April 24, 2018: Nouakchott, Mauritania: The Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), in conjunction with the Secretariat of the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRIS) organized consultative meetings on the effective implementation of the ACHPR Decisions and the Draft African Union Ten-Year Human and Peoples’ Rights Action Plan respectively in Nouakchott, Mauritania from 23-24 April 2018.

The meetings brought together sixty-two participants representing NANHRIS from the continent and development partners.
The objective of the meeting was to strengthen the capacity of the National Human Right Institutions to implementation the ACHPR decisions at the national level. The meeting brainstormed on the challenges bedeviling effective implementation of the ACHPR decisions and came up with practical recommendations on how to strengthen the NHRIs to overcome these problems.

The second meeting was to review and make inputs into the draft African Union Ten-Year Human and Peoples’ Rights Action Plan, which is to be presented for adoption by the AU policy making organs in July 2018.

In his remarks, Mr Cheikh Tourat Abdel Malik, the Mauritanian Commissioner for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs and representative of the Government of Islamic Republic of Mauritania welcomed the participants and indicated that Mauritania recognizes the importance of Human Rights and is committed to work with the NANHRI and the African Union to promote and protect Human and Peoples Rights in Africa.

He stated that efforts have been made to support the strengthening of Mauritanian institutions with a mandate on human and peoples’ rights to guarantee their independence in line with the Paris Principles.

Speaking on behalf of the Director for Political Affairs, Mr Calixte Aristide Mbari, Ag. Head of Democracy, Governance, Human Rights and Election Division, highlighted the importance of National Human Rights Institutions as key stakeholders in the process of the implementation human rights decisions in Africa and the continuous need for them to partner with the African Union to realize the noble objective as contained in Aspiration three of the African Union Agenda 2063.

Also speaking, the Chairperson, ACHPR, Ms Soyata Maiga said the meeting is important in the sense that it will help to bridge the existing communication gaps between the NHRI’s and the AU Organs with a Human Rights mandate and it will deepen the implementation of human rights decisions continent.

The chairperson of the Mauritanian Human Rights Commission, Ms Irabiha Abdel Wedoud expressed her gratitude to the African Union Commission and the NANHRIs for organizing the meeting. She commended the network for its role in the effective implementation of human rights decisions in Africa.

Participants expressed gratitude to the AU Commission for utilising a participatory approach to developing the African Union Ten-Year Human and Peoples’ Rights Action Plan and promised to support its implementation upon adoption.
The draft Action Plan emanated from the Declaration by the AU Assembly decision (Assembly/AU/Decl.1 (XXVII), which declared 2016-2027 as the Decade of Human and Peoples’ Rights in Africa. The Action Plan aims to operationalise the declaration with the plan of enhancing AU Member States compliance to the continental, regional and national human rights standards and norms as well as strengthen the collaboration amongst human rights actors in Africa.

For further information please contact:

Yusuf Muhammed
Department of Political Affairs
Email: MohammedY@africa-union.org
Tel: +251-11-551 77 00

Media Contac:

Mrs. Esther Azaa Tankou
Head of Information Division
E-mail: yamboue@africa-union.org
Tel: +251 911361185

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