Does the ACHPR Really Get It?! Human Rights Defenders, African Values, and the Dangerous Drift Toward Normative Regression
Posted: 31 May, 2026 Filed under: Mai Aman | Tags: ACHPR, ACHPR’s Draft Declaration, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, African values, anti-terror legislation, apartheid, authoritarianism, civic space, civil society actors, colonialism, community primacy, culture, digital surveillance frameworks, freedom of expression, Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa, hostile environments, human rights defenders, LGBTQ defenders, moral health of society, official panel discussion, protest rights, public-order laws, respect for institutions, restrictive NGO regulations, Sovereignty, state security, women human rights defenders Leave a comment
Author: Mai Aman
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Civil society organisations (CSOs) participating at the 87th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR/ the Commission), held in Banjul, the Gambia from 12 to 20 May 2026, were alarmed when discussions began emerging around a Draft Declaration on the Promotion of the Role of Human And Peoples’ Rights Defenders And their Protection In Africa. For many CSOs working directly on civic space, freedom of expression, protest rights and defender protection across the continent, this was the first time they had become aware that such a process was already underway within the Commission.
The concern was not simply procedural, although the limited consultation surrounding a Declaration of such potential normative significance immediately raised questions. Rather, alarm quickly grew once civil society actors were able to review the text itself. As the Draft Declaration began circulating during the session, organisations realised that, in its current form, the Declaration risked doing the exact opposite of what a Declaration on human rights defenders should do; instead of strengthening protections for defenders operating in increasingly hostile environments, the Draft Declaration appeared capable of legitimising the very frameworks already being used to repress them.
The struggle for prisoners’ voting rights: Analysing the constitutional right to dignity and sovereignty in Kenya
Posted: 18 November, 2024 Filed under: Uday Makokha Keya | Tags: Bill of Rights, democracy, dignity, electoral justice system, equity, fundamental freedoms, general elections, human rights, IEBC, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Kenya, principles of governance, prisoner`s right to vote, right to dignity, right to vote, Sovereignty, voting rights Leave a comment
Author: Uday Makokha Keya
Third-year law student, Kabarak University
The values on sovereignty of the people, asserted in the constitution of Kenya, imposes on the state the duty to protect, promote and fulfil citizen`s right to elect their representatives as a way of exercising their sovereignty. This right should therefore be achieved through guaranteeing citizens the right to register as voters and, consequently, to elect their leaders. The constitution provides that, every person has a right without unreasonable restriction to be registered as a voter.[1] Therefore, any limitation to the right to vote, has to be necessary,[2] and in accordance to the law.[3] The case of Kituo Cha Sharia V IEBC & 2 Others, affirmed prisoner`s right to vote and elect their representatives linking their right to vote to their dignity, and the exercise of their sovereignty.[4] To guarantee the right to vote to prisoners, they should have equally been provided with the right to register as voters and, to consequently vote in every election cycles.
The rationality of the electorate as a catalyst for political change- Lessons from Senegal
Posted: 16 May, 2024 Filed under: Bonolo Makgale, Matthew Ayibakuro | Tags: Constitutional Council, corruption, democratic governance, diplomatic interventions, elections, political change, political dispute, President Mack Sall, presidential elections, Senegal, social media campaign, Sovereignty, systemic change, transfer of power Leave a comment |
Author: Bonolo Makgale Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria |
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Author: Matthew Ayibakuro Governance Adviser and Development Consultant |
The recent presidential elections in Senegal took place against a backdrop of constitutional disputes and widespread political fervour. This was after the Constitutional Council overturned former President Mack Sall’s decree postponing the election, declaring it unconstitutional. This election remains one of Senegal’s most historic. It signalled the end of Sall’s 12-year rule, and with 17 candidates vying to succeed him, it was the most competitive presidential race since Senegal’s independence from France in 1960. It also marked the culmination of a contentious political dispute over the date of the election, which began when Sall moved it to extend his term, sparking widespread protests and boosting support for the opposition.
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso’s withdrawal from ECOWAS: The Revised ECOWAS Treaty and withdrawal with ‘immediate effect’
Posted: 5 March, 2024 Filed under: Marko Svicevic | Tags: Authority of Heads of State and Government, Burkina Faso, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, ECOWAS Commission, ECOWAS withdrawal, immediate effect, Liptako-Gourma Charter, Mali, military coups, military interventions, military takeovers, Niger, regional peace, sanctions, security, Sovereignty, suspended, treaty law framework, withdrawal Leave a comment
Author: Marko Svicevic
Lecturer and Researcher, Centre for International Humanitarian and Operational Law, Faculty of Law, Palacky University, Olomouc
On 28 January 2024, the military leaders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso simultaneously announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with ‘immediate effect’. Although the move is not all too surprising given rising tensions between the bloc and the three States, it is a historical and significant development in the region. All three States were suspended from ECOWAS following military takeovers; and they had faced varying degrees of sanctions in the last three years.
Addis Ababa’s City Sovereignty threatened by the new Draft Criminal Procedure and Evidence Law of Ethiopia
Posted: 14 July, 2021 Filed under: Marew Abebe | Tags: Addis Ababa, criminal procedure, Draft Criminal Procedure, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Federal Constitution, Evidence Law, Federal Architecture, Federal Constitution, federalism, Government Sovereignty, mono-ethnic group, Oromia, Oromia Regional State, Political Ecology, Sovereignty Leave a comment
Author: Marew Abebe
Lecturer of Federalism at Debark University, Debark, Ethiopia
This is a commentary on Article 25(3) of the Draft Criminal Procedure and Evidence Law (the Draft Law), which the Attorney General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia distributed to stakeholders to solicit feedback. Article 25(3) of the Draft Law empowers courts of the state of Oromia (one of the ten regional states of Ethiopia) to exercise jurisdiction over some criminal matters that arise in one of the two self-administered city governments of Ethiopia, the capital city of the country Addis Ababa. This commentary explores whether Article 25(3) of the Draft Law is (in)compatible with the Ethiopian Federal Constitution, and concludes that granting jurisdiction to the courts of the state of Oromia over some cases arising in Addis Ababa is unconstitutional. The provision, if not omitted from the final version of the Draft Law, will pose great challenges to the Ethiopian federation.
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