REDRESS joins NGOs and Litigants at the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights

REDRESS will attend the 73rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, taking place in Banjul, The Gambia, between 20 October and 9 November 2022.

The African Commission is the principal human rights mechanism in Africa and monitors implementation of the rights set out in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

On 24 October, REDRESS will participate in a side event titled, “Esperanza Protocol: Road map towards addressing threats against human rights defenders”. The event will introduce the Esperanza Protocol to the African Commission, African States, human rights defenders and others working with defenders who are victims of threats. The Esperanza Protocol is an international tool that promotes the effective response to threats against human rights defenders, recognizing that threats can often amount to torture and ill-treatment and, when ignored, can lead to more grave violations.

The event is co-organized by the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), Defend Defenders, the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), RFK Human Rights, and REDRESS.

On 25 October, REDRESS will participate in an event organised by the African Commission to launch their recently adopted Guidelines on the Protection of all Persons Against Enforced Disappearance. The Guidelines are the first soft law document addressing in detail the practice of enforced disappearance in Africa and offering guidance to African States on how to protect against and prevent this crime in the region. This tool is a significant step to respond to the quest of victims of enforced disappearance to obtain justice, truth and reparations.

REDRESS, and its partners Lawyers for Justice in Libya, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, MENA Rights and the African Center for Justice and Peace Studies, have been working over the last three years with the African Commission, victims’ groups, regional and international experts to support the adoption of the Guidelines.

On 27 October, the Global Survivors Fund (GSF) and REDRESS will hold an event on “Advancing Reparations for Survivors of Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Africa”, which will provide a platform for the African Commission and the participants to engage in a discussion on the challenges and opportunities that survivors faced at the regional level to access to reparations.

The event will explore the findings and recommendations made in African country studies conducted by GSF and its partners (including REDRESS, International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), Association tchadienne pour la promotion et la défense des droits de l’Homme (ATPDH), Grace Agenda, Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN), among others). A key goal of the event is to identify strategic areas of support to advance the human rights of survivors and victims of CRSV.

For more information about REDRESS’ participation in the African Commission’s session, please contact REDRESS’ Head of Law Alejandra Vicente on [email protected]