021;
The excessive use of force by security forces during demonstrations in
some countries, including: Nigeria, Uganda, Eswatini, Niger, Benin,
Chad, Senegal, Guinea, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Tunisia and South Africa;
The death of two young individuals while they were under police
custody in the Republic of Kenya;
Systemic arrests and detentions, increased surveillance of human rights
defenders' social networks, judicial harassment and acts of intimidation
and threats targeted at journalists and human rights defenders on the
continent;
The shrinking of civic space and attacks against human rights defenders
including the killing of human rights defenders in the extractive and
agricultural industries;
Persisting reports of attacks against journalists and other media
practitioners including murder, extra-judicial killing, torture and other
forms of ill-treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention, kidnapping,
intimidation and unlawful surveillance undertaken by State and nonState actors;
The use of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws to crack down
on human rights organizations, particularly those involved in electionrelated activities and those working against corruption, such as: freezing
the bank accounts of #EndSARS activists in Nigeria and two (2) local
NGOs in Uganda conducting election observation activities;
The absence of national legislation on the right of access to information,
resulting in the absence of legal and procedural mechanisms for
enforcing this right;
The existence of criminal defamation and insult laws, which constitute
a serious interference with freedom of expression and can impede the
work of journalists and other media practitioners;
The shutdown of internet services and social media platforms especially
during elections and protests; effectively interfering with the ability of
journalists and human rights defenders to report on human rights
violations;
Reports of violence against people living with albinism in Malawi,
Mozambique and Zambia;
Reports of the resurgence of military offensive between the Federal
Democratic Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation
Front (TPLF) in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, particularly reports of
airstrikes (four in a week) carried out in Mekelle in October 2021;
The documentation of extra-judicial killings on the continent, such as the
discovery of a mass grave site in Burkina Faso where one hundred and
eighty (180) bodies were found near the northern town of Djibo; the
identification of the remains of seventy-one (71) missing civilians in
common graves by the Niger National Human Rights Commission; the
execution of civilians suspected to be members of the Tigray Peoples’
Liberation Front in Ethiopia; and reports of extrajudicial killings by the
Human Rights and Protection Division of the United Nations
Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali;
xvi. The continuing occurrences of civil conflict, tribal/ethnic tensions and
armed conflicts, threatening the daily conditions of women, particularly
in South Sudan, Sudan and Ethiopia, where major incidents of violence
expose communities to more harm, allowing for systematic violence,
including enabling and normalizing patterns of sexual violence against
women and girls;
xvii. Reports of sexual violence against women in the conflict-hit Tigray
region of Ethiopia as a weapon of war;
xviii. Reports that at least 948 civilians have been killed, injured and abducted
by armed groups or disappeared while in custody of the defence and
security forces in Mali between January and June 2021;
xix.
Significantly high incidences of recurring sexual and gender-based
violence, forced and child marriage, and sexual exploitation in exchange
for food, water, feminine hygiene products, and lifesaving medicines in
internally displaced persons camps in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, and
Abuja, Nigeria;
xx.
