12 - 15 August 2017, Dakar, Senegal
1. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Commission) organised from 12 – 15 August 2017 in Dakar, Senegal, a “Regional Seminar on the Implementation of Decisions of the Commission” for countries of Central, North and West Africa, with the financial support of the European Union under the Project on Strengthening the African Human Rights System (PANAF Project).
2. The overall objective of the Seminar was to strengthen the African human rights system in the area of the Commission’s human rights promotion and protection mandate. The specific objectives included an assessment of the level of implementation of concluding observations and other decisions of the Commission with the aim to promote implementation by States Parties.
3. The Seminar brought together several participants, including:
· Representatives of the following States Parties: Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Togo and Tunisia;
· Members of the Commission and personnel of the Secretariat of the Commission;
· The Registrar of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
· Representatives of national human rights institutions of the following countries: Algeria, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania and Sierra Leone, as well as a representative of the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions;
· Representatives of NGOs and human rights organisations working in Central, North and West African countries.
4. The opening ceremony was marked by two statements made by the Vice-Chairperson of the Commission, Honourable Commissioner Soyata Maiga, and the Director of Cabinet at the Ministry of Justice of Senegal, Ms Aminata Fall Cisse, who declared the Seminar open.
5. Several issues were discussed, including:
· Working methods of the Commission and the various decisions and recommendations of the Commission;
· The Commission’s follow-up mechanism, status of implementation of the various decisions of the Commission, and challenges faced in following up on decisions;
· Experiences of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the European Court of Human Rights on the implementation of decisions.
6. Panel discussions were held to share experiences on the views of States Parties, NHRIs and NGOs on mechanisms established to follow up on the implementation of decisions of the Commission.
7. Breakout sessions were held to identify challenges faced in following up on the implementation of decisions of the Commission and to make recommendations on the way forward.
8. The presentations and breakout sessions were followed by fruitful discussions, following which participants reaffirmed the importance of the implementation of decisions and recommendations of the Commission for an effective human rights promotion and protection on the continent.
9. At the end of the Seminar, several challenges were identified and recommendations were made to States Parties, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Union, national human rights institutions, and civil society organisations.
Done in Dakar, Senegal, on 15 August 2017
