Statement by Parfait Onanga-Anyanga

Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union and Head of UNOAU

on the occasion of Africa Human Rights Day 

21 October 2023

Today, I am pleased to commemorate Africa Human Rights Day, celebrated to mark the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights entry into force, the founding treaty of the African human and peoples’ rights system. 

This year’s celebration is special. It takes place against the backdrop of the 20th Anniversary of the Maputo Protocol and the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It thus provides an opportunity to showcase advancements the African Union and the United Nations have jointly made in the areas of human rights, peace and security. 

One of the essential themes of the 2017 AU-UN Joint Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security is preventing and mediating conflict and sustaining peace, with one of the focus areas being protecting human rights. This stems from the recognition that there can be no peace without development, no development without peace, and neither peace nor development without human rights, as eloquently stated by Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan. The AU and UN have thus worked at ensuring that the three pillars, the triple nexus – peace and security, human rights, and development – are strengthened.

Indeed, significant progress has been made towards finalizing the draft African Union-United Nations Joint Framework on Human Rights, with the AU-UN Working Group meeting in September 2023 to advance the work. Finalizing the proposed Joint Framework will not only complement the two earlier partnership frameworks on peace and security (2017) and development (2018), but it will also ensure that the triple nexus moves from rhetoric to action. 

Through a project based on a tripartite agreement between the African Union, the European Union, and the United Nations (AU-EU-UN), signed on 29 December 2021, the AU has continued to build on progress already made in its compliance and accountability frameworks for peace support operations (AUCF project). The project provides a platform for increased dialogue between the AU and the UN on concrete responses to issues and concerns related to human rights and, peace and security. It also presents the AU with an opportunity to assess its capacity to anchor human rights at the heart of its peace and security operations and contribute to strengthening accountability mechanisms within the AU peace support operations (PSOs) and the national judicial systems of Troop and Police Contributing Countries.
 
Both the Maputo Protocol and the 2004 Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) frameworks endorse the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000). As such, several initiatives have jointly been implemented by the AU and the UN to uphold women’s rights in Africa as part of the Joint AU-UN Framework for Peace and Security. The joint initiatives have championed the development of effective strategies for gender mainstreaming into peace and security and considering men’s and women’s experiences and potentialities in building secure and stable societies. 

We welcome and recognize the contributions of the African Union in advancing the UNSCR 1325 WPS agenda. My Office works closely with AUC PAPS as well as the AU Special Envoy for WPS and stands ready to continue collaboration with the African Union in the protection of women’s rights, especially in conflict situations, in accordance with UNSCR 1325 and relevant decisions on the African Union Peace and Security Council.

Recognizing the gains since the adoption of the different instruments, the AU and UN should similarly strengthen their partnership by propelling the human rights pillar to its rightful place of prominence through finalizing the draft African Union–United Nations Joint Framework on Human Rights and concretizing the human rights work that is already jointly taking place. 

May this day be an additional building block of our fruitful collaboration and the effective strengthening of the protection of human rights in Africa.  

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Also read AUC PAPS Commissioner Bankole's statement here.