Significant disparities in access to maternal health care services,
including the absence of skilled birth attendants and essential
medicines, for conflict-affected populations;
xxi. The ban on pregnant girls and teenage mothers from attending school in
Tanzania;
xxii. Discrimination and gender inequality increasing the vulnerability of
women and girls to the HIV epidemic, mainly in their ability to access
health services and opportunities;
xxiii. The attack on the Batwa/Bambuti Community by an unidentified armed
group in the village of Masini, Ituri province, Eastern DRC, which led to
the death of forty-six (46) members of the community;
xxiv. Violence between members of indigenous populations/communities
and security forces of the DRC in Kabamba on 30 November 2020, where
some young indigenes from the village of Lemera in Kalehe organized a
peaceful march;
xxv. Reports that in July 2021 two (2) member of the indigenous Batwa
community and six (6) militia were killed in an army operation aimed at
dislodging the Batwa from the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, in east DRC;
xxvi. The threat of displacement of the Dinde Community in Hwange,
Zimbabwe from their land, and other violations of their rights due to
mining activities;
xxvii. The widespread insecurity in northern Mozambique, serious human
rights violations and targeted armed attacks by non-State armed
groups resulting in the forced displacement of thousands people;
27 | P a g e
xxviii. The advancement of two national policies with direct consequences for
indigenous land-use rights in the DRC. Reports indicate that the policies
do not protect the rights of indigenous peoples, including their
economic, social and cultural rights and their rights related to the
environment;
xxix. Reported cases of violent attacks in Idohu, DRC by the Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, which led to the death of thirteen (13)
individuals, despite the state of siege decreed by the Congolese
Parliament since 6 May 2021;
xxx. Reported cases of violent attacks on the inhabitants of the villages of
Tchoma-Bangou, Zaroumadareye, Darey-Daye, Tillaberi region, and the
Tuareg villages of Intazayene, Bakorat and Wistane in Niger, attacks
reportedly carried out by armed men on motorbikes;
xxxi. Smuggling of gold leading to illicit financial flows in Zimbabwe;
xxxii. Lack of adequate and accessible public services such as health care,
water and sanitation, food and nutrition, housing, education and social
security;
xxxiii. The high rate of unemployment and lack of opportunities, especially
among young people;
xxxiv. The use of children in forced labour in the Republic of Ghana. Reports
indicate that thousands of boys are forced to work on the Volta Lake as
slaves to fishermen on the lake. Many of them are sold by their parents
for as little as two hundred and fifty dollars ($250). The International
Justice Mission puts the number of children working in the fishing
industry in Ghana at 50,000, with most of these children working on the
Volta Lake;
xxxv. The persistence of the application of the death penalty, a recent incident
being the execution of two (2) individuals in Gaborone, Botswana and
eleven (11) individuals in "Borg al-Arab" prison in Egypt;
xxxvi. The imposition of death sentences, recent incidents being the death
sentences of thirty people pronounced on 15 May 2021 by the High
Court of the Commune of Gombe in Kinshasa, DRC and the death
sentences by firing squad of four people imposed by the Military Court
of Buea, Cameroon;
xxxvii. The situation of twenty-six (26) individuals on death row in Malawi who
were informed following a judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal
on 28 April 2021, that they were no longer subjected to the death penalty
and who now have to bear the psychological effect of a new decision of
the Supreme Court of Appeal in August 2021, reinstating the death
penalty ;
xxxviii.
The persistence of the practice of descent-based slavery in Mali
and the ‘vestiges ’or ‘legacies’ of slavery in Mauritania, which subjects
people to discriminatory treatment that violates their dignity,
particularly in the form of physical abuse, psychological torture,
vexatious and humiliating measures, violations of freedom of
movement, freedom of marriage, property rights, the right to health, and
the right to education;
28 | P a g e
xxxix. The arbitrary arrest, detention and discrimination against LGBTQI
persons who are excluded from all policies including universal
healthcare in some countries;
xl.
xli.
xlii.
xliii.
xliv.
The material, political and civil discrimination and exclusion
experienced by the Haratine ethnic group and black Africans in
Mauritania on account of their origin and caste;
Persistence of Conflicts on the continent, particularly in the Tigray
region of Ethiopia, Cameroon, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, DRC,
Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, resulting in increased incidents of
enforced disappearances and large scale displacements of people;
The refusal by Tanzania to provide protection to refugees and the
closure of its borders in violation of the principle of non-refoulement;
and
The inadequate realization of economic, social and cultural rights,
resulting in poor quality education and health care systems,
unemployment, low investments and the prevailing conditions of
poverty and under-development on the continent; and
The situation of drought in Madagascar which places a million people
at risk of starvation in the remote south of the Island;
Human Rights Situation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
56. While commending the measures put in place by State Parties to contain the
spread of the coronavirus and mitigate the effects of the pandemic, the
Commission regrets the emergence of human rights violations during this
period, including:
i.
ii.
