The Commission expresses its solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso and strongly condemns the terrorist attacks against the Defence and Security Forces and the civilian population.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, through its Country Rapporteur and Chairperson of the Working Group on the Death Penalty, Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings and Enforced Disappearances in Africa, Hon. Commissioner Idrissa Sow, expresses its outrage at the recurrent massacres of civilians in Burkina Faso, especially in the northern region.  

Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, which constitutes the Presidential Elections Tribunal, yesterday began proceedings to hear the challenges brought against the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling political party, the All Progressives Congress, as the winner of February’s presidential elections. The elections were marred with irregularities, including violence at the polls and logistical and procedural shortcomings, including the inability to upload election results from polling units in real time.

As Senegal gears up for an election in early 2024, media freedom and the protection of other rights, including the right to protest, have been severely compromised. The country has witnessed a significant deterioration in its media landscape, and journalists have been attacked, naturally hindering their ability to perform their duties without fear. Reports indicate violations of the right to peaceful protest, with citizens being met with excessive force and arbitrary arrests during demonstrations. In addition, political parties are facing a blatant crackdown, and their supporters and members have been arrested and prosecuted across the country. These developments are extremely worrying, as they threaten the democratic process in Senegal and the fundamental rights of the Senegalese people.

by Jimm Chick Fomunjong

There have been resounding calls to make financial resources available to civil society organisations (CSOs) in West Africa. Embraced within the overall concept of ‘localisation of aid’, this remains an indispensable missing component within the development equation. 

Localisation of aid has been widely preached and considered as a panacea to the myriad of problems plaguing the advancement of the humanitarian and development aid sectors of our society. However, it seems this is not quite the case. This is partly because frontline actors have decried the alarming rate at which resources at their disposal to respond to the gruesome humanitarian and developmental challenges are grossly inadequate.   

The Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Africa Steering Committee is deeply concerned by the arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Abdoulaye Seydou and Adamou Idrissa, both members of the ROTAB/PWYP-Niger coalition, and by the deteriorating situation for human rights defenders in Niger. We are witnessing a systematic ban on public demonstrations in Niger.

Abdoulaye Seydou is the coordinator of the M62 Movement, a citizen-led movement focusing on the promotion of human rights, civil and political rights and fighting corruption and bad governance in Niger. On 23 January 2023 he was transferred to the high security prison of Kollo. 

A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) and election observers have launched the ‘Follow the Result’ election campaign ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 elections. The campaign was launched to ensure accountability and transparency in the elections.