The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) wishes to inform the public that at the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Angola, a delegation of the Commission will undertake a human rights promotion mission in the Republic of Angola from 3 to 7 October 2016. The delegation will be composed of:
- Honourable Commissioner Pansy Tlakula, Chairperson of the Commission and Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa (Head of Delegation);
- Honourable Commissioner Soyata Maiga, Vice-Chairperson of the Commission, Chairperson of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of People Living With HIV (PLHIV) and Those at Risk, Vulnerable to and Affected by HIV, and Chairperson of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa.
The mission is part of the Commission’s human rights promotion mandate under Article 45 (1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter). The objectives of the mission are, inter alia, to promote the African Charter, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol) and other regional and international human rights legal instruments; strengthen relations between the Commission and the Republic of Angola with regard to the promotion and protection of the rights guaranteed by the Charter and other relevant legal instruments; collect information on the general human rights situation in Angola; engage in dialogue with the Government on the legislative and other measures taken to give full effect to the provisions of the African Charter and other instruments ratified by Angola, and where necessary identify the challenges faced; visit prisons and other detention centres in order to learn about the conditions of detention in the Republic of Angola; monitor implementation of the recommendations made in the report following the mission that was undertaken in Angola in 2010 and the recommendations contained in the Commission’s Concluding Observations adopted following Angola’s presentation of its Combined Periodic Report.
During the mission, the delegation will meet with senior officials and other stakeholders involved in human rights promotion and protection, in particular representatives of ministries and national institutions, civil society organisations, including women’s organisations working in the area of women’s rights, and other human rights stakeholders in Angola.
At the end of the mission, the delegation will present its preliminary findings to the competent authorities and will give a press conference. A detailed mission report will be presented to the Commission at a later Session.
Banjul, 27 September 2016
For further information, please contact:
The Secretariat of the Commission
31 Bijilo Annex Lay-out, Kombo North District
Western Region
P.O. Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia
Tel.: (+220) 441 05 05 /441 05 06
Fax: (+220) 441 05 04
Email: au-banjul@africa-union.org
