ACHPR, Sweden and Germany Convene at the RFLD Dakar Office on the Protection of Women Human Rights Defenders in West Africa Three of the institutional voices that accompany the engagement of West African States in the protection of Women Human Rights Defenders convened on Tuesday, 16 June 2026, at the Dakar Office of the Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD), for a high-level institutional Afrofeminist concertation: the Honourable Professor Remy Ngoy Lumbu, Special Rapporteur of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa, and former Chairperson of the ACHPR; Her Excellency Catharina Cappelin, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Senegal; and the Federal Republic of Germany, represented at two complementary levels — diplomatically by Mrs Henriette Wolf, First Secretary (Political) at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Dakar; and through bilateral cooperation by Mrs Katja Roeckel, Country Director of GIZ Senegal. Read more: rflgd.org/2026/06/16/achpr-s…

From 24 to 26 November, RFLD holds an advocacy seminar in Conakry on indigenous women's land rights and feminist leadership, grounded in UNDRIP and the Maputo Protocol. SEA-T project, with the support of German Cooperation. #Guinea #LandRights

Du 24 au 26 novembre, le RFLD tient à Conakry un séminaire de plaidoyer sur les droits fonciers des femmes autochtones et le leadership féministe, fondé sur l'UNDRIP et le Protocole de Maputo. Projet SEA-T, avec la Coopération allemande. #Guinée #DroitsFonciers

A private toolkit for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence and trafficking, and for everyone who supports them. Plan your safety, keep a record, understand the law in your country and find help through RFLD’s network Explore: rflgd.org/survivor-support-t…

On 15 October 2026, on the sidelines of the 89th Session of the African Commission in Dakar, RFLD and the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice held a side event on a regional framework to protect women from technology-facilitated violence. Explore: rflgd.org/african-regional-f…

ما القوانين التي تحمي النساء في بلدك؟ يضم مركز البيانات DƆNÙESÈ لشبكة RFLD ملفًا قانونيًا لكل دولة من الدول الـ 55 الأعضاء في الاتحاد الأفريقي، جرى التحقق منه في أكتوبر 2026. #حقوق_المرأة #بروتوكول_مابوتو

Que leis protegem as mulheres no seu país? O Centro de Dados DƆNÙESÈ da RFLD tem um perfil jurídico para cada um dos 55 Estados da União Africana, verificado em outubro de 2026. Veja em #DireitosDasMulheres #ProtocoloDeMaputo

Which laws protect women in your country? RFLD's DƆNÙESÈ Data Center has a legal profile for each of the 55 African Union member states, verified in October 2026. Find yours on #WomensRights #MaputoProtocol

Quelles lois protègent les femmes dans votre pays ? Le Centre de données DƆNÙESÈ du RFLD publie un profil juridique pour chacun des 55 États de l'Union africaine, vérifié en octobre 2026. À consulter sur #DroitsDesFemmes #ProtocoleDeMaputo

📷 Our October newsletter is out: Our delegation of 42 women human rights defenders from 15 African countries took part in the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. "A treaty that is ratified and unfunded produces no change in the life of a single woman." 📷 Read the newsletter: rflgd.org/newsletter-october… 📷 Download the English PDF: rflgd.org/wp-content/uploads… 📷Download the French PDF: rflgd.org/wp-content/uploads… 📷 Subscribe: rflgd.org/subscribe/ Thank you to our partners and to every defender who travelled to Dakar. #RFLD #ACHPR89 #MaputoProtocol #WomensRights #Africa #Dakar rflgd.org/newsletter-october…

40 years of the African Charter: only 3 of 49 countries are green on all three women's rights indicators of our Maputo Barometer 2026. We call on States to ratify, lift reservations and fund the laws. #AfricanCharter40 #ACHPR89

40 ans de la Charte africaine : seuls 3 pays sur 49 sont au vert sur nos trois indicateurs des droits des femmes (Baromètre de Maputo 2026). Nous appelons les États à ratifier, lever les réserves et financer les lois. #Charte40 #CADHP89

RFLD and Benin's INF met Dr Rokhaya Diakhaté, Director of the Family at Senegal's Ministry of Family, Social Action and Solidarity, to share the INF experience on protecting women. She moderated our side event on 13 October. #ACHPR89 #EndGBV

RFLD and Benin's INF visited the Association des Juristes Sénégalaises in Dakar to learn from its law shops and share the Benin experience on access to justice. Congratulations to the AJS on its new ACHPR observer status. #ACHPR89 #AccessToJustice

Konstanze Ricken, Programme Director of SEA-T (Society Equality Africa Transformation) at GIZ, visited RFLD's Dakar office on 14 October to see the impact of SEA-T support for women defenders in francophone West Africa. Thank you to GIZ and BMZ. #SEAT #ACHPR89

