This is a compilation of basic documents from October 1991 to March 1994.
The ICJ, besides its main Plan of Action which aims at strengthening and improving the work of the African Commission within the mandate and the mission assigned by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, developed a general objective of close and fruitful cooperation between the African Commission and the NGOs.
The goal is to fight against the deterioration of the position of human and peoples’ rights in Africa while integrating the African Commission and the OAU political bodies into a positive human rights promotion and protection process.
This ICJ strategy does not only imply support for the NGOs role in representing the people and in articulating opinions, supported by cooperation between NGOs, but also implies the strengthening of the relationship between NGOs and the African Commission, notably by means of consultation, communication of complaints to the Commission and NGOs participation in the Commission’s sessions.
This is the spirit and the significance of the ICJ initiative, jointly implemented since 1991 with the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) and which consists in harmonizing the dates of the workshops with the sessions of the Commission. Thus, from October 1991 to April 1994, six workshops on the participation of the African NGOs in the work of the Commission were organized on the eve of the Commission’s sessions in order to prepare NGOs accordingly.
During these workshops, Conclusions and Recommendations were made for special consideration by the Commission (Part I) which, as the case may be, took follow-up actions (Part 11).
Due to this situation and taking into consideration, by virtue of Article 54 of the Charter, the African Commission report, the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the Organization of the African Unity also adopted resolutions for the strengthening of the achievement of the basic objectives of the Charter as well as of the process of promoting and protecting human and peoples’ rights.
participation of ngos in the ACHPR-publication-1994-eng (full text in English, PDF)
participation of ngos in the ACHPR-publication-1996-fra (full text in French, PDF)