Inaugural CSO Consultation on the draft 10 Year Action and Implementation Plan, Arusha, Tanzania 21 – 22 November 2016

 

On 21 and 22 November 2016, representatives from over 35 civil society organisations took part in consultations on the development of the 10 Year Action and Implementation Plan. The meeting was organized by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, with the support of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU). Participants came from the five geographical regions of Africa and the Diaspora and represented a wide range of civil society actors, including research institutions and the media. The discussion focused on two aspects:

 

  1. the process of developing the Action Plan 2017-26,
  2. successes and challenges of the African human rights system to date, priorities that should be included in the Plan and its structure.

 

A report of the CSO Consultation will be uploaded at http://www.africahuriplan.org/stakeholder-consultations/cso-consultations/ in the next fortnight.

 

Youth Consultations under the theme “Promoting Young People’s Rights towards the attainment of Agenda 2063”, August and September 2016

 

The Secretariat of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) organized four regional youth consultations, which brought together more than 250 young men and women from the five regions on Africa. The Consultations were held over six weeks in August and September 2016, specifically in Tunisia, Uganda, Namibia and Ghana. The four regional consultations created an opportunity for youth to share experiences, aggregate concerns, devise plans and build strategies to address issues relating to the full enjoyment of their fundamental rights within the context of Agenda 2063, especially around four broad thematic areas:

 

  1. Young Women’s Rights
  2. Governance, Peace, Security and Migration
  3. Inclusion, Diversity Management and Popular Participation
  4. Employment and Mobility

 

The Consultations were aimed at providing a collaborative, open and inclusive space for young people to provide input into the African Union’s 10 Year Human and Peoples’ Rights Plan as well as the AGA Human Rights and Transitional Justice Cluster programmes and activities.

 

 

5th African Union Annual High-Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance in Africa: Trends, Challenges and Prospects, 23 – 26 November 2016, Arusha, Tanzania

 

This year’s High-Level Dialogue was held under the overall theme of “Reflecting, Celebrating and Advancing Human and Peoples’ Rights in Africa with a Special Focus on the Rights of Women”. The Dialogue was part of the AU’s activities for the 2016 African Year of Human Rights with particular focus on the Rights of Women.

 

The 5th High Level Dialogue provided a multi-stakeholder platform to discuss the priorities for the African Human Rights Decade and its Action and Implementation Plan. It also offered a forum to the youth to present the outcomes and recommendations of their four regional consultations through dedicating one of the Group Discussions on Youth and Human Rights.

 

The African Court’s President Hon. Justice Sylvain Orě highlighted that the Dialogue provided an opportunity to consolidate the gains already made over the years and ensure better coordination of human rights bodies on the continent, based on the ideals encapsulated in AU’s Agenda 2063.

 

The final communiqué of the High Level Dialogue will be uploaded soon at  http://www.africahuriplan.org/stakeholder-consultations/