The African Commission for Human and People Rights (ACHPR) issued a resolution [ACHPR/Res.179 (XLIX) 2011] appointing the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and seven other African regional and International organization to “conduct, under the supervision of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in Africa, a study on the laws governing freedom of association and practices that violate freedom of association in Africa.”
The resolution was issued at the end of the 49th Ordinary session of the Commission held from 28 May to 12 May 2011, in Banjul, The Gambia. The resolution mandates eight human rights organizations to conduct the study and submit a report on it to the ACHPR “by May, 2012. The contributing organizations are: the International Service for Human Rights, the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, the West Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights studies, the Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network and HURISA (southern Africa).
The CIHRS took part in the workings of the 49th session along with its partner organizations from Egypt, Algeria, Western Sahara, and Sudan. The organizations in collaboration with other regional and international organizations delivered oral interventions regarding the situation of human rights in North Africa and Sudan in the context of the recent revolutions and pro-democracy protests.
CIHRS enjoys observer status at the ACHPR which allows it to attend and participate in the deliberations of the commission. For the past four years, CIHRS has engaged and facilitated North African NGO participation in the events of the ACHPR through the work of its International Advocacy Program.
CIHRS considers this resolution a tribute to the outstanding efforts undertaken by North African and Sudanese partners to defend and promote respect for human rights in their countries, and hopes that this resolution will contribute to strengthening the engagement of Arab organizations with the African mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights in Africa.
For the text of the resolution in English: http://www.achpr.org/english/resolutions/Resolution179_en.htm ;
For information on the mandate of the African Commission: http://www.achpr.org/english/_info/mandate_en.html
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