1. In conformity with the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the African Commission, the present Report gives an account of the promotional activities engaged in since the 48th Ordinary Session of the African Commission held in Banjul (The Gambia) in November 2010.
2. The Report comprises two types of activities carried out in my capacity as Member of the African Commission and as Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa.
I. Activities carried out in my capacity as Member of the African Commission
3.From 29 November to 1st December 2010: I participated in the retreat organized by IPAS in Nairobi for the Commissioners and Members of the Secretariat on various aspects of maternal mortality relating to the problem of abortion from the human rights perspective. This meeting brought together Jurists, human rights Activists, Medical
Practitioners, Academics and NGO representatives to discuss several topics: in particular the laws governing abortion in Africa and their implications for health; the reality of abortions at risk; the vulnerable abortions and violations of women’s rights; the ratification and implementation of the Maputo Protocol; the collaboration between the
National Human Rights Commissions and the African Commission.
4. On this occasion I made a presentation on the work of the African Commission through the use of its special mechanisms and the Communications procedure with a view to enhancing the understanding of the participants regarding the role played by our Institution in the protection of the right to good health in general, and about the right of access to safe abortion-related health care in particular. The essential objective sought by IPAS in organizing a retreat for the Commissioners was to share with them the concerns and needs of women in the field of Reproductive Health on the one hand and to pinpoint the low political will on the part of the African decision makers in the enactment of laws and policies promoting safe abortion on the other.
5. From 21 to 22 January 2011: I participated in my capacity as foreign member in the deliberations of the Rights and Democracy Governing Council. This is a Canadian nstitution which works in Africa and in several regions of the world for the democratic development and promotion of Human Rights.
6. From 14 to 15 February 2011 in Dakar: I participated in a working session organized by OSIWA on the preparation of the activities marking the 30th Anniversary of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the 25th Anniversary of the African Commission.
7. From 23 February to 03 March 2011 in Banjul: I participated in the Extraordinary Session of the African Commission. On this occasion major decisions were made on the human rights situation in the North African countries, in Côte d’Ivoire and in Benin.
