Advancing Compliance with African Human Rights Decisions

For over two decades, African human rights mechanisms and sub-regional courts have delivered bold and progressive jurisprudence, affirming protections against unlawful detention, discrimination, violations of child rights, and restrictions on freedom of expression, among other fundamental freedoms. Yet, for countless victims across the continent, these legal victories have not translated into lived justice. Far too often, landmark decisions of the African Commission, African Court, African Committee of Experts, and sub-regional courts such as the ECOWAS Court of Justice remain unimplemented, partially enforced, or simply ignored by State Parties. This failure to implement binding decisions remains the Achilles’ heel of the African human rights system.

In response to these challenges, IHRDA convened a series of seven national implementation dialogues in Cameroon, Guinea (Conakry), Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. These national platforms created rare spaces for frank, multi-stakeholder engagement on why decisions remain unimplemented, what has been done, and what concrete steps are required to move forward. They enabled actors who rarely sit at the same table to collectively assess progress, clarify responsibilities, and identify opportunities for coordinated follow-up on implementation.

While the conversations revealed encouraging lessons, pockets of good practice, and renewed momentum in some contexts, they also underscored that the implementation crisis is not confined to individual states. It is a regional, structural challenge that requires cross-country learning and collective action.

Building on the insights from the national dialogues, IHRDA convened a Regional Inter-Country Dialogue in Dakar, Senegal, in May 2025. This platform brought together government representatives, civil society organisations, victims and their representatives, national human rights commissions and representatives of the African Court, African Commission, African Committee of Experts on the Rights of the Child, ECOWAS Court and East African Court. It elevated the conversation beyond national silos, fostering peer learning among states, civil society, and regional actors, and enabling a collective examination of systemic patterns, innovative practices, and strategic entry points for reform.

A key outcome of this initiative is the development of a report currently underway, which brings together the findings from the national and regional dialogues, complemented by targeted research and stakeholder’s input. The publication will serve as a practical, evidence-based resource for State Parties to the African Charter, regional human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society organisations, and other key stakeholders.