Further to its mandate under Article 45 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter), and following authorization by the Government of Seychelles, a delegation from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) undertook a Promotion Mission in the country from 10 to 14 March 2025.
The Commission’s delegation comprised:
- Honourable Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso, Commissioner Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in the Republic of Seychelles and Chairperson of the Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations in Africa (the Head of the Delegation); and
- Honourable Commissioner Hatem Essaiem, Chairperson of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa.
- The Delegation was supported by Ms. Anita Bagona and Mr. Angelo William Jey Mayot, from the Commission’s Secretariat.
The objectives of the mission were, inter alia: to promote the African Charter and other regional and international human rights legal instruments; collect information on the general human rights situation in Seychelles; 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 Seychelles, in addition to identifying any challenges faced; identify progress made, as well as the obstacles which hinder the exercise and full enjoyment of their rights; gather information on the situation of freedom of expression and access to information, the prevention of torture, the rights of women, children, asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced persons, migrants, older persons, persons with disabilities, and other categories of vulnerable persons living in Seychelles, including people living with HIV/AIDS, those at risk, vulnerable and affected by HIV/AIDS.
The mission also aimed to follow up the implementation of the recommendations made by the African Commission in the reports of the previous mission to the country and in the concluding observations adopted following the presentation of its initial report on the Implementation of the African Charter.
During the Mission, the delegation met with various stakeholders in Government, international Organisations, national institutions, civil society organisations, members of the public with human rights issues and inmates in the main prison, among others.
During the course of the promotional mission, the delegation paid a courtesy call to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Seychelles.
The delegation held meetings with the following senior Government officials:
- Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism ;
- Minister of Internal Affairs;
- Minister of Education;
- Minister of Employment and Social Affairs;
- Minister of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment;
- Minister of Health;
- The Speaker of the National Assembly;
- The President of the Court of Appeal;
- The Attorney General; and
- The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
The Delegation also met with the following:
- The Leader of the Opposition;
- The Ombudsman;
- The Vice-chairperson of the Seychelles Human Rights Commission;
- The Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Media Commission;
- The Vice-Chairperson of the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission;
- The Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Seychelles;
- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime;
- The Bar Association and other lawyers;
- Representatives of civil society organisations including members of the Citizen Engagement Platform Seychelles and representatives of ARID; and
- The Ramp Up, Rise Up Association for people with disabilities.
The Delegation also conducted visits to:
- the Montagne Posée Prison,
- the Communicable Disease Control Unit, and
- the Anse-Royale Elderly Home.
Positive observations:
In particular, the delegation notes the following positive developments:
i. The establishment of National Mechanisms, such as:
a. the Seychelles Human Rights Commission (SHRC);
b. the Seychelles Ombudsman;
c. the Truth, Reconciliation, and National Unity Commission (TRNUC);
d. the Anti-Corruption Commission of Seychelles;
e. the National Council for Children; and
f. the Seychelles Media Commission.
ii. The ratification of the following instruments:
a. the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance;
b. the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;
c. the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure; and
d. Nine (9) out of the eleven (11) International Labour Organization Conventions and Domestic Workers Convention.
iii. The robust measures put in place for giving effect to economic, social and cultural rights most notably:
a. the right to employment and descent working conditions;
b. the right to education with allocation of funding accounting for 12% of the national GDP and compulsory and free access to education with 100% enrolment at primary school and at least 90% enrolment rate after primary school;
c. the right to health with allocation of 13% of national GDP and access for all to free healthcare, including treatment abroad when necessary;
d. the right to social security and protection with budget provision that accounts for the largest percentage of the national GDP covering provisions ranging from retirement benefits to funeral, disability, orphan, maternity and supplementary benefits and unemployment relief scheme, as well as financial and social assistance for the elderly;
e. Reviewing social welfare policies to ensure adjustments for changes in cost of living and to encourage employment while ensuring that vulnerable individuals remain protected.
iv. Welcomes the enforcement of socio-economic rights and the judgement of the judiciary affirming justiciability of the right to environment and the obligation of the state to protect against pollution and take responsibility for cleanup.
v. Holding of free and fair elections and smooth transfer of power from the long ruling party to the leader of the party that was in the opposition;
vi. Guaranteeing continuation of service for people holding various public offices without regard to their political positions;
vii. Initiatives for implementation of adaptation measures for the agricultural sector and for enhancing food security;
viii. Provision of nutritious meals and health care support for inmates and implementation of rehabilitation measures, connecting qualified inmates to employment opportunities, pathways for their reintegration back to society;
ix. Strong guarantees and regulatory measures for prevention of trafficking in persons and protection measures for those affected by trafficking;
x. The initiation of investigations into the riots of 5 December 2024 that took place at the main prison that led to loss of lives and the explosion of 7 December 2023;
xi. The commitment by the police and prison authorities for finalising on 15 May 2025 internal investigations on the riots at the main prison that took place on 5 December 2024;
xii. The adoption of amendment to the electoral law specifying the date for the holding of elections and thereby ensuring predictability;
xiii. The legal, regulatory and social protection measures put in place for ensuring protection of the rights of the 25, 395 migrant workers operating in Seychelles despite persisting challenges; and
xiv. Strong constitutional guarantees for human rights covering both civil and political rights and socio-economic rights as well as the right to safe environment ensuring justiciability of socio-economic rights and the right to safe environment.