29 | P a g e
Limited access of vaccines to low-income countries and
communities, with some countries only receiving about 4.5% of
vaccine for their population size; and the refusal to temporarily
waive the COVID-19 patents, thereby limiting access to vaccines;
Human rights abuses reported in the context of continuing states
of emergency, disaster and calamity declared in many State
Parties
in
relation
to
the
COVID-19
pandemic,
including: challenges to the rule of law; the use of extraordinary
legislative powers to impose limitations and restrictions, and
the circumvention of Constitutional protections; lack of proper
monitoring for extensions of states of emergency and disaster; the
use of the military to enforce COVID-19 emergency
measures; discriminatory enforcement of measures against
particular persons and groups; socio-economic rights violations;
restricted access to places of detention; restriction of access to
justice; gender-based violence; and undue restrictions of the right
to freedom of association and assembly, and electoral
participation;
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
The excessive use of force by law enforcement officers in the
implementation of COVID-19 response measures, such as
lockdown and curfew orders, and the sustained use of detention
as a means to penalise infringement of COVID-19 regulations,
with reported cases of police brutality resulting in killings,
torture, arbitrary arrests and forced quarantine imposed on
people violating the measures;
The continued restrictions on freedom of expression and of the
press, and the often-lengthy detention of civil society activists, as
well as the unjustified prosecution of journalists under the guise
of enforcing COVID-19 regulations;
The inadequate supply of COVID-19 protective equipment and
access to basic sanitation and potable waste facilities within
prisons;
The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social and
economic rights, health care, water and sanitation, food and
nutrition, housing, education, and social security;
The disruptive impact of COVD-19 on HIV services including,
testing, treatment initiation and referrals for care services ;
The increased rate of girls being raped in many African countries
due to lock down measures imposed;
The increased rate of girls not attending school due to child
marriage and pregnancies exacerbated by COVID-19; and
The heightened number of women murdered in South Africa
during the pandemic, especially in 2020.
RECOMMENDATIONS
57. In light of the foregoing, the Commission recommends the following:
a) State Parties:
i.
ii.
iii.
30 | P a g e
Ratify, implement and domesticate the various human rights
instruments of the AU; in particular, the Maputo Protocol; the
Kampala Convention; the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance;
the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa; the Protocol to the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities in Africa; the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the
African Economic Community Relating to Free Movement of
Persons; Right of Residence and Right of Establishment, and the
OAU Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems
in Africa, for State Parties that have not yet done so;
Ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights aimed at the abolition of the death penalty
and harmonize national laws accordingly;
Support the adoption of the Draft Protocols to the African Charter on
the Rights of Citizens to Social Protection and Social Security and;
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
xii.
xiii.
31 | P a g e
the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on the Specific Aspects of
the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in
Africa;
Withdraw reservations to the Maputo Protocol for State Parties that
have entered such reservations to enable its citizens to fully enjoy the
rights provided in the Maputo Protocol;
Submit periodic State Reports according to the Commission’s
Guidelines on State Reporting, including the State Reporting
Guidelines and Principles on Articles 21 and 24 of the African
Charter relating to Extractive Industries, Human Rights and the
Environment;
Submit periodic State Reports to the Commission pursuant to Article
26 of the Maputo Protocol in line with the Guidelines for State
Reporting under the Maputo Protocol to the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. This will give the
Commission the opportunity to monitor the level of implementation
of the rights provided therein through a constructive bilateral
engagement with the State Party and make recommendations with a
view to ensuring a more impactful protection of these rights;
Implement the recommendations and decisions of the Commission
in particular in Concluding Observations, Urgent Appeals,
Resolutions and Communications;
Increase interaction with the Commission, including through
authorizing promotion missions in line with Article 45 of the African
Charter;
Expedite the adoption of access to information legislation, in
accordance with regional and international standards elaborated in
the Model Law on Access to Information in Africa, and establish
mechanisms in place to ensure their effective implementation;
Ensure the safety of journalists and other media practitioners, and
create a conducive environment for them to practice their profession,
especially during election periods;
Refrain from any action that undermines the right to unhindered
access to, or communication with regional and international human
rights bodies and from any acts of intimidation and reprisals against
persons working with human rights bodies;
Refrain from blocking, interrupting or restricting access to
telecommunication services such as the internet, social media
platforms, and messaging services, especially during the electoral
period, as noted in the revised Declaration on Freedom of
Expression and Access to Information in Africa, and Resolution 362
(LIX) 2016 on the Right to Freedom of Information and Expression
on the Internet in Africa;
Refrain from blocking or restricting access to the Internet or social
media platforms, especially during election periods and/or the
electoral process;
xiv.
xv.
xvi.
xvii.
xviii.
xix.
xx.
xxi.
xxii.
xxiii.
xxiv.
xxv.
xxvi.
xxvii.
xxviii.
