The FIDH and its member organizations call on the African Commission to
assume its responsibilities. The FIDH and a dozen of its member
organizations will be present at the 34th ordinary session of the African
Commission of Human and People's Rights, which will take place in Banjul
from 6th to 20th November 2003.

The FIDH and its member organizations are expecting that this session will
see some major progress such as: the adoption of a regional structure for
the protection of human rights defenders; the mobilization of African
states in favor of the fight against impunity, in particular with the
launch of the African Court on Human Rights and the ratification process by
States of the International Criminal Court; the inclusion of human rights
at the very core of NEPAD mechanisms; respecting the process of democratic
elections.

Moreover, the Commission will have to examine the human rights situation of
Niger, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Given the continuing
human rights violations in these States, this examination is of particular
importance.

The FIDH and its member organizations in these countries will be presenting
to the Commission alternative reports to the periodic reports of States.

This session will take place against a sombre background described by the
FIDH president, Sidiki Kaba, as the "autumn of human rights".
The Commission should not turn a deaf ear to this reality. Indeed, since
the last session of the African Commission, the FIDH has denounced many
human rights violations, such as: rejection of political alternation and
pluralism, rigged elections in Togo, the coup d'Etat in Guinee Bissau, and
in Sao Tome and Principe, arbitrary arrests and persons held in detention
in Mauritania, torture in Cameroon, death sentences in Nigeria, mass
expulsion of immigrants in Djibouti, restriction of basic freedoms in
Senegal and in Chad, harassment of human rights activists in Zimbabwe,
Algeria and Tunisia, economic and social rights trampled, armed conflict
and/or violation of international humanitarian law in Liberia, the
Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC), Burundi, etc.

Many challenges will be put to the African Commission which will have to
show a real will and ability to take these up, in particular by adopting a
firm stance on these situations.

The FIDH specifically hopes that it will take account of the elements
presented in the two reports published on this occasion by the FIDH, on
human rights violations committed in Cameroon and in the Democratic
Republic of Congo.