Challenges and areas of concern observed:
The delegation, however, remains concerned about certain challenges which inhibit the full realisation and enjoyment of human rights by the citizens, and in this regard wishes to highlight the following:
i. The lack of ratification of the regional human rights instruments, such as: the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention); the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Older Persons; the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of people with disability; the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Citizens to Social Protection and Social Security; the Protocol to the African Charter on the Specific Aspects of the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness; and the Protocol to the African Charter Establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
ii. Lack of domestication of the conventions on refugees and the right to seek asylum provided for in the African Charter and the OAU Convention on Refugees and the resultant lack of law and national mechanism in charge of the protection and assistance to the asylum seekers and refugees;
iii. The Overdue periodic reports under the African Charter;
iv. Lack of full institutional independence of the Seychelles Human Rights Commission and the Ombudsman due to the application of the Public Service Order to the financial, human resources and administrative roles of the Commission and the Ombudsman;
v. The lack and/or slow pace of implementation of the recommendations of the TRNUC leading to frustrations on the part of victims who were awarded reparations;
vi. Report of lack of impartial and fair treatment in the National Assembly of members of the Assembly from the opposition;
vii. The loss of lives in the 5 December 2024 riot at Montagne Posée Prison;
viii. The destruction of property in the 7 December 2023 explosion at the Civil Construction Company Ltd;
ix. Reports of lack of information on progress and slow pace of the independent investigations on the riots in the main prison that led to loss of lives and the 7 December 2023 explosion;
x. Fears expressed by members of the public and those engaged in opposition politics about the risks of elements of the Hate Speech Act curtailing freedom of expression and engagement in opposition politics;
xi. Challenges associated with the remand system including repeated remand and long duration of pretrial detention for remands;
xii. Concerns about the right to bail due to the reported tendency of courts to err on the side of remand rather than granting bail as a matter of rule with remand being the exception in cases of risks of flight, commit further offences on bail or interference with the investigation and prosecution of the case;
xiii. Concerns about prolongation of some cases that have been on trial for several years being undue particularly in cases where bail rights are not granted;
xiv. Legal aid system that compels lawyers to represent the indignant at a fixed below cost payment leading to lawyers not properly representing their clients tending to encourage clients to plead guilty, not showing up in court during appointments and not responding to clients, with dire consequences to due process rights of those on remand, particularly foreign detainees waiting trial;
xv. The lack of separation of inmates on the basis of the gravity of the crimes in prisons, circulation of drugs in prison and complaints of unhygienic conditions of detention such as fungus in the old prison;
xvi. The criminalisation of petty offenses, leading to criminal punishment instead of alternative rehabilitative measures including community service and exposing petty offenders to the influence of hard-core offenders, thereby ending up being hardened;
xvii. The impending separation of an infant from his mother Stella who gave birth in prison while in remand due to the policy of separation at the infants age of 18 months;
xviii. Despite the low level of unemployment representing 3.5%, there is challenge of youth unemployment;
xix. Reports of the occurrence of forced labour and low wages for migrant workers, in the private sector;
xx. Concerns of prolongation of the process of determining the constitutionality of the Tenth amendment Act, 2022 which gives power to the Defence Forces to carry out internal law enforcement, outside the context of a public emergency;
xxi. Concerns on the part of various sectors of society about the incompatibility of the training, practice, orientation, legal regime governing the armed forces with civilian law enforcement responsibilities of the police;
xxii. The persisting challenges related to the drugs abuse in the country;
xxiii. Lack of tailoring of reproductive health education and services to the needs of female students
xxiv. Concerns about existence of conditions that may lead to discrimination of vulnerable groups such as lack of accessibility for persons with disability and old persons;
xxv. The dissolution of the Council for Disabled Persons and the Council for Old persons and the resultant legal vacuum affecting the role of relevant public institutions for advancing the rights of affected groups such as those working on servicing persons with disability and old persons;
xxvi. Concerns about environmental protection arising from bio security issues relating to the implementation of certain projects; and
xxvii. The issue of climate change, and the country’s vulnerability to coastal erosion and environmental degradation.
