The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission), meeting at its 40th Extraordinary Session held virtually on 6 November 2026:

Recalling its mandate on the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights in Africa under Article 45 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter);

Also recalling the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa and the Protocols to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’s Rights concerning, in particular, the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), the Rights of Older Persons and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

Further recalling its previous resolutions on the human rights situation in Africa, namely Resolution ACHPR/Res. 14(XVI)1994 and Resolution ACHPR/Res.40(XXVI)1999, as well as the relevant resolutions on the human rights situation in the various States Parties to the Charter;

Taking note of the activity reports presented by the Commission’s special mechanisms, the promotion and protection missions undertaken in 2026, and the statements on the human rights situation in Africa made by the various stakeholders participating in the 89th Ordinary Session of the Commission;

Deeply concerned by the persistence and intensification of armed conflicts, insecurity and terrorism in several parts of the continent, particulary in Sudan, South Sudan, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin, parts of Somalia, northern Ethiopia, in the province of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique as well as the Anglophone North-West and South-West Regions of Cameroon;

Also concerned by the humanitarian consequences of these situations, including extensive loss of life, the large-scale and forced displacement of populations both within and beyond national borders, and the violations of the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers to life, security, health, education and livelihoods;

Further concerned by the shrinking of civic space, including through digital and other forms of surveillance, and by the increasing repression of democratic freedoms, including transnational repression, which undermines an enabling environment for the work of human and peoples’ rights defenders in Africa;

Also concerned by the serious and widespread human rights violations occurring in the context of elections in certain countries in 2025, as well as by the resurgence of acts of repression and violence against voters, political opponents, human rights defenders, and other participants in the electoral process;

Deeply concerned about reports of recurring incidents of enforced disappearances including in East Africa and the Sahel contrary to Article 4 of the African Charter and with chilling effects on human rights defenders, opposition political leaders and members and journalists;

Deeply concerned by the persistence and intensification of armed conflicts, insecurity and terrorism in several parts of the continent, particularly in Sudan, South Sudan, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin, parts of Somalia, northern Ethiopia, and the Anglophone North-West and South-West Regions of Cameroon and the Lake Chad Basin region;

Alarmed by the increase in violations of the rights of women and girls across the continent, including sexual violence, the use of rape as a weapon of war in conflict-affected areas, domestic violence, femicide, early and forced marriages, persistent discrimination that limits their access to justice, education, political participation and economic resources, as well as other forms of violation of human dignity affecting women and girls in particular;

Concerned about the serious risks faced by migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers travelling by sea, including deaths, disappearances, violence, trafficking, attacks, violence and practices of refoulement;

Noting with concern that the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement remain linked in particular to conflicts, political instability, poverty, socio-economic inequalities, unemployment among women and young people, the effects of climate change and human rights violations;

Concerned by the resurgence of hate speech, xenophobia and discrimination against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as restrictions on access to essential services;

Also concerned by the worsening environmental threats resulting, in particular, from pollution and the disposal of waste arising from the activities of large-scale industries and the extractive industries, as well as by the intensifying effects of climate change, as well as desertification and the loss of biodiversity;

Alarmed by incidents of election related violence that often lead to violence and perpetration of serious human rights violations;

Noting that multiple security, humanitarian, economic and climate-related crises are undermining the progress made by African States towards achieving Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals;

Recognising, however, the efforts made by several States Parties, national human rights institutions, regional organisations, civil society and humanitarian actors to restore peace, protect civilian populations and promote human rights;

The Commission:

1.    Deplores the deterioration in the security and humanitarian situation and condemns all the serious human rights violations resulting from it;

2.    Urges respect for International Humanitarian Law (IHL), protection of civilians, full humanitarian access and investigation of violations as it deplores the grave human rights and humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes Region due to the continuation of violent conflicts in DRC and the danger to further conflicts and the associated threat to civilians owing to the recent negative developments including the merger, on 12 October 2026, of the rebel movements into a new force known as the Front pour la Refoundation de la Nation (FRN) who expressed their intention to overthrow through armed fighting the government of the DRC;

3.    Calls for the restoration of peace in the countries in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel affected by conflicts and calls on all parties to observe the rule of IHL, ensure protection of civilians and guarantee unhindered humanitarian access in the raging conflicts in the Horn of Africa including in the context of the civil war in Sudan, South Sudan and the resumption of hostilities in northern Ethiopia as well as the Anglophone North-West and South-West Regions of Cameroon and the Lake Chad Basin region;

4.    Further calls on states hosting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to fully comply with the principle of non-refoulment and shoulder their legal responsibility under the African Charter for protecting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from incitement of hate, harassment, intimidation and violence contrary to Article 12 of the African Charter;

5.    Also calls upon States parties, in particular those engaged in electoral processes, to ensure that free, transparent, inclusive, and peaceful elections are held, with full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to refrain from any excessive use of force and from any form of intimidation, repression, or arbitrary restriction of civic and political space;

6.    Also Calls on all States Parties to the African Charter:

i.    Refrain from restricting civic space, by ensuring that any restrictions that may be imposed are strictly necessary, proportionate and, above all, consistent with the Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa and the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa;

ii.    Strengthen mechanisms for preventing and responding to violence against women and girls, and investigate and prosecute the perpetrators;

iii.    Ensure that the independence of election monitoring bodies and the sanctity of ballots are guaranteed and the conditions necessary for peaceful and judicial-based resolution of disputes are put in place to prevent election violence and associated violations of human rights;

iv.    Address the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement by adopting and implementing inclusive policies that promote peace, political stability and good governance, as well as the reduction of poverty and socio-economic inequalities, whilst strengthening cross-border cooperation to combat networks involved in the trafficking of migrants and the smuggling of migrants, whilst protecting the victims;

v.    Take all necessary legislative, institutional and regulatory measures to ensure the protection of the environment against threats arising from pollution and waste, climate change and the loss of biodiversity, in particular by adopting standards requiring environmental impact assessments to be carried out and ensuring the effective enforcement of environmental compliance obligations, by establishing early-warning and preparedness mechanisms to limit the effects of climate change and build resilience to them, as well as by adopting response measures aimed at both protecting vulnerable ecosystems and halting the loss of biodiversity.

vi.    To adopt legislative and other measures to end the recurrent incidents of enforced disappearances particularly in East Africa , Cabo Delgado Mozambique  and the Sahel and to investigate all incidents of enforced disappearances, hold perpetrators accountable and provide remedies for victims of enforced disappearances;

7.    Draws the attention of the relevant organs of the African Union to these issues, which have a direct impact on the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and its protocols.

Adopted virtually on 6 November 2026