On 17 April 2021, at its 68th ordinary session, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) had one of its series of stakeholders’ dialogue on human rights situation in Africa.
The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, delivered a statement during the session on human rights situation in Africa. The Centre called the attention of the African Commission to the urgent need for African Countries to address the issue of limited pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity—one of the important barriers to the widespread availability and accessibility of Covid-19 vaccines on the African continent. To this effect, the Centre urged African Countries to investigate the barriers to African manufacturing capacity and strengthen their capacity. The Centre also urged the African Commission to provide further guidance for states by building on Resolutions 449 and 141 on Access to Health and Needed Medicines in Africa. In addition to the above, the Centre called the attention of the African Commission to the need for African states to ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on the rights of older persons in Africa in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic which has disproportionately affected older persons.
The Centre also encouraged African states to comply with the reporting guidelines during the preparation of state reports including reporting on implementation of the Maputo Protocol, as required by article 26 of the protocol to the African Charter on the rights of women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). Furthermore, the Centre urged the African Commission to take steps to popularise its General Comment 6 which focuses on women’s right to property during separation, divorce or annulment.
Finally, the Centre called the attention of the African Commission to the human rights implications of the ongoing insurgency in the Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique and recommend that the Commission launches an investigation into the human rights abuses reported in the region.
Video: 68th Ordinary Session - Public Session
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