In this video interview published on November 18, 2020, Maleine Amadou Niang, Country Director of the International Budget Partnership (IBP) in Senegal, discusses the situation of people living with disabilities. He highlights the lack of reliable data, citing the 2013 ANSD census which recorded 5.9% of Senegal’s population as disabled. Niang emphasizes public policy shortcomings in inclusion, funding, and accessibility. He advocates for strengthening institutional capacities, improving national statistics, and ensuring effective inclusion of persons with disabilities in budgeting processes. He calls for transparent, participatory governance and notes that using this data will help guide national priorities. The talk underscores the importance of official recognition and a budgeting approach that is sensitive to gender and disability.

Governance, Human Rights, Disability, Inclusion

On March 7, 2025, Tunisia withdrew its declaration under Article 34(6) of the African Charter’s Protocol, removing direct access for citizens and NGOs to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), unless through the African Commission or another State party. This decision follows similar withdrawals by Rwanda (2016), Tanzania (2019), Benin and Côte d’Ivoire (2020), significantly weakening individual access mechanisms. Now, only seven African countries maintain this direct access. The authors highlight a trend of sovereignist backtracking, where states prioritize political control over continental justice, potentially to evade accountability. They warn this pattern undermines Africa’s human rights protection system and calls for a critical debate on balancing national sovereignty with supranational judicial oversight.

Sovereignty, Governance, Justice, Human Rights

Modou Ndiaye's article highlights statelessness in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, where over a million people are stateless and hundreds of thousands at risk. This issue stems from legal gaps, discriminatory nationality policies, border changes, lack of awareness about civil registration, and the absence of automatic nationality transmission. The consequences are severe: lack of access to education, healthcare, and formal employment. The author calls for legislative reforms, modernization of civil registration, awareness campaigns, and the establishment of procedures to determine stateless status, in line with international conventions ratified by Senegal.

Human Rights, Discrimination, Nationality, Statelessness

Since April 2023, the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has led to the mass displacement of civilians into eastern Chad. This report, published by SIPRI in partnership with BUCOFORE, is based on perception surveys, qualitative interviews, and focus group discussions held in four refugee camps. It explores the lived experiences of displaced Sudanese women and girls, who face significant barriers to accessing food, reproductive health services, water, sanitation, and safety. The report highlights the chronic underfunding of humanitarian responses and the lack of gender-sensitive aid, both of which heighten the risks of gender-based violence. It offers concrete recommendations to policymakers, humanitarian organizations, and donors to improve the protection and support provided to refugee women and girls.

Human Rights, Women, Violence, refugee, Déplacement forcé, Crise humanitaire

This report provides a critical assessment of the state of democracy, rule of law, human rights, and governance in West Africa. It highlights three interlinked crises: security, institutional, and health-related. Despite the presence of political pluralism, the region is witnessing growing authoritarianism, the persistence of third-term presidencies, and the erosion of institutions. Dysfunctional regulatory mechanisms are fueling political unrest, violations of fundamental rights, and contested elections. Based on country-level analyses, the report recommends strengthening the role of regional organizations, civil society, and African democratic norms. The aim is to alert decision-makers and social actors to the urgent need to rebuild a substantive and inclusive democracy in the face of current threats.

Governance, Democracy, Human Rights

The article by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, published on October 1, 2024, examines the southward advance of militant Islamist groups in Mali, intensifying threats around Bamako. Since the military coup in August 2020, security has deteriorated, with attacks within 150 km of the capital increasing from 3 in 2020 to a projected 34 in 2024. Deaths related to this violence in southern Mali are expected to double to 335 this year. Border areas with Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, and Mauritania are also under increased pressure. Simultaneously, human rights abuses attributed to Malian forces and Russian mercenaries have risen, with civilian deaths increasing from 84 in 2019 to a projected 1,044 in 2024. These violations undermine public trust and exacerbate community tensions. The article emphasizes the need for improved security sector governance and a transition to civilian rule to stabilize Mali and enhance regional cooperation.

Human Rights, Insécurité, Transition, Coopération régionale