Final Communiqué of the 83rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Banjul, Republic of The Gambia
2 to 22 May 2025
1. In accordance with Article 64(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter), read in conjunction with Rule 27 of its Rules of Procedure (2020), the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) held its 83rd Ordinary Public Session in person from 2 to 22 May 2025 in Banjul, Republic of The Gambia.
2. The opening ceremony of the Session took place on 2 May 2025 at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre (Banjul). It was co-chaired by Honourable Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Information of the Republic of The Gambia, on behalf of Honourable Dawda A. Jallow, Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of The Gambia, and Honourable Commissioner Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, Chairperson of the Commission.
3. The proceedings of the Session were chaired by Honourable Commissioner Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, Chairperson of the Commission, assisted by Honourable Solomon Ayele Dersso..
4. The following Members of the Commission participated in the Session:
i. Honourable Commissioner Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, Chairperson;
ii. Honourable Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso;
iii. Honourable Commissioner Hatem Essaiem;
iv. Honourable Commissioner Marie Louise Abomo;
v. Honourable Commissioner Idrissa Sow;
vi. Honourable Commissioner Litha Musyimi-Ogana; and
vii. Honourable Commissioner Selma Sassi-Safer.
5. Honourable Commissioner Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, Vice-Chairperson, Honourable Commissioner Maria Teresa Manuela, Honourable Commissioner Mudford Zachariah Mwandenga, and Honourable Commissioner Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo participated in the Session virtually.
6. Key addresses were delivered at the opening ceremony by:
i. Mrs. Hannah Forster, Executive Director of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, speaking on behalf of the NGO Forum’s Steering Committee;
ii. Mr. Joseph Whittal, representing the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions;
iii. H.E. Immaculada Roca I Cortes, Ambassador of the European Union to The Gambia, on behalf of the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights;
iv. Mr. Marcel Akpovo, Regional Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Eastern Africa and to the African Union, on behalf of H.E. Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
v. Honourable Wilson De Almeida Adão, Chairperson of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;
vi. Honourable Judge Modibo Sacko, Vice-President of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, on behalf of the President of the Court;
vii. Honourable Lucia dos Passos, Third Vice President of the Pan-African Parliament, on behalf of the President of the Pan-African Parliament;
viii. H.E. Antonia Simão Da Cruz Yaba, Secretary for Human Rights of the Republic of Angola, on behalf of the States Parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
ix. Honourable Commissioner Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights;
x. H.E. Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission; and
xi. Honourable Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Information of the Republic of The Gambia, on behalf of Honourable Dawda A. Jallow, Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of The Gambia.
7. All addresses delivered during the Opening Ceremony can be accessed on the Commission’s website.
8. A total of five hundred and seventy (570) participants attended the Session, including: : One hundred and forty-two (142) representatives from twenty-eight (28) States Parties; fifteen (15) representatives from AU Organs; nine (9) representatives from international and intergovernmental organizations; twenty-two (22) representatives from NHRIs; two hundred and eighteen (218) representatives from African and international NGOs; thirty (30) representatives from press and media organizations; and fifty-four (54) staff members from the Commission’s Secretariat and other support personnel.
9. Representatives from nineteen (19) States Parties made statements on the human rights situation in their respective countries, namely: Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
10. Representatives of three (3) international organizations delivered statements on the human rights situation in Africa, namely: the Deputy Representative of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Representative of the West Africa Regional Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
11. Representatives of eleven (11) National Human Rights Institutions with affiliate status with the Commission made statements on the human rights situation in their respective countries. These included: the National Human Rights Commission of the DRC, Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, National Human Rights Commission of Mali, National Human Rights Commission of Mauritania, Rwanda National Commission for Human Rights, Benin Human Rights Commission, National Council for Human Rights of Algeria, Cameroon Human Rights Commission, Malawi Human Rights Commission, and the Independent National Commission on Human Rights of Liberia.
12. The Network of African National Human Rights Institutions also made a statement on the human rights situation in Africa.
13. Forty (40) NGOs that have Observer Status with the Commission made statements on the human rights situation in Africa.
14. Angola, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, and Eritrea exercised their right of reply regarding the human rights situation in their respective countries.
15. During the Session, two (2) days (5–6 May) were dedicated to the second edition of the Joint Forum of the Commission’s Special Mechanisms, the inaugural edition of which was held from 25 to 27 April 2024 in Dakar, Senegal. The theme of the second edition was: Human rights, an imperative for people-centred sustainable development in Africa During the Public Session, several panels were organised on various themes with the aim of strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights on the continent:
i. Panel on Silencing violence against human rights defenders
ii. Panel on the current human rights situation in Sudan;
iii. Panel on the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Launching of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa’s Women Empowerment Newsletter;
iv. Panel on the Need for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty;
v. Panel on Lessons from the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and Current Challenges: Human Rights in Conflict Situations and Transitional Justice; and
vi. Panel on Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.
16. The Commission presented the status of State Party reporting, highlighting that seven (7) countries are up to date; six (6) countries are in the review cycle, eleven (11) have one overdue report, four (4) have two overdue reports, one (1) country has three overdue reports, nineteen (19) countries have more than three overdue reports, and six (6) countries have not yet submitted their initial reports.
