AFIC’s experience is that regional and international human rights and accountability mechanisms play an important complementary role to national frameworks. The formulation of recommendations, resolutions or other decisions by mechanisms as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, African Peer Review Mechanisms, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Human Rights Council depend on the quality of information and engagements such bodies receive from civil society organisations.
However, many CSOs are unaware of the existence of and how these mechanisms work. Further, these mechanisms often lack the necessary information to engage state parties on critical issues as the right to information and freedom of expression. On the other hand, even when these bodies make recommendations and resolutions and recommendations, quite often implementation is poor due to lack of awareness and monitoring by civil society organisations.
AFIC long term vision is to advance ATI agenda in Africa through regional and international partnerships. This will be achieved in training AFIC members and partners on continental mechanisms; promoting adoption and usage of ATI standards and guidelines and open contracting in Africa; advocating for implementation of recommendations by treaty bodies at continental/regional level through various invited spaces at regional, continental and global level, for the recognition of ATI in AU-EU partnership, for ACHPR continental study on impunity against FoE/RTI practitioners and; conducting ATI campaigns for regional ATI frameworks.