32 | P a g e
Take all necessary measures to ensure that human rights defenders
carry out their activities free of any threat to their physical and moral
integrity;
Establish appropriate mechanisms for the redress of grievances
suffered by human rights defenders in the course of their work;
Sensitize all duty bearers with the principles enumerated in the
Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression and Access to
Information in Africa;
Sensitize and build the capacity of the various actors, including
human rights defender on the laws and regulations governing the
promotion and protection of human rights;
Urgently repeal criminal defamation laws or insult laws which
impede freedom of speech, as stipulated in the African Charter, the
Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression and Access to
Information in Africa and Resolution 169 (XLVIII) 10 on Repealing
Criminal Defamation Laws in Africa;
Ensure that measures taken by States to combat terrorism are
consistent with the African Commission's Resolution 88 on the
Protection of Human Rights and the Rule of Law while Countering
Terrorism in Africa;
Cooperate with other State Parties, civil societies and international
and regional organizations, to prevent and combat terrorism and
counterterrorism-related human rights violations, and restore
peace and security;
Take legislative and other measures for the full realization of
economic, social and cultural rights in accordance with the African
Charter, the Principles and Guidelines on Economic Social and
Cultural Rights, the Guidelines on the Right to Water in Africa and
other regional and international human rights norms, at all times
including periods of a public health crises;
Create employment opportunities in particular for the youth;
Ensure access to housing and shelter by all, including the most
disadvantaged and vulnerable in society;
Ensure access to education for all, at every level of the education
system;
Reform healthcare systems and provide access to health care
including adequate and effective healthcare facilities and services for
all;
Take measures and put in place access to water, sanitation and other
basic health care necessities, as conditions for safeguarding health
and life of the public;
Ensure that all national development plans, including monitoring
and evaluation mechanisms of such plans, are human rights driven
and take into account their obligations under the African Charter,
Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals;
Adopt policies that effectively promote and protect the rights of
indigenous human rights defenders. Such policies should be drafted
xxix.
xxx.
xxxi.
xxxii.
xxxiii.
xxxiv.
xxxv.
xxxvi.
xxxvii.
xxxviii.
xxxix.
xl.
xli.
33 | P a g e
with full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and
communities as rights holders;
Adopt laws that address various issues that affect the rights of
indigenous population and communities, and also adopt strategies
to enforce and implement them;
Guarantee the environmental, resources and land rights of
indigenous peoples (including their right to free, prior and informed
consent) and provide redress for any dispossessions of ancestral
lands which have taken place prior to the enactment of the
indigenous peoples’ law;
Ensure effective investigation and prosecution of persons
accountable for committing extrajudicial killings thereby providing
justice for the families of the victims;
Step up national efforts and measures to bridge the gender equality
gap, including ensuring the equal representation of women in public
life and in leadership and decision-making positions;
Promote the employment of women in the police and in prison
services;
Disseminate and implement the African Union Strategy for Gender
Equality and Women ́s Empowerment - GEWE, under African
Union Agenda 2063;
Ensure that national Gender mainstreaming efforts are
comprehensive and inclusive of all categories of women especially
those in the rural communities, elderly women, women in distress
and women with disabilities;
Adopt human rights-based approaches to HIV responses to ensure
that no one is left behind, particularly children, adolescent girls and
women, key populations that are most at risk of HIV infections and
people living in remote areas;
Scale-up investments, policies and actions on education, and holistic
multi-sectoral interventions for adolescent girls and young women
to prevent HIV and gain economic and social benefits;
Take the necessary measures to increase financial allocation to the
health sector in general and for HIV services in particular, as agreed
in the Abuja Declaration 2001;
Intensify responses to COVID-19, including vaccinations, to give
adequate priority to existing HIV responses;
Address existing cultural and heritage related barriers that are
impeding women and girls from accessing reproductive healthcare
services including safe abortion care services, especially during this
period of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic;
Work in partnership with Civil Society Organizations to scale up the
implementation of the African Commission’s Campaign for the
Decriminalization of Abortion in Africa that calls for the repeal of
laws on abortion that conflict with Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol
and violates the human rights of women and girls;
xlii.
