RFLD.
89th Ordinary Session · ACHPR · Dakar · October 2026
Dakar · Republic of Senegal 8 — 21 October 2026 ACHPR Observer No. 553

RFLD at the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission

Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement takes part in the NGO Forum and convenes a closed working session, a regional technical workshop and four public panels in the margins of the session — carrying the protection of women human rights defenders and the fight against technology-facilitated gender-based violence before Africa's continental mechanisms.

Take part in Dakar See the programme
RFLD at the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Dakar, October 2026
89th Ordinary Session · ACHPR Dakar 2026
October 2026 · where RFLD is, from the NGO Forum to the session Dates subject to the Commission's final calendar
08NGO Forum 09 10 11Working session 12Laws that protect 13Women in politics 14Defenders + workshop 15Safety desk 16 17 18 19 20 21Charter at 40
No. 553Observer status with the African Commission
Support GroupMember, Support Group to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
1,143Member organisations across 35+ countries
DakarFrancophone Regional Hub, host city of the session
FR · EN · PTWorking languages, with interpretation throughout
Open call · African Commission

RFLD will fund the ACHPR study
on climate displacement.

RFLD is funding the study mandated by ACHPR Resolution 628 on a specific legal framework for the protection of persons forcibly displaced in Africa because of climate change — a population projected to reach 113 million on the continent by 2050.

The call for applications is open on the Commission's website, with terms of reference for conducting the study.

Read the call and how to apply Why RFLD is funding it

Who is at the table

A pan-African network for gender equality and development,
francophone-rooted.

We promote and protect the rights of women, youth and vulnerable groups, and secure their participation in decision-making. Our work joins legislative advocacy, community organising, re-granting and open data.

RFLD builds partnerships with women's civil society organisations, government stakeholders and regional networks to advance gender policy and improve the enabling environment for women's rights. We drive young women's digital engagement, and we strengthen the work of women and human rights defenders by reducing their exposure to persecution through protection mechanisms and capacity building.

We represent defenders, human rights organisations and national coalitions, and extend that reach across sub-regional networks. We improve collaboration between women's rights organisations, address the resource constraints that compromise defenders' safety and security, and build their capacity to engage human rights instruments and mechanisms effectively.

Our work closes critical knowledge gaps and channels regional and international support to local and national defenders, providing protection against attack and reprisal. By drawing on the network, our programmes foster a safer, better connected and better resourced environment for defenders across the continent — and a stronger capacity to advocate for human rights and democratic freedoms.

Founded in 2013. Five offices across the continent — Lagos, Porto-Novo, Accra, Dakar and Banjul.

The institution

What the African Commission is,
and why the session matters.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is Africa's primary regional human rights body — the one continental forum where national responses can be presented, compared and consolidated into shared advocacy.

Established by the African Union under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Commission promotes and protects human rights across the continent. It is created by Article 30 of the Charter — the Banjul Charter — and its members serve in their personal capacity.

An Ordinary Session brings together commissioners and special mechanisms, State party delegations, national human rights institutions, technical and financial partners, and accredited civil society organisations from every region. It is the densest continental stage available for this work.

Under Article 62 of the Charter, States Parties submit Periodic Reports to the Commission every two years. RFLD reviews those reports and submits country findings on violations affecting women, youth and vulnerable populations through the DƆNÙESÈ Data Center.

2026 marks forty years since the African Charter entered into force on 21 October 1986. The anniversary gives the 89th Session particular symbolic weight, and the work carried there greater visibility.

Support Group · Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

Appointed to the Support Group.
What we do in it.

RFLD is a member of the Support Group to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa, a mandate held by Hon. Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, Chairperson of the Commission. The Group promotes and monitors implementation of the Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa — the framework that lets citizens organise without fear of reprisal.

