Amnesty International Senegal held a joint press conference yesterday at its headquarters with the West African Network of Human Rights Defenders (ROADDH). The aim was to launch a report on the situation of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and the most vulnerable human rights defenders (HRDs).
Six West African countries participated in the study on the situation of women human rights defenders and other most vulnerable human rights defenders (FDDH-DDHV). These countries are Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.
One of the objectives of this report, conducted by the Secretariat of the West African Network for Human Rights Defenders (WANHRD), is to identify the legal and social obstacles that prevent women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and the most vulnerable human rights defenders (HRDs) in West Africa from enjoying their rights.
"In Senegal, the network has been working for a year to propose a human rights protection law to the government. Such laws already exist in Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Mali, and one is currently being drafted in Niger. Our country, which is a model of freedom, must therefore adopt this law in order to demonstrate the important role played by human rights defenders," said Seydi Gassama, Executive Director of Amnesty International Senegal.
To better address the issue, four sessions were organized in Senegal by ROADDH, in collaboration with the Senegalese Coalition of Human Rights Defenders. The purpose of these meetings was to inquire into the situation of women, especially cases of violations against them and the difficulties that hinder their mission. According to the report, there are a number of obstacles: the persistence of socio-cultural constraints due to tradition, gender-related constraints that limit and prevent them from accessing certain resources and opportunities, economic problems, particularly poverty and lack of financial resources, etc.
For Oumy Sya Sadio, project manager at Amnesty International Senegal, "these negative factors affect the situation and environment of women human rights defenders (WHRDs). As a result, they work in very unfavorable conditions." Citing the report, Ms. Sadio reports that the judicial authorities in some countries refuse to follow up on complaints filed by WHRDs.
For this reason, the report produced a number of recommendations to address the challenges faced by women human rights defenders: develop, strengthen, and implement laws to promote and protect human rights defenders, specifically including women human rights defenders, in accordance with international standards; strengthen education programs on human rights and the role of human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, in communities; to disseminate and popularize the provisions contained in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, create a framework for dialogue and consultation between law enforcement officials, redouble efforts to strengthen solidarity between the different groups that make up these movements and bring them closer to others (networking)...
The report will be submitted to the Senegalese authorities. Mr. Gassama explains: "We will submit it to the Ministry of Justice tomorrow (today), as we have done for most countries in the sub-region. We hope that it will implement the recommendations. In any case, we will continue to advocate for this cause."
The study in question is a vast program involving quarterly meetings with human rights defenders, mainly women. That is why Pierre Claver Dekpoh, a member of ROADDH, points out that the six countries mentioned are only samples. "We went beyond this sampling so that the study would be representative of the entire Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, plus Mauritania," he said, before continuing: "Now we must ensure that the recommendations are implemented."
The ROADDH, created in 2005, is based in Lomé (Togo). It is made up of coalitions of human rights defenders or focal points from West African countries. Mr. Dekpoh explains: "In some countries, such as Senegal, coalitions have already been formed. But in Nigeria, there are none yet. There is one organization that covers the entire territory, which we designate to serve as a focal point."
The ROADDH produced this study in accordance with the recommendations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), following several workshops. In 2014, the ACHPR published a report on "The situation of women human rights defenders in Africa."
Thus, for the first time, it documents the multiple violations suffered by women human rights defenders in the region. The commission recommended that civil society take responsibility for disseminating the report, but also for initiating programs aimed at its implementation.
El Hadji Fodé Sarr (Intern)
Published on November 24, 2021