xliii.
xliv.
xlv.
xlvi.
xlvii.
xlviii.
xlix.
l.
li.
lii.
liii.
liv.
lv.
34 | P a g e
Criminalize torture and other ill treatment in accordance with the
Robben Island Guidelines and UNCAT;
Take steps to improve conditions of detention in accordance with the
Guidelines on the Condition of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trial
Detention in Africa (the Luanda Guidelines);
Put in place measures that ensure access to justice and monitoring of
rights protections in places of detention;
Adopt effective measures and legal frameworks to prevent, combat
and stop extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings and enforced
disappearances on a permanent basis;
Review national laws to protect individuals from enforced
disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment by prohibiting
incommunicado detention; prolonged solitary confinement, and
criminalising the use of secret or unauthorised detention centres in
accordance with the Robben Island Guidelines and Optional
Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT);
Avoid resorting to general laws such as anti-terrorist legislation,
laws on the state of emergency and other laws relating to the security
of the State to engage in arrests, searches and arbitrary detentions
contrary to international and regional norms;
Respect and protect the rights of persons or groups exposed to
a high risk of acts of torture and other ill-treatment, in particular,
persons with albinism, persons with disabilities, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans-sexuals and inter-sexuals
(LGBTI),
migrants,
refugees and internally displaced persons, and ensure that the
perpetrators of these acts are held responsible;
Redouble efforts to protect and assist refugees, asylum seekers,
internally displaced persons and migrants in order to restore their
dignity;
Respect the principle of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status
of Refugees and the OAU Convention Governing Specific Aspects of
Refugee Problems in Africa, which advocates the principle of nonrefoulement to protect refugees;
Implement the objectives enshrined in the Global Compact on
Refugees, and adopt measures to prevent the forced displacement of
people, regardless of the origin of the displacement;
Initiate prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial investigations
into all allegations of torture and other ill treatment and ensure that
perpetrators are held accountable;
Ensure that victims of torture and other ill-treatment have the right
to all forms of redress including restitution, compensation,
rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition in
accordance with General Comment No. 4 on the African Charter on
Human and People Rights;
Put an end to the practice of child labour, especially in the fishing
and mining industries;
Effectively investigate all cases of child trafficking, exploitation and
labour and bring all perpetrators to justice;
lvi.
lvii.
lviii.
lix.
lx.
lxi.
lxii.
lxiii.
lxiv.
lxv.
lxvi.
lxvii.
Provide rehabilitation and access to education for all children who
have been trafficked and subjected to child labour;
Ensure that all defendants facing the death penalty have access to
judicial proceedings that meet international and regional standards
of due process and fair trial;
Suspend the execution of those on death row and observe a
moratorium on the use of the death penalty for governments that still
maintain the death penalty;
Strengthen, at the national level, the legal framework for the
protection of the right to life and dignity by supporting the adoption
of the draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples'
Rights on the Abolition of the Death Penalty at all levels of the AU's
internal procedures;
Adopt a clear legislative framework to regulate the use of force by
law enforcement officers and other actors, in accordance with
international standards, including the principles of necessity and
proportionality;
Establish or designate an Independent Civilian Police Supervisory
Institute where civilians can freely access and report/complain
about cases of abuse and violence committed by police officers;
Work towards initiating a legislative review that would allow for the
decriminalization of petty offences, which typically amount to the
incrimination of poverty, including that of soft drug use;
Develop appropriate induction and in-service training programmes
in the field of human rights for police officers and integrate training
on law enforcement action during states of emergency, calamity and
other disasters;
Adopt laws and programmes for risk management and other
disasters so that they comply with international human rights
standards;;
Make use of the Guidelines for the Policing of Assemblies by Law
Enforcement Officials in Africa and the Guidelines and Measures for
the Prohibition and Prevention of Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Africa (Robben Island
Guidelines), to guarantee that the use of force by Public Security
Forces is consistent with the principles of legality, necessity,
proportionality and accountability and do not endanger human life;
Create or designate independent national bodies mandated to carry
out regular visits to prisons and to grant requests for visits to prisons
by Civil Society Organizations and other interested parties; and
Allocate funds to prisons and other places of detention, renovate and
build new prisons in line with the Revised Standard Minimum Rules
for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules) to improve the
standard/conditions of detention, taking into account the postpandemic period.
