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Momodou
Denmark
11829 Posts |
 Posted - 09 Nov 2009 : 22:04:14
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HUMAN RIGHTS NGOS MEET IN BANJUL
By Pateh Baldeh
The Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the 46th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and 20th African Human Rights Book Fair on the way.
Several Human Right defenders from all over Africa and representatives of other Human Rights organisations are presently meeting at the Kairaba Beach hotel. The different human rights defenders who are participants in the NGO forum which precedes the 46th Ordinary session of the Africa Commission on Human and People Rights which is also scheduled to commence on the 11th of this month.
The Forum is organised under the auspices of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS).
In her giving her welcoming remarks, the Executive Director of the African Centre on Democracy and Human Rights studies, Mrs Hannah Forster, highlighted the importance of the forum and the Book trade fair.
She went on to explain the commitment of the African Centre on Democracy and Human Rights Studies in the promotion and defending of human rights in the continent. She challenged all participants to fully take part in the session. She went on to mention some countries whose Human Rights records are high on the agenda. She gave example of Sudan , Somalia , The Gambia, Guinea Conakry, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
She also mentioned the numerous statements by the President of the Gambia and press releases by the Human Rights Community that could have aborted the possibility of holding the forum in the Gambia .
For his part commissioner Bahame Tom Nyanduga mentioned that the commissioner in the NGOs forum provides an important input and output, forward and backward linkage in the human right discourse during and after the forum. He also talked about the relations between NGO forum and African Commission. Over the years he said there have been challenges which they have managed to over come by working together and he expressed both concern and hope that the relations will be enhanced for the good of the African peoples, whose interest they are all mandated to serve. He said the worth and dignity of the African people as envisaged in the Africa charter is yet to be realised. The fundamental individual liberties and freedoms the economic social and cultural rights of the majority of our people continue to be elusive. The African people he said continue to be afflicted by poverty, hunger, malnutrition, diseases and illiteracy. Africa he said is witnessing a redefinition of the electoral processes and democracy whereby the will of the first families is becoming the determinant of governance rather than the will of the people. He went on to give examples of Niger , Guinea Conakry, Mauritanian and Madagaska.
Commissioner Nyanduga also revealed that its efforts to ensure that the protection of human and peoples rights under the African Charter is enhanced, the Africa Commission recently held a joint session with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Dakar Senegal which has come up with a joint declaration which, he said, is finalised and jointly adopted.
In his contribution, Muhammed Faal of the Africa Center on Democracy and Human Rights studies talked on the arrest killing and detention of journalists on the continent. The freedom of expression he said is part of good governance and democracy. He went on to explain the present situation in the Gambia where journalists especially those in the private media are intimidated by numerous arrests and detentions..
Democracy he said it also about the rule of law. He also express concern about the use of the public media by most of the ruling parties in Africa to isolate the opposition parties who are not allowed access to the public media. He said free and fair election cannot be conducted if the media especially the private media is being suppressed. Democracy is where power is shared. Dictatorship is where the executive has all the powers. He gave examples of Niger where parliament was dissolved and the constitution reformed and Somalia where he said fighting is still increasing and journalists are still being killed. He made reference to Guinea Conakry where 150 people were killed when the people wanted to remind the head of the Junta of his pledge not to stand for elections when he seized power.
Source: Foroyaa Online
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