Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

What will happen during the NGO Forum and 65^th ordinary session of the African Commission?

The NGO Forum

Like every year, ahead of this session of the NGO Forum, a training on advocacy particularly focused on regional and international mechanisms will be organised. This year’s training is organised by CIVICUS and will be held from 15 to 21 October 2019. It will consist of three different elements:

• Advocacy training will be conducted by our partner in The Gambia, from 15 to 17 October
• Participants will then attend the NGO Forum, which is held ahead of the ordinary sessions of the African Commission
• The 65th session of the African Commission will open on 21 October and participants will have the opportunity to put the training into practice

The Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the Ordinary Sessions of the African Commission, also known as the ‘NGO Forum’ is an advocacy platform coordinated by the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) to promote advocacy, lobbying and networking among and between human rights NGOs, for the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa. The NGO Forum shares updates on the human rights situation in Africa by the African and international NGOs community with a view of identifying responses as well as adopting strategies towards the promotion and protection of human rights on the continent.

Issues such as:

• Resilience strategies and protection of displaced human rights defenders
• The situation of statelessness in Africa
• The status of intersex and transgender refugees in Africa
• The rights of internally displaced people during armed conflicts
• The use of surveillance technologies to stifle protest, expression and privacy in Africa

The 65^th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

• Panel discussions

• The importance of civic space participation in the 2030 and 2063 agendas, 23 October, 9.30 to 11am.
• Panel on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders with a focus on Protection Laws, 23 October, 3 to 4.30pm

During every session, special mechanisms from the African Commission present their activity report. These reports catalogue the activities and initiatives undertaken by each mechanism inter-sessionally and includes one by the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa. For the full programme, click here.

ISHR will also organise side events, such as Ending intimidation and reprisals against those cooperating with regional mechanisms in Africa on 22 October 2019, 17.30-19.00 in the Kairaba Hotel, Banjul, The Gambia. This side event aims at providing more visibility and clarity on the Special Rapporteur’s mandate on reprisals, to share some lessons learned from efforts to address reprisals and intimidation at the international level, and to hone in on what more can be done at the regional level. In particular, the event will be an opportunity for the Special Rapporteur to share key information on how to engage with the reprisal’s aspect of his mandate through the presentation of the mandate’s working documents in this regard.

Panellists:

• Remy Ngoy Lumbu, African Commission’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa
• Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders
• Clément Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Assembly
• Madeleine Sinclair, ISHR New York Co-Director and Legal Counsel
• A woman defender from Sudan

ISHR will monitor and report on key developments at the 65th ordinary session of the African Commission. Follow them on Twitter at @ISHRglobal, @ISHR_fr and at #ACHPR65.

https://www.ishr.ch/news/achpr65-alert-ngo-forum-and-65th-session-african-commission-human-and-peoples-rights