Established Res.406 (LXIII) 2018 Creating the Support Group to promote and monitor effective implementation of the Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa.
Renewed · Banjul, 6 November 2024 Res.602 (LXXXI) 2024 Renewing the Group's mandate for two years at the 81st Ordinary Session, and appointing RFLD as a member.
Under way Res.571 (LXXVII) 2023 The study assessing how far national legislation complies with the Guidelines — currently being drafted.
01Supporting women human rights defendersResponding to escalating threats against women defenders, who are targeted for championing civic, digital and environmental freedoms.
02Protecting activist rightsEnsuring activists, NGOs and communities can carry out advocacy without fear of retaliation.
03Sharing informationCirculating updates on the human rights landscape across francophone and lusophone Africa.
04Coordinating responsesIdentifying and implementing joint strategies to meet emerging challenges as they appear.
05Adopting collective strategiesBuilding unified approaches across the Group to promote and protect human rights.
06Research and documentationDocumenting violations, with a focus on women, youth and vulnerable groups.
07Submitting dataDelivering country findings to the Commission through the DƆNÙESÈ Data Center.
08Reviewing periodic reportsExamining State party reports submitted every two years under Article 62 of the Charter.

Thirteen organisations · as listed in Resolution 602

  • iInternational Centre for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL)
  • iiWest African Human Rights Defenders Network (ROADDH/WAHRDN)
  • iiiInternational Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
  • ivInstitute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA)
  • vEast and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (EHAHRD-Net)
  • viAfrican Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)
  • viiDefenders Network for Central Africa (REDHAC)
  • viiiHuman Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA)
  • ixNetwork of National Human Rights Institutions (RINADH)
  • xSouthern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN)
  • xiNorth African Human Rights Defenders Network (CIDH)
  • xiiNetwork of Human Rights Defenders in the Portuguese-speaking world
  • xiiiNetwork of Women Leaders for Development (RFLD)

Programme · Dakar

The NGO Forum.
Two closed sessions.
Four public panels.

The Forum opens the fortnight and shapes what civil society carries into the session. The closed sessions put a method into the hands of the organisations that will use it. The public panels carry the results into the 89th Session, before the commissioners, the special mechanisms and the State delegations.

Thursday 8 October · Forum runs 8 to 10 October NGO Forum

Participation in the NGO Forum

The Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the 89th Ordinary Session, convened by the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies ahead of the Commission's opening and built on the outcomes of the previous Forum. It deliberates under the African Union Theme of the Year 2026 on water availability and safe sanitation. RFLD takes part in the plenary and in the West Africa regional caucus, and brings two questions into the Forum's deliberations: the protection of women human rights defenders, and technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

Expected outcomes

  1. A Common Civil Society Declaration (NGOs Statement) A unified statement reflecting NGO perspectives on water, sanitation, governance and human rights, to be presented to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.
  2. Strengthened networks Enhanced collaboration among NGOs across regions, fostering solidarity and joint advocacy on shared challenges such as climate change, civic space and governance.
  3. Capacity building Improved knowledge and strategies among NGOs for addressing complex issues like climate-induced migration, gendered impacts of water scarcity, and digital rights.
  4. Visibility of human rights issues Greater awareness of ongoing violations, from restrictions on civic space to unconstitutional changes of government, and their intersection with resource governance.
  5. Resolutions, recommendations and documentation A comprehensive report summarising the discussions, key findings and recommendations from the forums, including the adoption of resolutions and recommendations for onward submission to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights for consideration during its 89th Ordinary Session.
Sunday 11 October · full day Closed session

Grounding the method: the Gender Mainstreaming Tool

One working day. Participants do not watch a presentation — they work through each component of the tool and leave able to use it in their own organisations: gender-responsive threat-assessment matrices, one disaggregated registration instrument, and the quarterly GESI dashboard that turns that data into indicators tracked over time.

