HUMAN RIGHTS & GENDER EQUALITY

IPACC was founded on the principle that indigenous peoples in Africa experience human rights violations, exclusion from decision-making and the political economy and in most cases there is systematic legal and social discrimination. In the most serious cases, such as in the Great Lakes region, there have been repeated cycles of genocidal violence targeted at indigenous peoples.

IPACC mission is to help member organisations study and understand human rights, human rights treaties, special procedures and to engage with their communities, national governments, regional bodies and the United Nations to protect and promote fundamental human rights and gender equality.

IPACC’s current project priorities include working with the Programme d’Intégration et du Développement Pygmées (PIDP) in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to document human rights violations and submit these to the UN Human Rights Council. The aim is to create bench-marks and monitoring of fluctuations in human rights violations to assist with finding solutions and to provide an early warning mechanism for the prevention of genocide. IPACC in cooperation with the Swiss Documentation Centre for Indigenous Peoples (DOCIP) and HURIDOCS have provided online human rights data training for indigenous peoples from Rwanda, Burundi and DRC.

PIDP and IPACC are now working with the Maison de l’Enfant et la Femme Pygmée, OrigiNation and WWF Central African Republic to provide training for indigenous Baaka people in human rights norms and standards.

IPACC assists members around Africa to provide human rights reports to the Universal Periodic Review mechanism at the UN Human Rights Council and to communicate with key UN Special Rapporteurs on rights violations and risks.

DOCIP supports IPACC’s francophone members to provide an in-depth training internship for African indigenous peoples on human rights documentation, running local organisations, fund-raising and engaging in the UN human rights mechanisms and platforms.

IPACC has observer status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and members participate in ACHPR meetings and processes. IPACC also engages in the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) where important norms and standards are researched and promoted to ensure the implementation of indigenous peoples’ rights across the globe.

IPACC has a regional coordinator on gender equality who engages with the UN Council on the Status of Women (CSW). IPACC supports the mainstreaming of gender equality in all of its programme and project work. Part of this commitment is to have competent and visible women’s leadership within IPACC.