The West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS) has joined other civil society organizations, regional and national human rights institutions, and other observers at the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), in Banjul, The Gambia.

This is the first time WADEMOS has participated in the session, which the Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD), a member of the Network with observer status at the ACHPR facilitated. 

The highlight of WADEMOS’ participation is the presentation by Paul Osei-Kuffour, the Network Coordinator, on the state of human rights in West Africa.

Additionally, WADEMOS and RFLD will hold a convening on the margins of the ACHPR session in Banjul to deliberate on the recent study commissioned by WADEMOS and undertaken by the Gender Center for Empowering Development (GenCED) that shares experiences and insights from HRDs, particularly women human rights defenders and activists operating in countries experiencing severe vulnerabilities with democracy in the sub-region. 

Human rights activists and defenders, along with representatives from CSOs who contributed to the study, will attend the event to share their experiences with the commission. The session will conclude with key learnings and innovations on building resilience to enhance the space for HRDs within the escalating threats to civil and political rights and the recession with democracy in West Africa.

The WADEMOS/RRFLD delegation includes human rights experts, academics, secretariat members, and CSO partners.