State Parties, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) for their
participation in the Human Rights dialogue;
PART ONE:
NOW THEREFORE, the African Commission declares the following concerning the Human Rights
Dialogue:
A. Ratification and Domestication of AU Human Rights Instruments:
1. States should adopt strategies which facilitate and expedite the ratification and domestication of human
rights instruments;
2. States should ensure that they fulfil their reporting obligations under the various human rights instruments;
and
3. States should establish independent committees of experts at the national level to oversee implementation
of human rights treaties.
B. Implementation of Decisions of AU Organs with a Human Rights Mandate:
4. States should develop and strengthen national follow-up mechanisms for the implementation of human rights
decisions, which should include maintaining reliable data and records that support compliance of AU Organs’
decision, in addition to ensuring capacitation of all Government officials to mainstream human rights at the
national level;
5. AU Organs with human rights mandates should enhance follow-up mechanisms and strategies to identify,
intervene, and encourage non-complying State Parties to comply with their obligations under the African
Charter, as well as decisions and recommendations of the Organs;
6. NHRIs and CSOs should scale up advocacy and lobbying strategies and interventions, in addition to
developing guidelines to strengthen collaboration with AU Organs with a human rights mandate, in order to
achieve effective implementation and monitoring of States’ international and regional obligations;
7. The AU should provide adequate funding to AU Organs with a human rights mandate to strengthen followup mechanisms on the implementation of decisions and recommendations; and
8. The AU should exercise and invoke Article 23 of the African Union Constitutive Act and impose sanctions
on non-complying State Parties.
C. Synergy and Coordination between AU Organs with a human rights mandate:
9. An MOU should be signed between AU Organs with a human rights mandate and other stakeholders on
cooperation and collaboration; and
10.
AU Organs with a human rights mandate should systematically share their methods of work, activities, best
practices, and identify common priorities, challenges, synergies and possible complementarities.
D. Human Rights and Transitional Justice:
11.
States should ensure that the transitional justice systems are infused with and informed by the rights
enshrined in the relevant African human and peoples’ rights instruments;
12.
States and the AU should accelerate the processes of continental integration through establishing an
effective continental free trade area and facilitating free movement of people in Africa;