Engaging with Special mechanisms can take multiple forms, depending on the nature of the human rights issue you seek to bring, its gravity, its urgency, and the impact you would like to bring about.
If you think engaging with Special mechanisms could be interesting for your advocacy strategy, this section provides information on how you can engage with the various functions of Special mechanisms. For more on what Special mechanisms are, see the previous Section 2.3 Special mechanisms – Why are they useful? and Section 1.7: What are the Special mechanisms?
This section covers how to engage on:
Advocacy from home with Special mechanisms can typically be done by email, indicating in the subject to whom you are addressing your message (au-banjul@africa-union.org), for instance ‘To the Attention of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa’. Also, you can ask other NGOs if they have a more personalised email address (see Section 2.13: NGOs support and coalition).
To get a Special mechanism - either a Special Rapporteur, members of a Committee or members of a Working Group - to conduct a country visit (also called ‘study visit’) in your country, you can reach out to them to provide information on the human rights situation in your country and explain why a study visit would be beneficial.
You can also propose an itinerary and agenda for the country visit, including places to visit and people to meet while in your country. This could include for example, universities, research institutes and think tanks, your country’s national human rights institution, other NGOs in addition to your own, victims of human rights abuses, representatives of affected communities, members of the government, parliament or judiciary (either sympathetic to your cause or that you seek to influence), the press, etc.
When reaching out, you should have a clear idea of the results you are seeking to achieve through a country visit, including, ideally, a high-impact opportunity—for example a major press conference by a Special Rapporteur or a contribution to a legislative process before your parliament.
In selecting a Special mechanism to invite to your country, it is strategic to target one that is thematically relevant to your issue, for example the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders if you are advocating for a national law to protect people who defends rights, or the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women if you are advocating against female genital mutilation. It is also useful to check the country portfolio of the particular Special Rapporteur and/or chair of the Working Group or Committee: this can maximise the efficacy of the visit and they may be more likely to accept. Finally, indicate in your request if your organisation or a third party can financially cover the cost of the visit or if this would be at the African Commission’s own expense.
After a mission, Special mechanisms publish a mission report, which includes recommendations to stakeholders (including the State). During the visit, it is important to suggest specific recommendations to the Special mechanism for inclusion in their report.
For information on country visits by the African Commission as a whole, see Section 2.9: Country visit - why are they useful?.
In specific instances of human rights violations, you can engage with Special mechanisms to get them to issue a public statement on that particular case. You will need to contact the Special mechanism and provide them with information on the situation - for example shrinking civic space due to a new law regulating the media - to call for an improvement of the situation. This can include a draft public statement for the Special mechanism to draw on.
In the event of a particularly grave situation - for example, someone’s life being imminently at risk - you can ask a Special mechanism to issue an urgent appeal. An urgent appeal is a call on a particular State to take all necessary measures to ensure protection of a person’s life and rights, as appropriate. It may also include a call to provide information - for example the whereabouts of someone being held incommunicado.
You can also invite Special mechanisms to take part in your various advocacy and awareness-raising activities, such as trainings, workshops, conferences, and more. They can also be invited to participate in and contribute to publications and/or other materials. Establishing a first contact with them in person or online strengthens your chances of getting a response to your invitation. See also Section 3.10: Meeting with key stakeholders - why is it useful? and below sub-section on thematic reports and studies.
Remember to align your engagement with Special mechanisms to the nature, theme, and level of urgency of the issue or case you are seeking to raise. Don’t wait for an emergency to act! Identify relevant Special mechanisms now to establish contact and earn their trust!
Also, when contacting the African Commission via their general email address (au-banjul@africa-union.org), remember to clearly state which Special mechanism you’re reaching out to in the subject line and about what, to increase your chances of getting a response.