17. The Commission considered the Periodic Report (7th to 10th) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Periodic Report (16th) of the Republic of Zimbabwe, under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.
18. Members of the Commission presented their intersession reports highlighting the activities undertaken in their respective capacities as Commissioners and mandate holders of Special Mechanisms. Presentation of these Reports generated reactions, contributions and questions from State Delegates, NHRIs and representatives of Civil Society Organisations. The Reports are available on the website of the Commission.
19. The Commission also considered the Report on its relationship with NGOs and NHRIS.
20. During the private session, the Commission conducted an assessment of the proceedings of the public segment of the 83rd Ordinary Session.
21. Also, in accordance with its Resolution on the Criteria for Granting and Maintaining Observer Status to Human Rights NGOs in Africa, the Commission considered applications and granted Observer Status to seven (7) NGOs, namely:
i. Afro barometer;
ii. Save Generations Organization ;
iii. Community Healthcare Initiative;
iv. Women in Mining in Nigeria ;
v. Centre pour la Qualité du Droit et la Justice ;
vi. Association des victimes de Torture au Togo (ASVITTO); and
vii. Partners for Transparency Association.
22. This brings the total number of NGOs, which have Observer Status with the Commission to five hundred and eighty-six (586).
23. The Commission's decisions were taken in accordance with Resolution ACHPR/Res.572 (LXXVII) 2023 on the Criteria for granting and maintaining observer status for non-governmental organisations working on human and peoples' rights in Africa
24. There was no application for NHRI affiliate status in accordance with ResolutionACHPR/Res.370(LX)2017 on the Granting of Affiliate Status to National Human Rights Institutions and specialized human rights institutions in Africa. Thus, the number of NHRI with affiliate status remains at thirty-eight (38).
25. During the same private session, the Commission considered and adopted the following reports and documents:
i. Report on the benchmarking visits to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights; and
ii. Report on Follow-up Actions from the 82nd Ordinary Session.
26. The Commission considered and took note of the following documents:
i. Update on the complementarity between the Commission and the African Court;
ii. Report on the Audit of Merits Decisions and Recommendations of the ACHPR (Protection);
iii. Report on the ACHPR Recommendations Database (Promotion);
iv. Guidance Note on the methodology for monitoring the implementation status of the Commission’s recommendations;
v. Analysis of the ACHPR’s recommendations arising from missions conducted from 1987 to 2024;
vi. African Union Accountability Framework on the Elimination of Harmful Practices;
vii. Update on the situation in Tigray; and
viii. Report of the Advisory Committee on Staff and Budgetary Matters (ACBSM).
27. The members of the Commission´s Factfinding Mission on Sudan also held series of consultations within the framework of the Session to deliberate on the draft report of the Factfinding Mission.
28. The Commission examined ten (10) Communications:
i. Eight (8) Communications on Admissibility, of which five (5) were declared inadmissible and three (3) admissible;
ii. One (1) Communication on the merits;
iii. One (1) Communication was postponed to the next session.
29. In addition, an oral hearing was held on Communication 782/22 – Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (Debevoise) v. the Republic of Ethiopia, in accordance with Rule 102 of the Commission´s Rules of Procedures (2020).
30. The Commission adopted the following six (6) administrative and thematic resolutions:
i. Resolution on Developing General Comment on the Protection and Promotion of the Right to environment in Africa ;
ii. Resolution on Extractive industries and the elimination of all forms of exploitation in the international economic relations of Africa ;
iii. Resolution on the extension of the Mandate of the Joint Fact-Finding Mission (JFM) on the Human Rights Situation in Sudan ;
iv. Resolution on the extension of the deadline for conducting the Study on Prisons and Conditions of detention in Africa ;
v. Resolution on the Extension of the Deadline for conducting a Study on Integrating Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in National Development Planning in Africa; and
vi. Resolution on the extension of the deadline for the completion of the study assessing the level of compliance of national legislations with the Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa.
31. The Resolution on the contribution of the Commission to the implementation of the AU theme of the year 2025 “Justice for Africans and people of African descendance through reparation emanating from the panel discussion held on 10th May 2025 during the 83rd Ordinary Session of the Commission was deferred to the 84th Session.
32. The Commission also decided to hold its 84th Private Ordinary Session virtually from 21 to 30 July 2025. Details of the next Public Ordinary Session will be published on the Commission's website in due course.
33. The Commission expresses its sincere gratitude to States Parties, AU organs, international and intergovernmental organisations, NHRIs, NGOs and all other stakeholders who participated in this Ordinary Session.
34. The Commission also expresses its deep gratitude to His Excellency Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia, to the Government and people of the Republic of The Gambia for having enabled the Commission to hold the 83rd Public Ordinary Session in The Gambia and for the facilities provided to support the successful convening of the Session.
35. The Closing Ceremony of the 83rd Ordinary Session was held on 22 May 2025 at the Bakadaji Hotel, in Banjul, Republic of The Gambia.
Done in Banjul, 22 May 2025
