Organisations call on African Commission to resist attacks
Decision of the Executive Council of the African Union threatens the participation of 517 NGOs in the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
In a statement, organisations call on the ACHPR (African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights) to resist attacks and interference from African Union political bodies. They also urge states to fight the dismantling of the African system of human rights. Civil society organisations showed concern over attacks suffered by the ACHPR and the future implications of the African Union Executive Council’s decisions.
In a recent decision, the Council interpreted the ACHPR’s independence as being merely functional, stating that the African Commission was not independent of the bodies that created it. Furthermore, the decision allows for restriction and barriers regarding the participation of civil society organisations in the Commission and threatens the participation of 517 NGOs that currently hold observer status.
The organisations stress that the ACHPR was created by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and not by African Union bodies, which are also attributed power and mandate by this Charter. The effect of the decision on NGOs has a direct impact on all civil society organisations currently accredited and on all those that seek accreditation in the future.
Conectas and a further 33 civil society organisations signed the statement.
