Tactics and tools for the protection
of Human Rights Defenders

September 2011


The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (or the Chater), a regional human rights document, was adopted on 11 June 1981 and became legally binding on 21 October 1986. The Charter provides specific responsibilities to African Union (AU) Member States to give effect to the African Charter at domestic level. In particular, each State party shall submit every two years, from the date the Charter comes into force, a report on the legislative or other measures taken, with a view to giving effect to the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed by the Charter (Art. 62).

The consideration of State reports is an important part of the work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples´ Rights (ACHPR or the Commission)1, which falls under Article 62 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. The purpose of this process, in the words of the a ACHPR, is to “to create a channel for constructive dialogue”2 on the implementation of the African Charter. It provides an opportunity to evaluate State actions to advance the rights protected in the ACHPR and its protocols, identify obstacles to the realization of these rights, and formulate recommendations for improving State practice.

Civil society participation is critical to provide a counterpoint to government reports, ensuring that the Commission has an accurate picture of the situation on the ground. Civil society organisations (CSOs) can work to improve the quality of the recommendations and also work to ensure their implementation at the national level.

Despite its potential, the State reporting procedure faces a number of serious difficulties. In general, States parties have shown insufficient engagement in the process: the majority of States parties are not up to date in their reporting; States fail to engage actively with the ACHPR; and the Commission lacks capacity to ensure appropriate follow up and implementation of its recommendations.

Despite the potential to address these questions, civil society organisations have not extensively engaged in this process. Relatively few CSOs participate regularly in ACHPR’s sessions and those that do often do not focus on the State reporting procedure. In addition, available advice on CSO engagement with the ACHPR focuses relatively little attention on this procedure.

This road map is an effort to address this gap and encourage CSOs to engage more extensively in the process. It provides basic information, describes challenges and share tips based on concrete experiences by CSOs working with the ACHPR.