From 17th – 20th October2022, The International Service for Human Rights Defenders, supported the Women Human Rights Defenders Network Uganda to participate in the NGO Forum of the 73rd session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) and the opening of the ACHPR 73 ordinary session. The two important events took place in the Gambia, West –Africa.
We thank the ISHR for responding to calls by women human rights defenders to engage with the ACHPR special procedures mechanisms to raise awareness about the gendered impact of restrictive environments on WHRDs.
On 18th October, the second day of the NGO Forum ahead of the 73 session the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), Civil society discussed issues around limiting press freedoms, stifling citizen efforts to hold their governments to account and gender-based violence.
The Special Rapporteur mechanism on human rights defenders, Hon. Remy Ngoy Lumbu in Africa commended states parties of Cote d’lvoire, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger for having adopted laws for protection of human rights defenders and called upon other state parties to emulate the state parties with laws to protect human rights defenders. He added that states should establish protection mechanisms for human rights defenders.
#ForumAchpr73 @PorokwaE calls out the solidarity of civil society in Africa to talk more about the critical situation of indigenous people in #Tanzania. He also emphasizes the need for the @achpr_cadhp to take cases of torture and eviction of these communities more seriously pic.twitter.com/C3sCaGMvpr
— Adélaïde ETONG (@Adelaide_ISHR) October 18, 2022
Engagement with the Special Rapporteur on Rights of Women In Africa
WHRDN-U had the privilege to engage with the Special Rapporteur on Rights of Women In Africa, Ms.Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, who we called upon to work with the Special Rapporteur for human rights to develop a stronger gender perspective to protect WHRDs and to offer technical assistance in the development of the HRD protection bill.
