The following are the activities I undertook during the intersession as Commissioner of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights mandated to promote and
protect human rights on the continent in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
On November 24 2010, I was invited to a seminar organized by the Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project (SERAP) in Lagos, Nigeria. The seminar was aimed at promoting integrity in Magistrate Courts and improve on access of citizens to justice in Lagos State. I presented a paper on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. The Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in Lagos, Nigeria, invited me to a human rights workshop on 26 November 2010 . I made a presentation on the adoption of the African Charter, the mandate of the Commission and the different mechanisms set up to actualize the mandate of the Commission.
From November 28 – 30 2010, I attended a workshop on ‘Abortion and Reducing Maternal Mortality in Africa – a Human Rights Approach’, that held in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop was organized by IPAS, an international NGO working on women’s sexual and reproductive rights for Commissioners of the African Commission. The main objective of the workshop was to review the current status of and achievements in the promotion of women’s sexual and reproductive rights in the light of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa.
On February 14 – 15 2011, I attended a meeting in Dakar, organized by the Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSEIA) in collaboration with the African Commission. The
meeting was aimed at preparing and mapping out strategies for celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the African Charter. During the meeting, an action plan of envisaged activities and the modalities of their implementation was drawn up and roles distributed to various stakeholders.
I participated in the 9th Extra-ordinary Session of the African Commission that held from February 21 to March 03 2011, in Banjul, the Gambia. The Session discussed the budget of the commission and other outstanding issues that were not finalized during the 48th Ordinary Session and considered pending communications.
From 12 – 13 April, I attended another preparatory meeting for the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the African Charter in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting was a follow up to the Dakar meeting and was aimed at evaluating progress and setting out further strategies for a successful anniversary celebration.
