Africa Working Group
The Africa Working Group counts members from 12 countries. It was created in 2016 during GAAMAC’s second Global Meeting and is GAAMAC’s oldest Regional Working Group.
The Africa Working Group translates GAAMAC’s vision into regional, culturally-relevant support to national atrocity prevention mechanisms and policies in Africa. It fosters regional emulation through awareness-raising activities and trainings and the sharing of expertise and good practices between governments, national institutions and CSOs.
The Africa Working Group holds regular virtual meetings to exchange atrocity prevention updates from members’ respective states. In addition, the group’s Focal Persons, representing the five geographic regions of the African continent, convene regional strategy meetings to exchange on good practices.
2022 highlights
The Africa Working Group led a wide array of events to raise awareness of and support of atrocity prevention. Its 2021 Training toolkit was instrumental to several of these events. Activities were held for the first time in 3 countries.
- On 10-11 March 2022, the Chair of the Africa Working Group, Justice Jamila Mohammed, participated to the Great Lakes Regional Conference on Addressing Hate Speech and Preventing Incitement to Violence. The Conference was organized by the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.
- On 31 May, ahead of the Kenyan presidential elections, a training on atrocity prevention and early warning mechanisms was held in Nairobi. 23 government and civil society workers, all with a mandate on the electoral management, took part. Electoral periods can increase the risk of atrocities commission and Kenya has, in the past, experienced pre- and post-electoral violence. The Training Toolkit on mass atrocity prevention, developed in 2021, served as a base for the training.
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- On 7-8 June, the African Coordination of Human Rights for the Armed Forces (CADHA) led a training in Côte d’Ivoire. 17 people from CADHA’s pool of trainers (from civil society, police forces and the military) were familiarized with the 2021 Training Toolkit. The goal was to give participants tools to conduct their own trainings based on the Toolkit in the future, or incorporate the Toolkit in their standard trainings.
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- On 12-14 July, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre and the National Peace Council of Ghana trained 27 government and civil society agents in Ghana. The training strengthened effective understanding of the concepts, processes and tools of atrocity prevention, and shared the lessons learned for the promotion of national mechanisms in Ghana. It was the first time the Africa Working Group led activities in Ghana.
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- On 5 and 8 December, the African Coordination of Human Rights (CADHA) held a series of awareness-raising events in Côte d’Ivoire: a session before the National Assembly and meetings with civil servants of various ministries. GAAMAC was showcased as an example of good practice in engaging and supporting national efforts of atrocity prevention.
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- On 5-6 and 8-9 December, Blessed Aid and La Coalition des Volontaires pour la Paix et le Développement organized two workshops on anti-hate speech in the province of North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In total, 50 civil society activists were trained. As a result of these trainings, five groups, made up of seven community leaders each, will be formed to fight hate speech in the Masisi territory and in the city of Goma.
- On 5-6 and 8-9 December, Blessed Aid and La Coalition des Volontaires pour la Paix et le Développement organized two workshops on anti-hate speech in the province of North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In total, 50 civil society activists were trained. As a result of these trainings, five groups, made up of seven community leaders each, will be formed to fight hate speech in the Masisi territory and in the city of Goma.
In total, 211 people participated to the Africa Working Group’s activities.
30% women / 70% men
53% CSO / 47% States
2021 highlights
- A two-day workshop was organized in Yamoussoukro by The African Coordination of Human Rights for the Armed Forces (CADHA) with the support of the Raphael Lemkin Center for Africa (CERLA) and the support of GAAMAC in March 2021 where 60 officers of the armed forces of Ivory Coast have been sensitized to the prevention of mass atrocities.
- A second workshop took place in Yamoussoukro in June 2021 and sensitized 20 newly elected Members of Parliament and Senators on best practices for the establishment and management of national mechanisms for genocide and mass atrocities prevention. The workshop was led by members of the armed forces, civil society, and international experts such as a member of the Kenya National Committee on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity (KNC). During the training, the KNC has shared its draft bill on the prevention of genocide as a good example of how to strengthen the national capacity to prevent atrocities.
- A Training Toolkit on Establishing and Managing National Mechanisms for Mass Atrocity Prevention was published in November 2021. It fleshes out, step by step, a learning plan for actors who wish to create or consolidate domestic national prevention mechanisms.
- As part of GAAMAC’s informal alliance with UNESCO, AWG members served as members of the UN/UNESCO Advisory Group on genocide education in Africa to conduct a peer review of the first draft of the teachers’ guide on genocide education in Africa.
Members of the Africa Working Group
Regional
- Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU)
- West Africa Responsibility to Protect Coalition (WAC-R2P)
- West African Transitional Justice Centre
Benin
- Benin Human Rights Commission
Burundi
- Conflict Alert and Prevention Centre
Central African Republic
- National Committee for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and Other Criminal Atrocities
Côte d’Ivoire
- Coordination Africaine des Droits de l’Homme (CADHA)
- Raphael Lemkin Center for Africa (CERLA)
- Conseil National des droits de l’Homme (CNDH)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Blessed Aid
- Coalition des Volontaires pour la Paix et le Développement
- Association pour le Développement des Initiatives paysannes (ASSODIP)
- Association contre le mal et pour l’encadrement de la jeunesse (ACMEJ)
- Environmental Frontline (EnvirFront)
- Groupe Martin Luther King
Ghana
- Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC)
Kenya
- National Committee on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and All Forms of Discrimination (KNC)
- Rights for Peace
Libya
- Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace (LWPP)
Rwanda
- Youth Clubs for Peace
Tanzania
- National Committee on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes and all Forms of Discrimination*
- Inter-Religious Council for Peace
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation
Uganda
- Justice Access Point
- Platform for Social Justice
- National Committee on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide and Mass Atrocities
Zambia
- The Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD)
- Victim Support Unit (VSU)
*Member of GAAMAC’s Steering Group
The Africa Working Group also includes members who serve in their individual capacity:
- Rita Izsak-Ndiaye, OSCE Personal Representative on Children and Security (Senegal)
- Andie Lambe, Independent Consultant on Human Rights (Uganda)
- Lambert Oparah, Chairman Trauma Awareness Resilience Initiatives (Nigeria)
- Ashad Sentongo, Director of Africa Programs, Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (Uganda)
- Sambwa Simbyakula-Chilembo, Principal Counsel, International Law and Agreements Department, Ministry of Justice (Zambia)
Browse the whole GAAMAC community
Join GAAMAC!
Any state, non-government organization and academic institution involved in atrocity prevention is eligible to become a partner.
Governance
The group is led by a Chair and Vice-Chair who are advised by an honorary Patron.
Justice Jamila Mohammed
Chair
Bakari Sidiki Diaby
Vice-Chair
Minister Liberata Mulamula
Patron
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