By: Kebba AF Touray
The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) on Wednesday, 8May 2024 held a press-briefing with media practitioners at its Headquarters ahead of its 79th Ordinary Session slated to commence on Tuesday, 14May 2024, and to end on Friday, 24th May 2024.
Abiola Idowo-Ojo, Acting Secretary to the Commission, expressed appreciation to members of the media for honoring their invitation and said as journalists, they are the bridge between the citizens of the Gambia and beyond, regarding what the commission does.She informed the media that the pre-session briefing aims to enable the media familiarise themselves with the work of the commission, and to update them on the upcoming ordinary session of the commission.
“We need to make sure that people in the Gambia are very familiar with the work of the Commission particularly the decisions taken by the Commission on human rights violations on the continent. So, it is very important that you connect with these sessions and take feedback on the decisions of the Commission to the people of the Gambia and to the people on the continent of Africa in general,” she said.
Ms. Samantha Kambule, a senior public relations officer at the ACHPR, said it is important to invite members of the media and introduce them to the work of the Commission and what their work entails, in detail.
“We thought this would also assist as we plan ahead for our 79th Ordinary session which starts next Tuesday,” she said.
She explained that they are fully aware that they cannot operate in isolation, adding that for them to reach the citizens of Gambia, it is crucial that they partner with the media.
Irene Desiree Mbangue, the senior legal officer at the Commission in her presentation, enlightened the media personnel present, saying the ACHPR is the first and oldest organ of the African Union (AU).
“It is the premier regional institution responsible for the promotion and protection of human and people’s rights in Africa, and the interpretation of the African Charter on Human and people’s rights,” she said. The Commission, she said, makes recommendations to member states on the advancement of human rights at the national level, and its mandate is continent-wide with 54 state parties having ratified the African Charter.
‘‘In carrying out its mandates, the ACHPR collaborates with the African Court on human and people’s rights and the welfare of the African Committee of experts on the rights and welfare of Child (ACERWC), the Pan African Parliament and other AU institutions, with a human rights mandate,” she highlighted.
She said the Commission was established under Article 30 of the African Charter, and was officially inaugurated on 2ndNovember 1987 in Addis Ababa, after its members were elected in July the same year by the OAU’s 23rdAssembly of Heads of State and Governments. She said the seat of ACHPR was later moved to Banjul, the Gambia in 1989, and the Commission is assisted by a Secretariat which reports to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU.
