Skip to main content

IHRDA, with the generous support of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), is operating a fund for individuals/groups litigating cases before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACmHPR). The fund covers travel, accommodation and other related expenses.

Criteria for applicants seeking to access this fund:

  • Must be a national/organisation of an ECOWAS state, Cameroon, Chad or Mauritania;
  • Must have a communication [cases before the African Commission are referred to as ‘communications’ before the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights [ACmHPR].

What to include in your application:

  • An application letter with full contact details;
  • Description of the communication including detailed information on the progress of your communication with the ACmHPR  – approximately 800 words;
  • Evidence of nationality [e.g. copy of ID, NGO or company registration document].

Applications should be addressed to The Executive Director, IHRDA.

Deadline for applications

Applications for this Fund must be received six (6) weeks before the commencement of an Ordinary Session of the ACmHPR, which are generally held in May and November of each year.

NB: All applications for grants, although made directly to IHRDA as administrator of the Fund, shall be approved in consultation with OSIWA.

Past Recipients of Grants under the Legal Defence Fund

Since 2003, litigants of the following communications before the ACmHPR have received funding:

270/03 Access to Justice / Nigeria (Right to Life; Right to Personal Liberty and Protection from Arbitrary Arrest

Funded in November 2004
Grant amount: $7,136

249/02 IHRDA (on behalf of Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea)/Guinea

(Freedom from Discrimination; Prohibition of Torture, and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment; State Responsibility for Refugee Welfare)
Funded in November 2004
Grant amount: $1,019

Read decision on communication 249/02

272/03 Collectif des victimes des violences post électorales de la région nord-ouest & Interights / Cameroon (Right to Fair Trial)

Funded in November 2004, May 2005 and May 2006
Total grant amount: $18,421

Read decision on communication 273/03

266/03 Dr Gumne & 17 Others (Southern Cameroons National Council-SCNC and Southern Cameroons Peoples’ Organisation-SCAPO, acting for themselves and on behalf of the people of Southern Cameroons) / Cameroon (Right of All Peoples to Equality and Rights & Right to Self Determination) Funded in November 2005
Grant amount: $12,940

Read decision on communication 266/03

287/04 Titanji Duga Ernest [on behalf of Cheonomu Martin and others] / CameroonFunded in November 2006
Grant amount: $1,878