2. Engaging with the African Commission from home

This section provides information on how to write and submit a shadow report as part of a State periodic review process. It follows from Section 2.5 State Periodic Review - Why is it useful?

Listen to Brenda Kugonza, Director of the Women Human Rights Defenders Network of Uganda, on the human rights challenges she faces in her country.

Based on this testimony, what are some issues you imagine could be included in a shadow report on Uganda as part of a State periodic review process? Write your answers here!

_{Brenda Kugonza's testimony to ISHR}

The purpose of a shadow report is to:

• help the African Commission get a more comprehensive picture of the human rights situation in your country, by providing it with credible and reliable information (other than the State report);
• alert the African Commission of human rights issues not raised by the State under review; and
• provide recommendations.

If your country is up for review, you too can submit a shadow report, with or without NGO consultative status.

The first step is to encourage your State to hold consultations with CSOs when drafting its report, or participate in such consultations if some are organised! Note also that shadow reports may be written and submitted jointly on behalf of multiple NGOs, so you might consider working in coalitions as well and with partners as well to be more efficient! As an example, the 2024 State Periodic Review of Mozambique included a previous consultation between the State and NGOs, and a shadow report was submitted by a coalition of defenders.

Here are some key tips when writing the shadow report:

• Be clear, concise, and objective;
• Support your claims with properly cited sources, do not rely exclusively on press sources;
• Write your submission in one of the official languages of the African Union, i.e. English, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili or Spanish;
• Include SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, reliable and time-bound) recommendations addressed to the State; for example, in the case of Brenda from Uganda, this could be: By next year, repeal the reservations made on the Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol on safe abortion to provide a favourable environment for access to effective contraception and abortion care; or Within the next six months, issue an invitation for a country visit of the Special Rapporteur on Women’s Rights. The recommendation can also encourage your State to ratify a specific convention, relevant for the African context, such as the Kampala Convention.
• Write specific questions that should be asked by the Commissioners to the government; e.g. in Brenda’s case: What concrete steps does the government plan to take to address the challenges faced by women human rights defenders and ensure their effective protection by a specific legal framework ?
• Submit your shadow report at least 30 days prior to the review of your State.

In writing your report, you should use the Guidelines on Shadow Reporting of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, developed by the African Commission itself. A template can be found here. ISHR also developed a dedicated publication on the State Reporting Review Process.

Finally, you should note that the Maputo Protocol (women’s rights), and the Kampala Convention (migrants’ rights) have their specific guidelines on reporting. There are also specific reporting guidelines for particular provisions of the African Charter, for example the State Reporting Guidelines and Principles on Articles 21 and 24 of the African Charter relating to Extractive Industries, Human Rights, and the Environment.

Defender Story

Niger - Commissioners committed to ensure an enabling space for CSOs

Niger is one of the few States in Africa to fulfil its reporting obligations to the African Commission on time. After its previous review in 2017, the government submitted its 15th Periodic Report covering the period 2017-2019. The report presents the progress made by the country regarding the state of human rights, such as the ratification of international treaties and protocols. Ahead of the review, ISHR along with the_ Collectif des organisations de défense des droits de l’Homme et de la démocratie_ (Collective of human rights and democracy defense organisations, CODDHD) submitted a shadow report on the situation of human rights defenders in the country. During the dialogue with States, it was interesting to notice that numerous references to the report were made and several questions specifically regarding the work of human rights defenders were asked, directly influenced by the report: How are awareness-raising campaigns on the death penalty organised and which NGOs are involved in those campaigns? What kind of training workshops are provided to civil society by the State, and how can they be financed? This shows the importance of asking clear and specific questions and making recommendations for the Commissioners to use.

• ACHPR68: Periodic review of the Republic of Niger (ISHR, 2021)
• Situations of human rights defenders in Niger (In French, ISHR and CODDH, 2021)

See the next section on how you can engage with the African Commission’s Communications procedure.