RFLD at the 87th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

From 11 to 20 May 2026, a high-level RFLD delegation will participate in the 87th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre in Kololi, The Gambia. The delegation will deliver oral statements, hold bilateral meetings with Special Rapporteurs, co-host a side event on civic space monitoring, and continue RFLD's work as a member of the ACHPR Working Group on Human Rights Defenders.

Who is RFLD.

Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD) is a pan-African feminist network founded in 2013, working to promote and protect the rights of women, youth, and minority groups, and to ensure their participation in decision-making across the African Union member states. RFLD operates from offices in Senegal, Ghana, Benin, and The Gambia, anchored by a network of more than 670 member organisations across 15+ countries.

We work in coalition with women's civil society organisations, government stakeholders, and regional networks to advocate for gender-responsive policy, defend the legal frameworks that protect women's rights, and improve the operational environment for women human rights defenders. RFLD drives young women's digital engagement and plays a critical role in strengthening the work of W/HRDs by reducing their vulnerability to persecution through robust protection mechanisms and capacity-building initiatives.

RFLD's institutional engagement with the African Commission has matured significantly since our last sessions. We hold ACHPR Observer Status and a seat on the Working Group of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. In 2026 we hold the Presidency of the GIZ/BMZ SEA-T Advisory Council (1 of 12 African feminist organisations selected for this cohort). We are NGOsource-certified for US 501(c)(3) Equivalency, enabling direct funding from US foundations and donor-advised funds.

This is the institutional foundation we bring to the 87th session: a strengthened, resourced, and credentialed network bringing the concerns of francophone West African and pan-African feminist civil society into the continental human rights conversation.

What is the ACHPR.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is Africa's primary regional human rights body. Established by the African Union under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights — also known as the Banjul Charter — and headquartered in Banjul, The Gambia, the Commission promotes and protects human rights across the continent. Members of the Commission serve in their personal capacity and are established under Article 30 of the African Charter within the auspices of the OAU/AU.

The Commission convenes Ordinary Sessions twice each year. The 87th Ordinary Session is convened in terms of Article 64(2) of the African Charter, read together with Rule 28 of the Rules of Procedure of the ACHPR (2020). The session is structured in two segments: a Private virtual segment from 24 April to 4 May 2026, and a Public physical segment from 11 to 20 May 2026 at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre in Kololi.

The 87th session will address, among other items: the human rights situation in Africa; consideration of State Party reports under Article 62 of the African Charter; the relationship between the ACHPR and National Human Rights Institutions and Non-Governmental Organisations; consideration of applications for observer status; activity reports of Commissioners and Special Rapporteurs; panel discussions; consideration of communications; concluding observations; and reports and other documents tabled before the Commission.

The ACHPR Working Group on Human Rights Defenders.

RFLD serves as a member of the ACHPR Working Group on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa, chaired by Hon. Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, Chairperson of the African Commission and Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. This appointment reinforces RFLD's commitment to defending the rights of youth and women, while actively promoting their participation in decision-making. RFLD contributes francophone and pan-African perspectives to a Working Group that has historically been overweighted toward anglophone and South African voices — a balance the Working Group itself has taken steps to redress.

The ACHPR Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly are essential for fostering an environment where citizens can organise and express their views without fear of reprisal. Within the Working Group, RFLD plays specific roles:

• Supporting Women Human Rights Defenders. Responding to the escalating threats faced by women defenders, who are frequently targeted for championing civic, digital, and environmental freedoms.
• Protecting activist rights. Ensuring that activists, NGOs, and communities can engage in advocacy without fear of retaliation.
• Information sharing. Disseminating updates on the human rights landscape across francophone and lusophone Africa — linguistic regions historically under-represented in continental advocacy networks.
• Coordinated responses. Identifying and implementing coordinated strategies to address emerging challenges, particularly in the Sahel and contexts of acute civic-space pressure.
• Collective strategies. Formulating unified approaches to promote and protect human rights, including continental positions on legislation that restricts civil society space.
• Research and documentation. Conducting thorough research on human rights violations affecting women, youth, and vulnerable groups — including RFLD's annual WHRDs in Sub-Saharan Africa report and the Maputo Barometer.
• Data submission. Through our RFLD Countries Data Center, we submit critical country-level data to the Commission on human rights violations across thematic areas concerning women, youth, and vulnerable populations.
• Periodic Report Reviews. Under Article 62 of the African Charter, States Parties submit Periodic Reports to the Commission biennially. RFLD reviews and contributes shadow analysis to State reports under consideration at each session, in collaboration with peer civil society organisations.

Oral statements at the 87th session.

RFLD will deliver oral statements under the following agenda items, reserved for civil society organisations holding observer status with the Commission:

• Item 3 — Human rights situation in Africa. Civil society organisations may highlight specific issues relating to rights enshrined in the African Charter. RFLD's intervention will focus on civic-space trends across francophone West Africa and the Sahel, particularly the persecution of women human rights defenders and restrictive NGO legislation enacted in several focal countries.
• Item 5 — Activity report of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa. RFLD will respond to Hon. Rémy Ngoy Lumbu's activity report with specific reference to the protection mechanisms operative for francophone WHRDs and the gaps that remain.
• Item 6 — Activity reports of Commissioners and Special Rapporteurs. RFLD will engage with the activity reports of Special Rapporteurs whose mandates intersect with our institutional priorities — particularly the Rights of Women in Africa, Freedom of Expression, and Refugees, Asylum-Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants.
• Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations in Africa (WGEI). RFLD will contribute to the discussion on the gendered impacts of extractive industry practice and climate-displacement of women in affected communities.