Morning · grounding the method

08:30Registration and completion of the disaggregated instrument
09:00Opening: RFLD's mandate and the aims of the conveningAfrica Director and Founder
09:30Gendered digital repression in francophone and lusophone AfricaGESI Lead
10:30Working session on threat-assessment matricesGESI team
11:30Matrices applied to participants' own contextsFacilitated groups

Afternoon · building the dashboard

14:00Reading the registration data: what the baseline tells usGESI Lead
14:45From data to indicators: building the quarterly GESI dashboardGESI Lead
15:45Embedding the tool in each participant's workplanFacilitated groups
16:30Protection planning and safe referral to the helpline desksProtection team
17:05Recommendations toward the ACHPR mechanisms and the continental studyPolicy team
17:30Adoption of the first GESI dashboard and next stepsAfrica Director and Founder
Wednesday 14 October · full day Closed technical workshop

Regional technical workshop: taking TFGBV to the continental mechanisms

Thirty to forty participants from civil society organisations and national focal points across West Africa. The day covers engaging the Commission's mechanisms, continental advocacy technique, consolidating monitoring data on technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and agreeing shared advocacy messages. It prepares the public panels and produces a structured contribution on civil society advocacy capacity.

Public panels · 12 to 15 October · open to session participants

Monday 12 OctoberOpen

Laws that protect, not silence

Data protection, overly broad false-information laws and election-period shutdowns — and what they do to the space citizens need in order to organise. Feeds the African Declaration process.

Tuesday 13 OctoberOpen

Women in politics and technology-facilitated violence

Disinformation campaigns, image manipulation, coordinated harassment and threats aimed at women who stand for office. Documenting the attacks, and connecting them to continental monitoring.

Wednesday 14 OctoberOpen

Defend without being exposed

Protection, recognition and financing for women human rights defenders and environmental defenders — and the reprisals that follow those who speak.

Thursday 15 OctoberOpen

The francophone and lusophone safety desk

The French and Portuguese helpline desks in practice: how referral works, how the network is built, and what it takes to keep the desks running.

Each panel runs ninety minutes. Working languages French and English, with interpretation and support in Portuguese. Slots are confirmed by the Commission's secretariat against the final session calendar.

Bilateral meetings

Four conversations
we are seeking in Dakar.

Alongside the panels, RFLD is requesting meetings with the mechanisms whose mandates bear most directly on the safety of defenders, the rights of women, and displacement.

Chairperson · Special Rapporteur Hon. Rémy Ngoy Lumbu Chairperson of the Commission, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa. On reprisals and restrictions faced by environmental and climate justice defenders, and on support for grassroots movements — particularly women, who face heightened risk.
Special Rapporteur Commissioner Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information. On the space and platforms RFLD members need in order to engage meaningfully in advocacy.
Special Rapporteur Hon. Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa. On strategies to advance the rights of women human rights defenders and vulnerable groups, and a secure environment for their work.
Special Rapporteur Hon. Commissioner Salma Sassi Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa. On the study RFLD is funding under Resolution 628, toward a specific legal framework for people forcibly displaced in Africa by climate change.

Continental evidence

The scale of harm
is continental.

Four figures from RFLD's continental monitoring across African Union member states. Each is an aggregate across the most recent quarterly reporting cycles.

38%of women across member states have experienced some form of online violence.
58%of young women under 35 report direct experience of online harassment.
50%of women lack specific legal protection from digital abuse.
73%of survivors who report incidents describe lasting psychological harm.

RFLD continental monitoring · 2024 to 2025 quarterly aggregation

The typology

Eight forms of technology-
facilitated gender-based violence.

These are the patterns documented across the network. The working session equips participants to recognise each one and respond to it.

CyberstalkingRepeated unwanted monitoring, contact or surveillance through digital platforms, often targeting women in public life.
Online harassmentAbusive messaging, threats and coordinated pile-on attacks against women journalists, politicians and defenders.
Image-based abuseNon-consensual creation or sharing of intimate images, increasingly including AI-generated imagery.
DoxxingPublishing private personal information to enable offline harassment and physical-safety threats.
SextortionCoercion through threatened release of intimate images or sensitive information, frequently across borders.
Deepfake abuseAI-generated synthetic imagery, voice cloning and impersonation, moving faster than most legal frameworks.
Coordinated campaignsOrganised attacks during election cycles targeting women candidates and the journalists who cover them.
Surveillance and trackingStalkerware, biometric data abuse and surveillance with disproportionate impact on women defenders.

