By Uju Osude .S.
Assistant Program Officer, PRAWA-Lagos

The 52nd session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) coincided with the 25th anniversary of the ACHPR which was established in 1987 following the entry into force of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1986. The session was made up of events whose focal point was the review of the work of the ACHPR since its establishment by eminent panelists who analyzed its successes, challenges, as well as the way forward in the promotion of human rights in Africa. There were about five hundred and sixty-five (565) delegates representing States, National Human Rights Institutions, Inter-governmental Organizations, International Non-governmental Organizations, Non-governmental Organizations and African Union organs in attendance.

In 1998 PRAWA acquired observer status within the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR). Thus, this session, like others before it provided the organization with a platform to pursue its advocacy interests within the ACHPR through networking and engagement with Commissioners of the ACHPR, other Non-governmental Organizations, States, National Human Rights Institutions, and International Non-governmental Organization.

PRAWA’s participation at the 52nd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) commenced on 6th October 2012 with the NGO forum that took place from 6th to 8th October 2012. This forum was made up of Panel discussions focusing on the analysis of the work of the ACHPR in the past 25 years, NGO working group sessions based on the thematic areas of the ACHPR and a book fair. One of such Panel discussions featured a presentation by the organization’s representative, Ms. Uju Osude on the ‘Prison Conditions in Africa in the Past 25 years: The Role of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights’ in collaboration with Mr. Christian Mukosa of Amnesty International.

Uju Osude provided an analysis of the prison conditions in Africa in the past 25years. The presentation highlighted the mechanisms that have adopted by the ACHPR in the improvement of African prisons, the successes and also the challenges faced by the commission. It concluded on the note that although the continent’s prisons still face a host of challenges, a lot of work has been done and continues to be done in improving the lot of Africa’s incarcerated individuals.

After her presentation, Christian Mukosa of Amnesty International went further by providing a case study using the prisons in Chad. He agreed with Uju that Africans still view prisons as places of punishment and in most cases the authorities, public and NGOs are not interested in what goes on within. He explained that even though there have been calls for the abolition of the death penalty, given the conditions of African prisons, anyone sent there has automatically been given the death sentence because of the exposure to diseases and poor living conditions.

He emphasized that after 25 years, the ACHPR needs to pay more attention to the issue of penal reform in Africa because African prisons are undergoing a crisis even though there are many mechanisms and Standards both in Africa and within the international community. In his presentation he encouraged the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Places of Detention in Africa to visit the Chadian prisons which had no specialized body in charge of it and still practices the use of chains to prevent prisoners from escaping and the use of male guards for women prisons.

After both presentations, participants expressed their agreement on the issue of documentation of best penal practices raised by Uju Osude, and while it was highlighted that Swaziland has made great strides within its prisons by achieving a 2000 warder to 3000 inmate ratio, participants still felt that there need for more work to be done in relation to the issue of rape and sexual abuse in prisons, as well as HIV/AIDs and Drugs.

The Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Places of Detention, Med Kaggwa, also added that the major problem the ACHPR faces on the issue of penal reforms is the fact that they need States’ permission to visit any prison and in most cases this permission is not given. The issue of the execution of inmates by the Gambian Government was also discussed, as well as that of private prisons owned by chiefs in Cameroun and the need for the ACHPR to set specific standards for cell measurements in relation to number of inmates.

On 9th October 2012, the 52nd Session of the ACHPR commenced officially with a very colorful ceremony at which the President of Ivory Coast- President Alassane Ouattara- was not only in attendance, but also presented award prizes to deserving National Human Rights Institutions and Non-governmental Organizations. The award was given to Organizations who have not only abided by the rules of the ACHPR as it relates to their observer status, but also have worked towards the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa and the work of the African Commission.

The national Human Rights Institutions that were considered included those from South Africa, Kenya and Uganda; with Uganda Human Rights Commission getting the first position. On the other hand, the first prize award for Non-governmental Organizations was given to the Center for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria.

This particular session of the ACHPR was made up of panel discussions the Commission’s work in past 25 years by eminent scholars, the award of observer status to qualified Non-governmental organizations and the presentation of the State report of Ivory Coast.

During the ACHPR session, PRAWA also took part in various side events like the Discussion on the Use and Application of Soft Law in Policing, Discussion on the Johannesburg Declaration on Torture, Commemoration of the International Day against Death Penalty, and the public presentation of the first Newsletter on Policing and Human Rights.

As part of the events in commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the ACHPR, a Moot Court competition between Universite de l’Atlantique and Institut Universitaire d’Abidgan, a musical concert and marathon for Human Rights were organized. The 52nd session of the ACHPR was officially brought to an end on 22nd October 2012.