African activism

The West is always keen to talk about human rights in Africa, the African perspective itself however is often neglected. At A Struggle for Peace, we invite regional experts from all over the world, including Africa, to learn from their experiences first-hand and expand our own view.
 
To the end of promoting human rights in Africa, several institutions have been established, such as the African Union and the African Commission for Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR). The latter organisation works with a unique declaration, the Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which is comparable to the European Convention on Human Rights but entirely adapted to the African setting. In 2004 the ACHPR also erected a regional Court for Africa, thus establishing a continent-wide human rights system for Africa.

The ACHPR is devoted to the protection and the promotion of human rights, collective (peoples') rights and freedom. The members consider it their duty to achieve “total liberation of Africa”. According to the self-confident Charter, this includes eliminating colonialism, apartheid, Zionism and the dismantlement of aggressive foreign military bases. The African Charter is also unique in the fact that it includes duties, such as those towards the family, state security, and the duty to promote African unity.

A crucial question is of course: does the Commission has enough power to bring about real changes in Africa? There are many reasons to be cynical, considering the slow and fragile progress and the countless setbacks. In the Gambia, the country where the ACHPR is based, president Yahya Jammeh recently threatened in a radio and tv speech to kill anyone who sought to sabotage and destabilise his government, in particular human rights defenders and those who support them. This is just one astonishing example of the situation the ACHPR has to deal with every day.

At A Struggle for Peace, we have the honour to welcome the Chairperson of the ACHPR, Ms. Reine Alapini-Gansou. Being one of the highest African authorities in the field of human rights, she will offer us a unique insider’s view of the current state of affairs in Africa. As former Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, she will be able to answer key questions such as: can human rights defenders in Africa play any significant role at all? Who is still willing to engage in the struggle against totalitarian regimes and dictators, when personal risks are enormous and successes apparently minimal? In this lecture, we will learn a little more about the future of human rights in Africa.

Speaker: Reine Alapini-Gansou

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