RFLD's role in CHARM — Consortium for Human Rights and Media in Africa

Consortium membership · Sida-funded

RFLD's role in
CHARM.

RFLD is one of seven partners in the Consortium for Human Rights and Media in Africa (CHARM) — a Sida-funded coalition strengthening journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society to advance democratic freedoms across Sub-Saharan Africa. Now in Phase III (2026-2027) under the lead of DefendDefenders, RFLD brings francophone Africa expertise on women's rights, ACHPR engagement, and Maputo Protocol implementation to the consortium's continental work.

Consortium CHARM · 7 partners

Lead partner (since 2023) DefendDefenders

Funder Sida (Sweden) · Phase III 2026-2027

RFLD's contribution Francophone Africa

Looking for the full consortium narrative, evaluation reports, and partner-by-partner impact?

Visit DefendDefenders, the consortium lead →

What CHARM is

A consortium for human rights, media, and civic space.

The Consortium for Human Rights and Media in Africa is a multi-partner coalition working to strengthen the effectiveness of journalists, human rights defenders, women human rights defenders, and civil society organisations operating in Sub-Saharan Africa. Funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), CHARM brings together institutions with complementary strengths — global civil society convening, human rights defender protection, journalism development, digital activism, and feminist organising — into a single coordinated framework.

The consortium operates against a backdrop of shrinking civic space, weaponised legislation, surveillance, and constraints on fundamental rights across the continent. Its mandate is not only to defend ground already gained but to build the infrastructure — protection mechanisms, peer networks, secure tools, and movement coordination — that allows frontline defenders to continue their work safely and effectively.

The consortium partners

Seven partners, complementary strengths.

Each consortium partner brings a distinct area of expertise, geographic reach, or thematic specialisation. The descriptions below are short institutional summaries; for each partner's own programmes, evaluations, and impact, please visit their own website.

Consortium lead (since 2023)

DefendDefenders

Strengthens the capacity and reduces the vulnerability of human rights defenders across the continent. Serves as Secretariat of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network. Took over CHARM consortium leadership in 2023.

defenddefenders.org →

Founding lead · 2019-2022

CIVICUS

Global alliance of civil society organisations and activists, headquartered in South Africa with members across many countries. Led the consortium during Phase I and Phase II (2019-2022); continues as a core partner.

civicus.org →

Human rights protection

Civil Rights Defenders

Sweden-based human rights organisation partnering with and supporting human rights defenders in restrictive regions worldwide.

crd.org →

Media development

Fojo Media Institute

Sweden's leading institute for media development. Supports independent journalism, fact-checking networks, and journalist safety across Sub-Saharan Africa.

fojo.se →

Digital media & activism

Magamba Network

Africa-based creative and digital media organisation working at the intersection of arts, alternative media, activism, and technology. Mobilises networks of young activists, technologists, and content creators.

magambanetwork.com →

RFLD · This page

RFLD

Pan-African feminist network bringing francophone Africa expertise on women's rights, ACHPR engagement, and Maputo Protocol implementation to the consortium.

rflgd.org →

Journalism education

Wits Centre for Journalism

One of the leading media training institutions on the continent. Hosts the African Investigative Journalism Conference and runs accelerator programmes for digital media start-ups.

journalism.co.za →

What RFLD brings to CHARM

RFLD's specific contribution.

Each consortium partner is brought into CHARM for specific complementary strengths. RFLD's contribution is concentrated in four areas where the network's institutional positioning, geographic reach, and thematic expertise add value the other partners do not bring on their own.

Contribution 01

Francophone Africa expansion

The consortium's anglophone partners hold deep relationships across East and Southern Africa. RFLD extends the consortium's reach into francophone Africa — across West, Central, and parts of North Africa — through our network of member organisations, our offices in Cotonou, Accra, Dakar, and Banjul, and our long-standing relationships with feminist civil society in francophone-speaking countries across the continent.

