Press Release
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) is participating in an event on the sidelines of the 2024 NGO Forum titled “The Participation of African Rights Holders in the Nomination and Selection Process of Leaders of Human Rights Mechanisms in Africa.” The event is scheduled to take place on October 15, 2024, in Banjul, The Gambia, coinciding with the annual session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
– Ensuring a transparent and inclusive nomination process:
The event aims to discuss the crucial role of civil society and rights holders in Africa in ensuring a transparent, inclusive, and merit-based nomination and selection process for leaders of regional human rights mechanisms. These mechanisms seek to protect and promote human rights in Africa, but their effectiveness largely depends on the independence and competence of their leaders. Hence, the need to develop a more transparent and participatory nomination process is essential.
The event is organized as part of the “Arusha Initiative,” which was established in 2023 to support reforms within the African human rights system and to strengthen the role of civil society in this process. The initiative was launched in response to the growing challenges facing human rights on the continent, such as military coups, unfair elections, the erosion of the rule of law, and the suppression of freedom of expression.
The “Arusha Initiative” seeks to ensure that the leaders of these human rights mechanisms are independent and capable of protecting rights with full impartiality, free from any political influence.
The event will feature participation from several human rights experts, including Frans Viljoen, Joseph Bikanda, Ikechukwu Uzoma, Sophia Ebi, and Jessica Ramirez.
Several human rights organizations are co-organizing the event, including the African Bar Association, the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, and the Strategic Litigation Initiative in Africa, along with many supporting organizations such as the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa and the International Service for Human Rights.
– Event objectives:
The event seeks to achieve several key objectives, most notably: raising awareness among African rights holders about the current system for nominating and electing leaders of human rights mechanisms on the continent, highlighting the active role the “Arusha Initiative” can play in promoting transparent and effective participation. The event will also present examples from other regions around the world to showcase best practices and successful experiences in selecting leaders of human rights mechanisms.
The event will include a 90-minute open dialogue to discuss the challenges and opportunities related to enhancing transparency and independence in the African human rights system. Through the exchange of international experiences and lessons learned, these discussions aim to produce recommendations that support ongoing efforts to improve the effectiveness and independence of human rights mechanisms in Africa, especially amid the rise of political and repressive violations in many African countries.
