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RÉSEAU DES FEMMES LEADERS POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT |
89th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR • Dakar, October 2026
Our panel joins the main agenda of the African Commission
RFLD convenes a public panel on protecting the women who defend human rights against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment across Africa.
Dear friends,
We are glad to share some important news. Our panel, “Defending without being exposed”, has been accepted onto the main agenda of the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Dakar, Senegal. Being on the official programme, and not on the margins, is a strong outcome for the defenders this work serves. This October, RFLD brings forty women human rights defenders from across the network to Dakar to carry that case to the Commission.
“Defending without being exposed: how can women human rights and peoples’ rights defenders work without undue risk in Africa?”
Why it matters
Across Africa, women and women-led organizations document abuse and support survivors of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. They often work informally, without the legal status or institutional backing that would keep them safe. They face judicial harassment and online abuse, often alongside pressure from within their own communities. This panel puts a direct question to the Commission, to States and to donors.
The discussion follows four threads: recognition, protection, funding and codification. When is a community worker recognized as a defender in law? Which protection mechanisms actually reach women outside the capitals? What share of the funding against sexual exploitation and harassment reaches African women-led organizations? And which safeguards should enter the draft African Declaration?
RFLD by the numbers
1,143 member organisations across 35+ countries
40 women human rights defenders travelling to Dakar for the Session
From the network
This October, RFLD travels to Dakar with forty women human rights defenders drawn from its member organisations across the continent. Many of them work where documenting an abuse or standing with a survivor carries real personal risk. Bringing them into the room at the African Commission is the point: the people closest to the harm helping to shape the response.
Date Monday 12 October 2026
Time 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Dakar time)
Venue 89th Ordinary Session, Dakar, Senegal
Languages English, Arabic, French, Portuguese
The session is public and open to all.
On the panel
Chaired by the Honourable Commissioner Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, the panel brings together voices from the regional human rights system, civil society and the field.
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders (Chair)
Director, SEA-T Programme (Society. Equality. Africa), GIZ
West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), Accra
RFLD Country Representative for Nigeria, Lagos
African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), Banjul
UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; human rights defender
RFLD across the 89th Session
The Dakar panel is one of several RFLD engagements during the Session. Here is where to find our teams and partners.
Forum on the Participation of NGOs
RFLD takes part with a delegation of forty women and human rights defenders, joining the plenary sittings and the West Africa report. Convened by the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS).
Defending without being exposed
The main-agenda panel featured above, chaired by the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.
WLICT regional dialogue on technology-facilitated gender-based violence
Civil society organizations and national institutions from Benin, Nigeria and Senegal on responses to TFGBV and human rights. Coordinated by Expertise France with RFLD, under the Team Europe WLICT initiative funded by the European Union.
Public panel: Defending without being exposed
A ninety-minute public panel on how women human rights defenders and environmental defenders are recognized, and why the cost of protecting them is so rarely funded. Open to all participants, in French and English with interpretation. Held at the RFLD office in Dakar.
Side event: technology-facilitated gender-based violence in Africa, towards a regional framework
Convened by the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice with RFLD. A ninety-minute moderated panel, held in person with online participation.
All events take place in Dakar during the Session.
About RFLD
RFLD is a pan-African, women-led Afrofeminist network of 1,143 member organisations in more than 35 countries, headquartered in Porto-Novo with offices in Accra, Dakar and Banjul. It holds ACHPR Observer Status No. 553 and sits on the Support Group to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders (Resolution 602).
What partners are saying
From our November regional programme in Senegal
“The SEA-T initiative supports exactly the kind of structural strengthening African civil society needs. RFLD’s work aligns with the ACHPR’s mandate to protect defenders.”
Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, Chairperson, ACHPR
“RFLD has built a bridge between the Maputo Protocol and grassroots implementation. The programme’s focus on women’s leadership is timely.”
Hon. Dr Litha Musyimi-Ogana, Commissioner, ACHPR
“ECOSOCC values partnerships that amplify citizen voices. RFLD sets a benchmark for how civil society can influence African Union policy.”
Dr Eyole Monono, African Union ECOSOCC
“CIVICUS monitors civic space globally. RFLD’s work is a critical counter-force in West Africa.”
Dr Paul Mulindwa, CIVICUS
“FIDH recognises RFLD’s role in Senegal and beyond. The initiative provides the stability needed for long-term human rights monitoring.”
Prof. Mabassa Fall, FIDH, Senegal
“The African Centre supports RFLD’s holistic approach. A new generation of rights-literate citizens is emerging across francophone Africa.”
Hannah Forster, Executive Director, ACDHRS
“WADEMOS sees the initiative as a driver for democratic resilience. RFLD’s network mobilises youth and women to defend civic space.”
Paul Osei Kuffor, WADEMOS
“Protecting defenders requires a regional shield. The support allows RFLD and ROADDH to coordinate rapid responses for activists in danger.”
Mélanie Sonhaye Kombate, Programme Manager, ROADDH
“LARRED appreciates RFLD’s intersectional research. The data work is crucial for evidence-based advocacy.”
Prof. Pascal Dohou, LARRED
“The UN system benefits from strong local partners. RFLD ensures international goals translate to local action.”
Deodatte Bisomerine, UN system expert
Partner with us
To support this work or explore a partnership, write to John GBENAGNON, Development Director, at gbenagnon.john@rflgd.org.
Convened and supported with
African Commission on Human & Peoples’ Rights • GIZ, SEA-T Programme • ACDHRS • Expertise France / Team Europe WLICT • Vance Center
The 12 October panel is supported by the SEA-T Programme, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ.
Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD)
Porto-Novo, Bénin • Accra • Dakar • Banjul