The Rules of Procedure of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights establish the process by which states account for their human rights record — and the ways in which civil society organisations can meaningfully engage with it. This timeline walks you through that process step by step, so your organisation knows when to act, what to submit, and how to make your voice count.
The state prepares its report
Every country that has signed and ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights must report to the African Commission on what it is doing to uphold human rights. Reports must follow the Commission’s official guidelines and describe both progress made and challenges faced.
Tip for CSOs: Try to find out early whether your state is preparing a report — the earlier you know, the more time you have to organise. You can reach out to your country’s National Human Rights Institution, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or the Ministry of Justice, as these are typically the bodies involved in the drafting process. Building a relationship with them can also open doors for your input to be heard before the report is even submitted.
180 days before the session — the Commission sends a notification
The Commission contacts the country at least six months ahead of the session where the report will be examined, asking it to confirm it will submit a report.
120 days before — the state submits its report
The state sends its report to the Commission at least four months before the session. Once received, the Commission publishes it on its website — this is when you can read what the state is saying about itself.
Stay informed: Monitor the Commission’s website for newly published state reports. You can also follow the ACSE state reporting page, which tracks upcoming reviews and can help you stay up to date.
Once you have access to the state report, that’s your opportunity to start working on your shadow report.
What is a shadow report? A shadow report, or alternative report, is an independent document that responds to or challenges what the state has reported. It gives the Commission a fuller picture of the actual human rights situation on the ground. Your submission should follow the Commission’s shadow report guidelines (English version – French version) and engage directly with the state’s report. It is your opportunity to present an independent account of the situation and to include facts and data that your government has not reported.
Tip for CSOs: Before starting to draft your report, read the Guidelines on Shadow Reports of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This document sets out the criteria and standards you need to follow when drafting your report.
Watch the Commission’s website and the ACSE page from this point
30 days before — your window to submit a shadow report
This is your key deadline. Civil society organisations, national human rights institutions, and other interested parties can submit their own contributions — including shadow reports — at least 30 days before the session.
Tip for CSOs: Submit your report to the Commission’s Secretariat at au-banjul@africanunion.org. You should also share it with the country rapporteur — check the list of commissioners and their country responsibilities — and with any other relevant special mechanism.
Key deadline for civil society
The session — the Commission reviews the report
The state must send a delegation to the session. Commissioners will ask questions based on the state’s report and any information submitted by civil society. If the state doesn’t show up, the review is postponed once — if it fails again, the Commission can review without them.
Tip for CSOs: The session offers a key opportunity for your advocacy. If you have the resources, try to attend the session, engaging with other civil society organisations and the Commission.
At the following session — concluding observations are adopted
The Commission does not adopt its concluding observations immediately. They are typically prepared and adopted at the session following the review — and must be adopted no later than two sessions after it. This means there can be a gap of several months between the review and the finalisation of the observations.
What are concluding observations? They are the Commission’s formal assessment of the state’s human rights record, based on everything it has heard and read. They highlight what the state is doing well, identify gaps or violations, and set out concrete recommendations the state is expected to act on. They also indicate when the state’s next periodic report is due. For CSOs, concluding observations are a key advocacy tool — they carry the Commission’s authority and can be used to pressure governments to act.
Within 30 days of adoption — observations are sent and published
Once the concluding observations are adopted, the Commission has 30 days to transmit them to the state. They are published on the Commission’s website at the same moment they are sent — so transmission and publication happen simultaneously. If your country’s national human rights institution has affiliate status with the Commission, it also receives a copy directly.
Where to find them: Concluding observations are published on the Commission’s state reporting page under your country’s record. You can also follow the ACSE state reporting page, which tracks when new concluding observations become available.
Read and use these as an advocacy tool.
Follow-up — holding states accountable
The process doesn’t end there. Commissioners are responsible for following up on whether the state is actually implementing the recommendations. Civil society can contribute information on this too. The status of implementation is reported publicly at each session and included in the Commission’s reports to the African Union.
Ongoing engagement opportunity