In 2024, a violent campaign broke out against the LGBTIQ+ community and defenders in Côte d’Ivoire, known as the “zéro woubi” (“zero gay”) campaign. Many people were publicly outed, harassed, and attacked, and some had to flee. The government has been tacitly complicit in this lawlessness, refusing to investigate or prosecute offenders, whilst also adopting regulations restricting civic space and freedom of association for human rights defenders in general. In light of this situation, human rights defenders from Côte d’Ivoire reached out to the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders in Africa, who also happened to be Country Rapporteur for Côte d’Ivoire and Chairperson of the African Commission. Through this engagement, defenders were successful in obtaining a mention of the situation in Côte d’Ivoire in the Chairperson’s opening statement at the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission, held publicly in Banjul, The Gambia, in October 2024, thereby shedding light on, and attracting attention to, the dire situation in Côte d’Ivoire. In his capacity as the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders in Africa, he also discussed the situation during a powerful side-event. It brought visibility in the light of the upcoming election campaign.
As part of its promotional mandate, the African Commission can ‘undertake studies and research on African problems in the field of human and peoples’ rights’ and ‘formulate and lay down principles and rules’ (article 45 of the African Charter). As such, the African Commission produces a variety of publications year-round to which you can contribute, including reports, but also soft law instruments (see chapter 2.3 Special mechanisms - Why are they useful?).
When drafting additional legal instruments to complement or expand on the rights protected by the African Charter, Special mechanisms often seek input from civil society. As such, you can influence the content of these (non-binding) instruments. As part of this process, Special mechanisms will often call for contributions or even organise in-person consultations. Once an instrument is finalised, you may also participate in the promotion of the new instrument, to ensure it is incorporated by States and taken up by civil society back home.
Thematic reports and studies focus on a particular topic, aspect, or issue relating to human rights in Africa. Examples of reports and other publications can be found here. They can be useful to explore an issue you care about as part of your advocacy work, particularly human rights issues that are novel or remain still neglected. Bear in mind that thematic reports and studies may take many years to complete.
Special mechanisms will seek out contributions from civil society on reports, studies, and other publications when preparing them. This will be announced on the website and/or social media.
Examples of thematic reports and/or studies:
There are two ways you can contribute to a thematic report. You can either:
You can advocate for the African Commission to draft a thematic report on a particular issue that is relevant for your advocacy strategy and human rights priorities. The best way to do this is to reach out to the Special mechanism directly to push for such a thematic report.
Commissioners can be approached on the basis of their country mandate or their thematic mandate (by virtue of their Special mechanism appointment(s)). Remember therefore to approach Commissioners on the basis of what is relevant for both them and you. For example, if you want a thematic report to call attention on women human rights defenders in lusophone countries, you may reach out to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, or the country rapporteur(s) for lusophone countries.
You can also contribute to a thematic report already being drafted by a Special mechanism at the African Commission. In this case, the Special mechanism will typically put out a call for contribution. This is your opportunity to provide an NGO report which can then be integrated into the thematic report. For example, if a report is being drafted on refugees and internally displaced persons, you can submit a contribution calling attention to the specific aspects of that issue in your country.
It is important to stay up to date and to regularly engage with the African Commission, its Commissioners and its staff, to keep an eye out for calls for contribution and other such opportunities by following their X page and the news section.
In 2021, during its 69th ordinary session, the African Commission held a panel discussion on the new study on extractive activities and their impact on the enjoyment of human rights, based on field visits from 2013 to 2019. Activities of civil society, the role of defenders, more specifically environmental defenders, was welcomed and is, in this context, more crucial than ever in the fight for fundamental rights and justice.The report published by the WGEI highlighted the significant human rights violations and public health issues resulting from these industries, affecting fundamental rights such as access to water, land, and decent work, particularly impacting women and children. Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso described the situation as a "resource curse," urging the extractive sector to align with the African Charter. This study became an important tool for civil society to shed light onto the impacts of extractive industries, as well as to incorporate the findings of the report into their advocacy and to push for meaningful change.
See the next sections on how you can engage with other tools of the African Commission, including the State periodic review, the Communications procedure, country visits, and following-up.
