Dr Mary Maboreke
Executive secretary, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
31 Bijilo Annex Layout, Kombo North District
Western Region P.O. Box 673
Banjul, The Gambia

3 November 2010

Dear Dr Maboreke,

We are writing to you today as AWID (Association for Women’s Rights in Development), an international women’s rights membership organisation with individual and institutional members in 140 countries around the world. We are contacting you regarding the denial of the application from the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) for observer status at the ACHPR (African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights), news we received with great disappointment.

CAL is a network of organisations committed to the equality and visibility of African lesbians. CAL works to transform Africa into a place where all lesbians enjoy the full range of human rights and where lesbians are recognised as full citizens. The application for observer status, submitted in May 2008, is an attempt to provide much-needed information about the treatment of lesbians to the ACHPR in order to enable the commission to exercise its protective mandate. CAL documents rights violations of a group whose vulnerability is enhanced because of the intersection between gender and sexual orientation.

CAL submitted all necessary information and documentation required to meet the ACHPR’s eligibility criteria in 2008. In October 2010, the ACHPR finally communicated that CAL’s application has been declined. The decision to decline CAL’s application was made at a private session of the commissioners, and the letter informing CAL of their decision provides no grounds or justification. The arbitrary nature of this decision runs contrary to all international legal and human rights standards, and there is no basis under the African Charter for it.

AWID calls upon the commission to reconsider CAL’s application for observer status as a sign of the commission's commitment to fully respect women's rights, and in light of international and regional agreements such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the ACHPR Protocol on the Rights of Women, which aims to combat all forms of discrimination against women through appropriate legislative, institutional and other measures. We request your timely response on this critical matter.

Yours respectfully,

Lydia Alpízar Durán
Executive director
Association for Women’s Rights in Development

Cc:
Mme Reine Alapini-Gansou
Chairperson, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Mr. Mumba Malila
Vice Chairperson, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Association for Women’s Rights in Development www.awid.org
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