Member-organisation relationships across francophone West, Central, and parts of North Africa
Cotonou (Benin HQ), Accra (Ghana Regional Hub), Dakar (Sahel Regional), and Banjul (ACHPR liaison)
Feminist civil-society networks for cross-partner collaboration in French-speaking contexts
French-language convening capacity across the continent
Bridging francophone advocacy into anglophone-dominated continental forums

Contribution 02

ACHPR engagement & continental advocacy

RFLD holds Observer Status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) and is positioned to engage continental human-rights mechanisms on behalf of consortium work — including side events at ACHPR sessions, shadow reporting, and engagement with Special Rapporteurs and AU bodies.

ACHPR Observer Status anchored in Resolution 602
Co-hosting of ACHPR side events on civic space and women's rights
Coordination with the ACHPR Working Group on Human Rights Defenders
Universal Periodic Review submissions for francophone African states

Contribution 03

Women's rights & Maputo Protocol expertise

RFLD anchors the consortium's gender and women's-rights work in continental legal frameworks — the Maputo Protocol, the African Charter, and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance — and connects that legal work to grassroots feminist movements through our member organisations and the WAFF Fund.

Maputo Protocol implementation tracking through the Maputo Protocol Hub
Connection to grassroots feminist organisations through the WAFF Fund
Specialised expertise on women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in francophone contexts
Continental advocacy on harmful practices, GBV, and bodily autonomy

Contribution 04

Continental data infrastructure

The DƆNÙESÈ Data Center — RFLD's open-data infrastructure — provides reference material for consortium-wide work on women's rights, civic space, fiscal accountability, and continental human-rights compliance.

West Africa Legislative Platform — women's-rights legislation across ECOWAS
ACDEG Hub — democracy charter compliance monitoring
AU Mechanisms reference — practical guides for civil society engagement
Open data on civic space, harmful practices, and SRHR across the continent

Consortium work is at its strongest when each partner brings something the others do not. RFLD's value to CHARM is the francophone Africa, the continental legal expertise, and the feminist movement infrastructure — not a duplicate of what DefendDefenders, CIVICUS, Civil Rights Defenders, Fojo, or Magamba already deliver.

Why consortium work matters

The case for coalitions.

Civic space across Sub-Saharan Africa is contested in different ways in different countries. A media-freedom crisis in one state plays out alongside a women-human-rights-defenders crisis in another, alongside surveillance-and-digital-rights crises in a third. No single organisation has the geographic reach, thematic specialisation, or institutional positioning to respond effectively to all of these at once.

Consortium work is the structural answer. By bringing together DefendDefenders' East and Horn of Africa networks and HRD protection expertise, CIVICUS's global civil-society convening, Civil Rights Defenders' protection expertise, Fojo's media development infrastructure, Magamba's digital activism reach, Wits Centre for Journalism's training capacity, and RFLD's francophone Africa and women's-rights expertise — CHARM addresses civic space across the continent rather than in silos.

For RFLD specifically, consortium membership is also how feminist movement work in francophone Africa connects to broader continental and global civil-society infrastructures. The consortium framework allows our member organisations and the women they serve to access protection, peer networks, and advocacy spaces that would otherwise require RFLD to build alone.

The full consortium narrative — the impact stories, evaluation reports, programme architecture, and outcome harvesting — sits with DefendDefenders as the consortium lead since 2023. This page describes only RFLD's specific role within that broader framework.

Engage with RFLD

Get in touch.

For consortium-level enquiries, please contact DefendDefenders as the consortium lead. For RFLD-specific enquiries — including the francophone Africa dimension, ACHPR engagement, or Maputo Protocol work — use the channels below.

Consortium-level enquiries

DefendDefenders · Consortium lead

John Gbenagnon · Director of Strategy & Development

gbenagnon.john@rflgd.org

Safeguarding & integrity concerns

Confidential reporting channel

integrity@rflgd.org