Le 13 octobre 2026 à Dakar, le RFLD et l'Institut National de la Femme du Bénin (INF) ont organisé un événement parallèle conjoint en marge de la 89e Session ordinaire de la Commission africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples. Le panel a eu comme thème focus « L'Institut National de la Femme, une sentinelle au service de la protection et de la promotion des droits des femmes et des filles au Bénin ». Il était modéré par Dr Rokhaya Diakhaté, Directrice de la Famille au Sénégal. Sur le podium : 🔹 Flore DJINOU, Secrétaire Exécutive de l'INF 🔹 Hon. Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, ancien Président de la CADHP et Rapporteur spécial sur les défenseurs des droits de l'homme 🔹 Pr Abdou-Bakari Imorou, Président de la Commission Béninoise des Droits de l'Homme (CBDH) 🔹 Bathor SECK, Directrice Pays du RFLD au Sénégal 🔹 John GBENAGNON, Directeur de la Stratégie et du Développement du RFLD En cinq ans, l'INF a changé la vie de plus de 118 000 femmes et filles. Sa mission repose sur deux axes : promouvoir le leadership féminin, et lutter contre les discriminations et les violences faites aux femmes et aux filles. Il est aussi la seule institution béninoise spécialisée dans la lutte contre les violences basées sur le genre qui peut se constituer partie civile aux côtés des victimes et des survivantes. Merci à toutes les intervenantes, à tous les intervenants et aux participant·es. 📞 Au Bénin, les femmes et les filles victimes de violences peuvent joindre l'INF au numéro vert 114 ou sur WhatsApp au +229 01 51 07 88 88. 👉 Lire l'article complet : rflgd.org/inf-rfld-side-even… #CADHP89 #ACHPR89 #DroitsDesFemmes #ProtocoleDeMaputo #Bénin #Sénégal #RFLD

On 13 October 2026, on the sidelines of the 89th Session of the African Commission, Expertise France convened a dialogue on technology-facilitated gender-based violence under the Team Europe WLICT initiative. RFLD moderated the panel. Six speakers shared the floor, each bringing a different vantage point on the same problem: 1. Astou Diouf, ARTICLE 19, on freedom of expression and women’s participation in public life; 2. Moussa Waly Sène, Paradigm Initiative, on digital rights and access to remedies; 3. Hannah Van Der Berghe, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), on the continuum between online and offline violence and the needs of survivors; 4. Odile Barry, Association des Femmes Sénégalaises dans les TIC (FESTIC), on women’s leadership in the digital sector and their safety online; 5. Aymar Prigent, French Representation in Senegal, on advocacy priorities and the role of French cooperation; John Gbenagnon, RFLD Regional Development & Strategy Director, as moderator. As moderator, RFLD’s role was to keep the exchange anchored in the experience of survivors and to steer each speaker towards proposals that can be acted on. The format left room for the audience, which included representatives of public institutions, women’s organisations and digital rights groups. The event took place within the Team Europe Initiative Women Leadership in the Public ICT Sector (WLICT), funded in particular by the European Union and the French Development Agency (AFD) and implemented by Expertise France. It was organised under the WLICT component on digital safety and the fight against technology-facilitated gender-based violence in Benin, Nigeria and Senegal. Its purpose was practical: to strengthen dialogue between public institutions and civil society on how to protect the rights of women and girls online, and to leave the room with commitments that can be followed up.

Today in Dakar, RFLD delivered its oral statement at the 89th Session of the #ACHPR (Observer Status N°553). Of 49 countries assessed by our Maputo Barometer, 3 score satisfactorily: Cabo Verde, Rwanda, Namibia. Full text on

Aujourd'hui à Dakar, le RFLD a lu sa déclaration orale devant la 89e Session de la #CADHP (statut d'observateur N°553). Sur 49 pays évalués par notre Baromètre de Maputo, 3 obtiennent un score satisfaisant : Cabo Verde, Rwanda, Namibie. Texte intégral sur

On 12 October 2026, Hon. Rémy Ngoy Lumbu chaired a panel on the main agenda of the 89th Session of the African Commission in Dakar on the protection of women human rights defenders, facilitated by RFLD with the support of SEA-T (Funded by BMZ with support from GIZ) The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights held a panel on the main agenda of its 89th Ordinary Session in Dakar under the title Defending without being exposed: how can women human rights defenders work in Africa without unnecessary risk? The panel was convened and chaired by Honourable Commissioner Rémy Ngoy Lumbu, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa. RFLD facilitated the session with the support of the SEA-T programme (Society. Equality. Africa), implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders was created in 2004 and extended to reprisals in 2014. Session after session, the Commission still receives reports of arbitrary arrests, judicial harassment, smear campaigns and physical attacks against those who document violations and support survivors. Defamation complaints cost the accuser little and can ruin a frontline organisation. Online gender-based violence, which the Commission recognised in Resolution 522 in 2022, has become a common tool of intimidation. The panel was built around four questions. When is a community worker or the head of a local association recognised as a defender, in law and in practice? Which forms of reprisal dominate, and how can taking part in a session of the Commission be kept from leading to reprisals at home? What share of funding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment reaches organisations led by African women, and can protection costs become an eligible budget line? And which guarantees should be written into the draft African instruments under preparation?

#Achpr89 #Dakar #Senegal L'Afrique était réprésentée au Jour 1 de la messe des droits de l'homme sur le Continent. Merci à tous les Défenseurs des Droits Humains.