The AU Political Affairs, Peace and Security Commissioner, Amb Bankole Adeoye, participated in the High-Level Segment of the 55^th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on 27 February 2024 and briefed the Council on the State of Human Rights in Africa, in particular the right to development.

Commissioner Bankole, in his address to the UN Human Rights Council, highlighted key issues and opportunities for advancing human rights in general, and the rights to development in particular. “The African Union considers the Right to Development as a strategic priority. The Constitutive Act of the African Union, adopted in 2000, stipulates that Member States should undertake to ‘promote the political and socio-economic integration of the continent’ to ensure sustainable development and improved living conditions for all Africans,” he stated. The Commissioner further expressed that through Agenda 2063, Aspirations 3 and 4, the AU is taking actions toward the promotion of democratic governance and the protection of human rights in Africa, as well as efforts to strengthen democratic institutions, promote, constitutionalism, citizens’ participation, to ensure the rule of law.

The Commissioner’s participation was in line with the outcome of the Africa-wide High-Level Regional Consultation on the Right to Development that was jointly organized by the AU Department of Political Affairs, Peace, and Security and the United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights on 8 September 2023 at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

On 28 February 2024, on the margins of the 55th Session of the UN Human Rights, a Joint African Union Commission, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Side Event, a High-Level Dialogue themed: “The Right to Development - Fundamental to Realizing the Africa We Want” was held. At the side event, Commissioner Bankole engaged with the African Group of Ambassadors in Geneva and other stakeholders, on Human Rights and Conflict Prevention issues with a focus on the Right to development. Amb. Bankole provided the Africa Group of Ambassadors with a comprehensive understanding of the Rights to Development as it pertains to the African continent, its relevance to Africa's socio-economic landscape, and potential strategies for promoting and protecting these rights within the international framework.

The Commissioner’s Geneva trip was also organized in the context of the adoption of the Joint AU-UN Human Rights Framework signed by the leadership of both organizations on 28 November 2023 in New York. In this regard, it also contributed to raising awareness of this Framework and engaging the Human Rights Council and the African Group for its effective implementation.     

Also, as part of the trip, the Commissioner had bilateral engagements with Ms. Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations Human Rights office, representing the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, to discuss the overview collaboration within the existing AU-UN Human Rights Framework. H.E. also met with Ambassador Omar Zniber, the President of the UN Human Rights Council and the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Office in Geneva and other International Organizations in Geneva. Similarly, Commissioner Bankole met with Mr. Itonde Kakoma, President of the International Organization for Peacebuilding (Interpeace), to discuss ways and means to unpack the signed MoU between the two institutions. The Commissioner had a meeting with a delegation from the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) and discussed the possibility of collaborating in the security sector reforms in Africa as well as the mainstreaming of gender in peace operations in Africa.

For further information about the Mission, the following persons can be contacted:  

1. Mr. Issaka Garba Abdou, Head of Governance and Human Rights Division, GCPD/PAPS, E-mail: garbaabdoui@africa-union.org
2. Amb. Salah S. Hammad, Sr. Human Rights Expert, GHRD/GCPD/PAPS, Email: HammadS@africa-union.org

For media inquiries, please contact:

Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communication Directorate | Email: GamalK@africa-union.org

Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org
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