Webinar and Q&A, 26 August: The Forgotten Victims of Enforced Disappearance in Africa
26 AUGUST 2020
4PM-5PM (East Africa) | 1PM-2PM (West Africa) | 3-4 PM (South Africa/EU)
Simultaneous translation: French, English, Arabic.
Join a discussion on the struggle faced by victims of enforced disappearances in Africa to obtain justice, truth and reparations.
The practice of enforced disappearances is widespread in Africa since colonial times. In more recent decades, State and non-State actors have used enforced disappearances to suppress political opposition, under the pretext of fighting terrorism and conducting security operations as well as in the context of migration and mass displacement.
The denial of States on the use of enforced disappearances and the lack of proper official records on the scope and victims of enforced disappearance makes it hard to know the full magnitude of this practice on the continent.
In 2018, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights expanded the mandate of the Working Group on Death Penalty, Extra-Judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings and Enforced Disappearances to monitor the situation of enforced disappearances in Africa and advice States on the measures needed to address this grave crime on the continent.
Can the new mandate along with the public outcry over recent enforced disappearances in Zimbabwe, Sudan and many other countries finally pave the way for victims to obtain justice, find out the truth about the loved ones, and obtain reparations?
SPEAKERS:
- Hon. NDiamé Gaye, Chairperson of the Working Group on Death Penalty, Extra-Judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings and Enforced Disappearances in Africa
- Ms. Houria Es-Slami, Member of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
- Mr. Mossaad Ali, Executive Director of the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)
- Ms. Sirra Ndow, Board Member of the African Network Against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances (ANEKED) and The Gambia representative
- Mr. Blessing Nyamaropa, Acting Program Manager: Litigation at Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
- Concluding observations by REDRESS
This webinar is part of a joint campaign by ACJPS, LFJL, MENA Rights Group, REDRESS and ZLHR.