b) To the PRC
35 | P a g e
i.
Continue engagement with the AU Organs and Institutions
with
human rights and governance mandates with a view to
enhancing coordination and collaboration, especially in enhancing the
synergy between the African Governance Architecture and the
African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) in line with Decision
EX.CL/Dec. 1279(XXXVIII).
c) To the AUC
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
Recognise the essential role of human rights defenders in the effective
implementation of democratic principles, the rule of law, good
governance and sustainable development in Africa and encourage
Member States and the organs of the AU to conduct awareness-raising
campaigns on the fundamental role played by human rights defenders;
Create space for dialogue between States and human rights key actors
on challenges, good practices and progress in the promotion and the
protection of human rights on the Continent;
Encourage and support full collaboration between national, regional
and international human rights mechanisms;
Implement the African Common Position (ACP) on Humanitarian
Effectiveness adopted in January 2016 at the Summit of the Heads of
State and Government, including the establishment of the African
Humanitarian Agency;
Take steps to facilitate and finalise the process of adopting the draft
Protocol to the African Charter on the abolition of the Death Penalty and
the Draft Protocol on the Specific Aspects of the Right to Nationality and
the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa; and
Engage in the perspective of a global and regional governance of
migration, particularly through the implementation of the Migration
Policy framework for Africa and its Action Plan.
Recommendations related to the COVID-19 pandemic:
a) To State Parties:
i.
Take all measures to guarantee respect and protect the right to freedom
of expression and access to information through ensuring access to
internet and social media services, particularly during the COVID-19
pandemic;
ii.
Facilitate access to Covid-19 vaccines for all migrants (including
economic migrants, asylum seekers in transit), in accordance with the
guidance note adopted by the UN, African and inter-American
mechanisms;
iii.
Continued provision of essential health care, including sexual and
reproductive health care, throughout the pandemic;
36 | P a g e
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
xii.
xiii.
xiv.
xv.
xvi.
Ensure that all vulnerable persons have access to health programmes
and are included in the national response plans to the COVID-19
pandemic;
Ensure that testing and any treatment, such as vaccines, developed for
COVID-19 are affordable and accessible to everyone, while also
ensuring that hospitals and healthcare providers have adequate
resources to provide care;
Prioritize the protection of women and children in the conception,
planning, development and implementation of national response
measures to the novel COVID-19, as well as employ gender-equality
sensitive approaches to provide adequate protection of the rights of
women and girls as provided in the African Charter, the Maputo
Protocol and other relevant human rights instruments;
Provide social safety nets for vulnerable groups as a way of mitigating
the loss of livelihoods and ensuring access to basic necessities such as
food, water and proper sanitation;
Refrain from erroneously relying upon the COVID-19 pandemic to
justify restrictions and other acts which amount to ill-treatment;
Enact age-appropriate comprehensive sexual education for in school
and out of school adolescents to curb the high rate of unintended
teenage pregnancies and maternal mortalities which have been
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic;
Adhere to and comply with the World Health Organization's Interim
Guidelines on Preparedness, Prevention and Control of COVID-19 in
prisons and other places of detention;
Create enabling conditions and ensure equitable distribution of the
vaccine to reach priority target populations;
Incorporate a gender perspective into all strategies deployed in the
distribution of vaccines to ensure access to all without discrimination;
Improve health services and health systems, as well as improve
immunization programmes for better services;
Ensure that COVID-19 vaccine strategies are an integral part of States’
budgets, without interfering in other routine immunization budgets;
Waive COVID-19 vaccine patents to limit restrictions to access; and
Ensure compliance with ACHPR Resolution 449 on human rights as a
central pillar of successful responses to Covid-19 and recovery from its
socio-economic impacts including with respect to compliance with the
principles of legality, necessity, reasonableness, proportionality and
precaution.
b) To the AUC
i.
