Advocacy at the African Commission

The Coalition was granted observer status at the 44th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights which was held in Abuja, Nigeria from 10 to 24 November 2008.

Coalition members use the sessions of the African Commission to conduct advocacy, organise discussions on the African Court, and publicise the work of the Coalition. Members also meet with government representatives and participate in parallel civil society events on raising awareness on the African human rights system.

Reflecting on the current developments at the African Court for better access to justice on the Continent

Monday, 22 April 2013

The African Court Coalition organized a one hour discussion as a side event during the 53rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) with the theme; ‘Reflecting on the Current Developments at the African Court for Better Access to Justice in the Continent’. The event was held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel on the 11 April 2013, in Banjul, The Gambia with about 70 participants attending.

During an interactive one hour discussion, human rights experts and judge from the Court reflected on a number of issues relating to the Court which included among others; handling of cases transferred by the Commission and the outcome of a request for an Advisory Opinion before the Court for a case similar to the one pending before the Commission.

The discussion was chaired by Mr Dzimbabwe Chimbga of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights while Judge Sylvain Oré (Judge at African Court) and Professor Frans Viljoen (University of Pretoria, South Africa) were panellists.

Panelists

From left to right; Professor Frans Viljoen (University of Pretoria), Mr Dieu-Donné Wedi Djamba (Coalition Executive Secretary),
Mr Dzimbabwe Chimbga (Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights) and Judge Sylvain Oré (African Court Judge)

Participants of the Banjul side event

53rd Session Banjul April 2013

The 53rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights will be held from 9 to 23 April in Banjul, the Gambia. Please visit the ACHPR link below for the draft agenda of the session.

http://www.achpr.org/sessions/53rd/info/agenda/

NGO Forum

The African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) will organize the Forum on the Participation of NGOs (also known as the NGOs Forum) preceding the 53rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’Rights (ACHPR) and the 27th African Human Rights Bookfair.

The main objectives of the Forum are:

To foster closer collaboration and co-operation among NGOs, and with the African Commission for promotion and protection human rights in Africa;
To provide a discussion platform for organizations working on democracy and human rights issues in the continent;
To promote inter-regional/organizational networking for the implementation of decisions of the Forum as contained in the ACHPR Communiqué amongst others.

For more information please visit the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) link below;

http://www.acdhrs.org/ngo-forum/

Report of the Working Group on Communications

Sunday, 04 November 2012

This Report was presented by Commissioner Zainabo Sylvie Kayitesi, chairperson of the Working Group on Communications, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The presentation gives an overview of the protective mandate of the Commission as a whole, take you through the success lane of the Commission during its twenty-five years of existence, the challenges it has incurred and opportunities available to enhance the protection mandate.

Coalition for an Effective African Court