Each statement focuses on civic-space trends, the protection of human rights defenders, and the substantive implementation of fundamental freedoms across the continent. Where appropriate, statements draw on RFLD research outputs — including the WHRDs in Sub-Saharan Africa report, the Maputo Barometer, and country-level data submitted through the RFLD Countries Data Center.

Side events.

On the margins of the 87th session, RFLD will co-convene a side event focused on civic-space monitoring and the protection of women human rights defenders — examining the architecture of civil society support across the African Union, the role of regional networks, and the practical strategies through which national and sub-regional organisations can better protect WHRDs operating under acute pressure.

The session targets national and regional human rights organisations, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), independent human rights monitors and defenders, member-state representatives, and civic actors engaged with the Commission. Confirmed participation includes the Commissioner-rapporteurs whose mandates intersect with civic-space and WHRD protection. Final venue, date, and confirmed speaker list will be announced via RFLD's social channels in advance of the session.

Bilateral meetings with Special Rapporteurs.

As part of our engagement at the 87th session, RFLD will hold bilateral meetings with Commissioners and Special Rapporteurs to discuss specific advocacy priorities. The mandate of each Commissioner covers a designated set of African states, and these bilateral encounters provide opportunities to update the Commission on country-specific concerns and priority issues. Confirmed bilateral engagements will include:

• Hon. Rémy Ngoy Lumbu — Chairperson of the ACHPR and Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa. Discussion will address the reprisals and operational restrictions faced by environmental and climate-justice defenders, the situation of WHRDs in the Sahel, and collaborative pathways through the Working Group on Human Rights Defenders.
• Hon. Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie — Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa. The bilateral will focus on Maputo Protocol implementation tracking, the Maputo Barometer methodology, and strategies to advance the rights of women human rights defenders and minority groups.
• Commissioner Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo — Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information. Discussion will explore avenues for protecting the digital rights of women activists, including responses to online harassment and cyberviolence facing WHRDs.
• Hon. Salma Sassi — Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum-Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa. The engagement will address the gendered dimensions of displacement, particularly women displaced by conflict and climate stress in the Sahel and coastal West Africa.

Bilateral meeting attendance is subject to Commissioner availability during the public session. Updated confirmations will be communicated through RFLD's social channels.

Members of the ACHPR Working Group on Human Rights Defenders.

The Working Group brings together African continental and regional human rights organisations under the chairmanship of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. Member organisations are:

• International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL)
• International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
• Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD)
• Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA)
• East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (EHAHRD-Net)
• African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)
• Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (REDHAC)
• Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA)
• Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (RINADH)
• Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN)
• West African Human Rights Defenders Network (ROADDH/WAHRDN)
• North Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (CIDH)
• Network of Human Rights Defenders in the Lusophone Area

Country and Special Rapporteur mandates.

Each Commissioner's mandate covers a specific portfolio of African states. During the session, civil society organisations have the opportunity to meet Commissioners whose country mandates align with the organisation's geographic priorities. These bilateral encounters allow for updates on country-specific human rights concerns and direct calls for the relevant mandate-holder to raise particular issues with State representatives.

While civil society organisations are encouraged to share information with Commissioners and Special Rapporteurs throughout the year, each session offers structured space for organisations to make statements during the presentations of activity reports. The Commission's current Commissioner roster and mandate areas are published on the ACHPR official website.

Why this engagement matters.

Africa has some of the most progressive human rights instruments in the world — the African Charter, the Maputo Protocol, the Protocol to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The continental legal architecture exists. What persistently lags is the translation: from treaty to legislation, from legislation to policy, from policy to implementation, from implementation to felt change in the lives of women, girls, and human rights defenders.

The ACHPR is one of the small number of continental venues where that translation is contested, monitored, and held accountable. Civil society engagement with the Commission — through observer status, oral statements, shadow reports, and the Working Group structure — is what keeps the gap between paper and practice from becoming permanent. RFLD's engagement at the 87th Ordinary Session is part of an ongoing institutional commitment to the African human rights system, the Commissioners and Special Rapporteurs who staff it, and the women human rights defenders whose work that system exists to protect.

Session logistics.

Participants wishing to attend the public segment in person are required to register online with the ACHPR Secretariat by the deadline published on the Commission's website. The Commission will publish the full programme, registration link, and side event schedule via the official ACHPR site. RFLD will share session updates, statement texts, and bilateral meeting outcomes through our digital channels throughout the session period.

Stay connected.

Follow our live updates, statement texts, and bilateral meeting outcomes throughout the 87th session:

• Website — rflgd.org
• LinkedIn — linkedin.com/company/rfld
• X — @RfldOrg
• Facebook — web.facebook.com/RfldOrg
• YouTube — youtube.com/@rfldorg

For media enquiries or specific questions about RFLD's engagement at the 87th Ordinary Session, please contact programs@rflgd.org. For partnership and resource-mobilization enquiries, contact Mr. John Gbenagnon, Development Director, at gbenagnon.john@rflgd.org.