Human rights, Africa

We cooperate internationally with state actors and non-state actors in East and West Africa that play a role in the protection and promotion of human rights in their respective countries.

With a focus on enhancing the capacity of key human rights actors mandated to protect and promote human rights, our international projects and activities take as their departure point the universal standards on human rights, equality, and non-discrimination.

Our experts work closely with national partner institutions and organisations, to support their own efforts to further the realisation of these international standards, in national systems, structures, laws and practices. In Africa, our partners include national human rights institutions, governmental human rights focal points, other state actors such as national security actors and non-governmental organisations.

In our countries of engagement, we aim at creating human rights systems, where key actors within the country work together to protect the population. Our starting point is always the context and the partners' need and wishes for cooperation.

Examples of our engagements in East and West Africa include enhancing the capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to fulfil its mandate, improving access to justice in Zambia and supporting the security forces in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in the fight against impunity and strengthening their links with the population.

Read more about our country-specific work in Africa