37 | P a g e
Ensure equitable access and distribution of approved COVID-19
vaccines to all staff of the AU Organs and Institutions, including
regional offices.
XII.
ADMINISTRATIVE
COMMISSION
AND
FINANCIAL
SITUATION
OF
THE
a) Staffing
58. Shortage of staff at the Secretariat is one of the factors impeding the production
capacity of the Commission and the Secretariat in core areas of its work. The
Commission welcomes Executive Council Decision EX.CL/DEC. 1097(XXXVII),
which authorizes the ACHPR to recruit its own core staff with the assistance of the
AU Committee of Recruitment Experts (R10), in accordance with AU recruitment
procedures.
59. In this regard, vacancy announcements to fill eight (8) positions have been
published, and the closing date for applications for the most recent announcements
was on 20 December 2021. These positions include: 3 Interpreters/Translators (P4),
2 Senior Legal Officers (P3), 1 Legal Officer (P2), 1 Communications Database
Officer (P1) and 1 Secretary (GSA4). Their recruitment process is underway.
60. For the effective implementation of the Executive Council’s decision (EX.CL/DEC.
1097(XXXVII)), a request for the establishment of the Commission’s own
Appointment, Promotion and Recruitment Board (APROB) was addressed to the
Chairperson of the AUC. If approved, it will not only remedy the extreme delays
observed in recruitments based on the current organizational chart, but will also
bring the ACHPR in line with other Organs.
XIII. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS
Recommendations of the Joint Retreat between the PRC and the Commission
61. Further to Executive Council Decision EX.CL/1015(XXXIII) which requested the
ACHPR to report on the implementation of the recommendations of the ACHPR –
PRC Joint Retreat held in June 2018, the Commission would like to highlight the
further strengthening of ties between the Commission and States Parties. The
Commission welcomes the convening of a Joint follow-up retreat with the PRC.
62. The Commission would also like to report that the revised Rules of Procedure
(2020), adopted at the 27th Extraordinary Session in accordance with Article 42(2)
of the African Charter, and which came into force on 2 June 2020 under the terms
of Rule 145, have since become operational.
Decisions of the Executive Council
a) Construction of the Commission’s Headquarters
63. In accordance with Executive Council Decision Ex.Dec.1045 (XXXIV), the
Secretariat of the Commission approached the Government of the Republic of The
Gambia to discuss the modalities for mobilizing the necessary funds for the
construction of the Commission’s Headquarters.
38 | P a g e
64. The Commission welcomes the assessment visit conducted on 5 March 2021 by the
Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Justice of the Republic of The
Gambia to the premises housing the Secretariat of the Commission and their
commitment to follow up on the mobilization of resources for the construction of
a permanent Headquarters for the Commission. To this regard, the Commission
urges the Government of The Gambia to expedite the procedures for the
construction of the Commission’s Headquarters in accordance with the decisions
of the Executive Council.
b) Status of the Commission
65. Executive Council Decision EX.CL. Dec. 1080 (XXXVI) requested the
Commission to report on the implementation of paragraph 8 of Assembly
Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.200 (XI) stating as follows: “to take the necessary
steps to have the status of the ACHPR as an Organ of the AU regularized”. The
implementation of this Decision will be discussed during the upcoming
meeting with the AU Institutional Reform Unit on the reform of the
Commission, which is expected to take place before December 2021, and a
report will be presented to the AU Assembly in February 2022.
XIV. DATES OF THE 69th ORDINARY SESSION OF THE COMMISSION
66. The 35th Extraordinary Session and the 70th Ordinary Session of the
Commission will be held from ... to ........ February 2022 and from ..... April to
...... May 2022 respectively.
39 | P a g e