Normative anchor

Grounded in the continental
human rights framework.

Everything RFLD brings to Dakar is anchored in the instruments that protect women's participation in public life and their freedom from violence, online and off.

African Union · 1981African CharterArticles 2, 9 and 13 — non-discrimination, the right to information, and the right to participate in public affairs. In force since 21 October 1986.
African Union · 2003Maputo ProtocolArticles 2, 8 and 9 — eliminating discrimination, access to justice, and women's participation in political and decision-making processes.
ACHPR · 2022Resolution 522Protection of Women Against Digital Violence in Africa. The principal continental framework on cyber-harassment, image-based abuse and platform accountability.
ACHPR · 2024Resolution 591Study on Digital Violence Against Women's Rights. Mandates a continental study that informs the harmonisation of national law.
ACHPR · 2024Resolution 620Access to Data as a Human Rights and Development Tool. Standards on data collection, transparency and algorithmic accountability.
African Union · 2014Malabo ConventionThe continental cybersecurity and personal data protection framework, whose ratification RFLD tracks across member states.
African Union · 2007ACDEG, Article 8The continental framework on women's political participation — central wherever digital violence is used to suppress women's candidacy.
21 October 1986 — 2026The Charter at fortyForty years since the Charter entered into force, marked on African Human Rights Day and carried through the session.
Article 62Periodic reportingStates Parties report to the Commission every two years. RFLD reviews those reports and submits country findings.

Where the work is stored

Four pillars of continental
data infrastructure.

What is gathered in Dakar does not stay in Dakar. It feeds the DƆNÙESÈ Data Center, which is what we submit from when the Commission asks for evidence.

Maputo Protocol HubContinental anchor on the rights of women in Africa. Ratification tracker, indigenous-language translations and reference documents.
West Africa Legislative PlatformComparative legal analysis across fifteen West African countries and nine legal domains each.
Women in Politics TrackerContinental representation data across the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and local government.
Digital Safety CompendiumContinental reference on technology-facilitated gender-based violence, with a curated resource library.

Take part

Applications for the
closed working session.

Applications are for the closed session on 11 October. Priority goes to francophone and lusophone applicants and to women-led organisations. The public panels, 12 to 15 October, are open to the wider audience of the 89th Session.

Who should apply

  • Women human rights defenders and environmental defenders
  • Women in politics and women-led organisations
  • Francophone and lusophone digital rights organisations
  • RFLD member organisations across the continental network

Sensitive items on the form are optional and confidential. Responses feed the quarterly dashboard in aggregated, anonymised form only.

Deadline

5 August 2026Applications opened
23 August 2026Applications close

Complete the online application form before 23 August. Interpretation is available in French, English and Portuguese.

Open the application form Ask a question
50%+Women participants
40%+Budget to women-led orgs
3Working languages

Our door in Dakar

Room for your side event,
if you need one.

Ahead of the 89th Ordinary Session, we are making our Dakar office available to partners planning activities during the session.

The office is at Cité Keur Gorgui and can host side events and meetings for up to thirty participants. To reserve the space or talk through what you need, write to our Senegal Programme Team.

We look forward to welcoming you, and to a productive session.

Reserve the space
LocationCité Keur Gorgui, Dakar
CapacityUp to 30 participants
Suitable forSide events and meetings
AvailableThroughout the session
Bookingsprograms@rflgd.org

Before you come

The work behind
what we bring to Dakar.

Programmes, evidence and publications you may want to read ahead of the session — or point a colleague to.

Stay connected

Follow the session
as it happens.

Live updates, key moments and calls to action throughout the 89th Ordinary Session. Plenary and side events are streamed on the Commission's own channel.

Session documents

The full agenda and session documents are published by the Commission ahead of the session. We will link them here once the secretariat issues the public notice for the 89th Ordinary Session.

Enquiries

For anything concerning RFLD's engagement at the African Commission, write to programs@rflgd.org. We answer in French, English and Portuguese.

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