President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia announced on September 15 that he will be suspending further executions of death row inmates. [BBC] In August, President Jammeh had unexpectedly announced all of the remaining forty-eight prisoners on death row would be executed by September, ending the country’s over twenty-five year old moratorium on executions. [BBC] The following Sunday, nine prisoners were executed
Read moreCategory: African System
52nd Ordinary Session of the African Commission to be Held October 9-22
The 52nd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights will take place October 9-22 in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire. The session will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the formation of the African Commission, which is tasked with promoting and protecting human rights throughout the African Continent as well as interpreting the African (Banjul) Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Read moreAfrican Children's Rights Committee in Session This Week
This week, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) will hold its 18th session in Algiers from November 27 to December 1, to engage in a dialogue with States, civil society actors and other stakeholders. [OSF] The ACERWC is based in Addis Ababa and is composed of eleven experts elected by the AU Assembly of
Read moreMarking 30 Years of the African Charter – Where Next?
Iain Byrne contributes this post reflecting on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights most recent session and the 30th anniversary of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. ___________________________ by Iain Byrne The October 2011 session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights marked a watershed in the history of the institution and the regional
Read moreAfrican Court Judge Ouguergouz Reviews History of African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights at 30th Anniversary
In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, one of the first judges of the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights and a participant in the Charter’s drafting, Judge Fatsah Ouguergouz gave a thoughtful and illuminating speech reviewing the document’s history and its place among other regional and international human rights instruments. With regard
Read moreReleased Egyptian Political Prisoner Urges African Commission to Ensure Accountability for and Non-Repetition of Mubarak Era Abuses
The Open Society Justice Initiative and Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights have announced a development in their complaint on behalf of Egyptian political prisoner Mohammed Abderrahim El-Sharkawi. [OSJI] The two organizations recently filed written arguments on admissibility before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which received the complaint in late 2010. [OSJI] El-Sharkawi reportedly spent nearly 16 years in
Read morePressure on Libya to Comply with AfCHPR's Provisional Measures to Protect Civilians
Late last month, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights issued an order for provisional measures, directing the Libyan government to “immediately refrain from any action that would result in loss of life or violation of physical integrity of persons”, in response to Application No. 004/2011 from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Human Rights Watch,
Read moreNews Clips – October 25, 2010
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights begins holding hearings today in its 140th Period of Sessions. Issues to be discussed today include the Situation of Environmentalists in Mesoamerica, and Discrimination against the Transsexual, Transgender, and Transvestite Population in Brazil. See the week’s schedule of hearings here. Webcast of some hearings is available here. The role of humanitarian aid in contributing
Read moreACHR Commissioner Promotes Media Coverage of Human Rights Issues in Local Languages
While a delegation of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights is carrying out an on-site visit in Angola, Sioyata Maiga, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, urged media outlets in the Member States of the African Union to discuss human rights issues in the local languages of their respective countries, in order to contribute to
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