Recommendations:
In light of the above, the Commission call upon the Government to:
i. Ratify and domesticate the regional and international legal instruments listed in the foregoing;
ii. Enact legislation for domesticating the convention on refugees that Seychelles is a party to and establish a national mechanism to ensure the protection and the assistance of asylum seekers and refugees;
iii. Put in place national team for the preparation and submission of the periodic reports of Seychelles under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
iv. Adopt a comprehensive legislative reform to align governance structures with the constitutional framework, particularly in ensuring the full financial and administrative autonomy of the SHRC and the Ombudsman by according them a status similar to the Anti-Corruption Commission;
v. Fast-track necessary legal and policy reforms as well as allocation of the required funds to implement the recommendations of TRNUC;
vi. Expedite the independent investigation on the December 2023 explosion and the December 2024 riots in Montagne Posée Prison and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice and the victims receive fair and adequate compensation;
vii. Put in place measure to ensure that those on trial while on remand are tried within a reasonable time including by enforcing maximum time limits for different stages of trials, including complex cases;
viii. Ensure that the right to bail is granted as a matter of rule, and remanding those awaiting or on trial only in cases there is evidence of them being a flight risk, or likely to commit further offenses while on bail, or may interfere with the investigation or prosecution of the case;
ix. Review the modalities of the Legal aid assistance to ensure that members of the Bar are able to discharge their responsibilities in representing the indignant with utmost responsibility and diligence;
x. Establish and strictly enforce a classification system to separate inmates based on the severity of their crimes, risk levels, and rehabilitation needs;
xi. Adopt legislative reform for decriminalization of petty offences;
xii. Recognising the commendable accommodation made in prison for Stella and her son, it is the considered view of the delegation of the ACHPR mission that this accommodation is extended for the mother and the infant boy to be together in a secure place outside of prison for the duration of the finalisation of the mother's trial considering the principle of presumption of innocence until convicted after a fair trial;
xiii. Adopt legislatives and other measures to monitor and protect the rights of migrant workers;
xiv. Ensure that the determination of the constitutionality of the tenth amendment is concluded within reasonable period of time and pending that institute measures that guarantee that the application of the deployment of the armed forces for assisting police is limited for exceptional circumstances;
xv. Ensure that armed forces deployed for assisting police are provided with the requisite training in the rules of engagement and human rights standards that apply for law enforcement including most particularly on the use of force as illustrated by the loss of lives during the attempt to control the riots in the main prison;
xvi. Initiate investigations into the sources, means and methods of access to drugs in prisons and adopt the requisite measures for preventing use of drugs, including in prisons;
xvii. Enhance measures and strategies to minimise and prevent drug abuse and strengthen rehabilitation programs including by establishing pathways for ensuring that those who served their terms and rehabilitated are not denied of their right to work;
xviii. Provide sexual and reproductive health services and education targeting specifically female teenage students;
xix. Adopt laws on the rights of persons with disability and old persons that ensure the creation of the conditions that make the exercise by persons with disabilities and old persons of their rights on an equal basis with others possible including by implementing measures for accessibility based on consultations and having regard to their needs;
xx. Put in place effective legal, institutional and regulatory measures that ensure compliance with the right to safe environment with the obligation for conducting human rights, environmental and social impact assessment and instituting relevant preventive measures in undertaking development projects with particular attention to vulnerable ecosystems;
xxi. Institute mechanisms for settlement of grievances and for holding businesses administratively, civilly, and criminally for violating environmental, labour and human rights standards; and
xxii. Adopt strategy for advancing the interests of Seychelles in global policy making on climate change to ensure mobilisation of resources for adaptation and resilience.
The Commission also recommends all other stakeholders, including the international Organisation, the national institutions and the civil society organisations to continue their efforts to promote and protect human rights in the country.
The Delegation wishes to thank the Government of the Seychelles and its people, with appreciation to President of the Republic of Seychelles, H.E. Wavel Ramkalawan, for their very warm reception and hospitality, as well as for the frank and constructive dialogue during the Mission. The delegation is truly grateful for the facilities and services placed at its disposal during the Mission, and singles out for special gratitude to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and tourism, H.E. Sylvestre Radegonde and to his colleagues for the excellent arrangements put in place which enabled the delegation to meet a cross-section of the society, in order to have a fairly representative view of the human rights situation in the country.
The Delegation also expresses its gratitude to the Civil Society Organisations, to the Bar Association and the lawyers, as well as the inmates in prison and prison authorities for sharing their insights on the human rights situation in the country.
The delegation will prepare a Report of the Mission, which will be tabled before the Commission for consideration and adoption at one of its upcoming sessions, followed by onward transmission to the Government of Seychelles.
The mission ended with a press conference hosted by the Delegation.
Done in Victoria, Republic of Seychelles, 15 March 2025
