Assahafa.com
The headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of the African Network of National Preventive Mechanisms in Rabat was officially inaugurated on Thursday, in the presence of Steering Committee members representing Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Cape Verde, Madagascar, Mauritania, and Mozambique.
The opening of the Secretariat’s offices, hosted by the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), marks an important step in strengthening African cooperation in the prevention of torture.
The President of the CNDH, Amina Bouayach, stated that national preventive mechanisms and national human rights institutions in Africa recognize the paramount importance of establishing the Secretariat’s headquarters in the Kingdom.
The goal is to make this network, which brings together all national preventive mechanisms established in 16 African countries, a truly African platform- both for knowledge sharing and for action- reflecting an African vision for the prevention of torture and the promotion of human rights, she told the press.
This inauguration coincides with the 23rd anniversary of the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture, a commemoration that gives the event a universal significance, the CNDH President noted.
It also illustrates the commitment of African countries, and more broadly of Global South nations, which are actively working to implement human rights norms and principles, Bouayach emphasized.
The creation of the African Network of National Preventive Mechanisms was announced in June 2023, following the adoption of the Marrakech Declaration. The establishment of its Permanent Secretariat headquarters in the Kingdom aligns with efforts to support joint African initiatives aimed at strengthening torture prevention and promoting cooperation and knowledge exchange among the continent’s national mechanisms.
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