Joseph Whittal, Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), participated in a two-day meeting of human rights experts and other significant stakeholders to discuss issues relating to trade and human rights in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) Agreement. He asserts that the recommendations of the meeting will be taken into consideration and put into practice.
The meetings, which were conducted in Banjul, Gambia, focused on “Inclusive Implementation of the AfCFTA with Participation of Vulnerable Populations.”
The meeting, being the 5th National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) forum was organized by the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) in collaboration with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at the core of the ACHPR public ordinary sessions.
The objective of the forum was to provide a platform for the African NHRIs, the ACHPR, the OHCHR, as well as the international human rights mechanisms it supports, and other key stakeholders to deliberate on issues with respect to human rights and a right to development approach in the implementation of the AfCFTA, focusing on the vulnerable and minority groups who are likely to be disproportionately impacted by the liberalization of trade if no human rights safeguards are executed.
The programme which comprised of expert presentations, panel discussions, and plenary sessions provided opportunities for NHRIs to discuss and make recommendations on thematic human rights issues. It also created a platform to exchange experiences on participants’ efforts in supporting the work of the ACHPR in promoting and protecting human rights and collective (people’s) rights in Africa.