ICNL is committed to supporting continental and international human rights mechanisms that build progressive norms and foster meaningful oversight and implementation of state obligations. ICNL helps civil society organizations exchange information and opinions with international experts and influential policymakers at the regional and global levels. Our activities include developing research tools and background materials, supporting the work of special mechanisms of the United Nations and African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and convening high-level meetings.
Enhancing International Norms
Highlights
Guidelines on Association & Assembly Rights in Africa
The guidelines of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights provides practical advice on protecting the rights of association and assembly. The guidelines are in the form of a regional legal instrument based on international law and best practices.
Digital Space & Civic Freedoms in Africa
In February 2019, ICNL organized a consultation in Nairobi, Kenya, that brought together African civil society organizations and the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. The discussion focused on ways in which those freedoms are affected online and contributed to the special rapporteur’s report on the issue to the UN Human Rights Council.
The Financial Action Task Force
ICNL works with civil society organizations throughout Africa to address the impact on civic space of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws. We build knowledge and share expertise, so that local CSOs can engage effectively with the Financial Action Task Force and its regional mechanisms. We convene trainings and provide information about the cooperation between the task force and states to counter money laundering, violent extremism, and terrorist financing, as well as the challenges that their approaches pose for civil society.