In this week's post, Amit, Anusreeta and Prerna explore how the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is strengthening environmental rights through an emerging ecological justice framework. The trio argues that the Commission's environmental jurisprudence, particularly the landmark SERAC decision, moves beyond a purely human-centred approach by recognising the close relationship between environmental protection, human rights and sustainable development, while highlighting the urgent need for stronger implementation across Africa.

In this week’s post, Bhavya Johari discusses the legal and institutional implications of the 2026 Banjul Joint Declaration on Sudan, arguing that its proposal for an African-led accountability mechanism operating in “complementarity” with the International Criminal Court (ICC) is based on a misunderstanding of the Rome Statute’s complementarity regime. The post situates the Declaration within two significant developments: the ICC's landmark conviction and sentencing of Ali Kushayb in the Sudan situation, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Court’s Security Council referral mechanism, and the growing political backlash against the ICC reflected in the Alliance of Sahel States' planned withdrawal from the Rome Statute.

Unconstitutional changes of government constitute a grave danger to the stability and consolidation of democracy in Africa. The recent wave of coups d’état in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger – coming at a time of unprecedented poverty and threats of famine initially caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and now aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine – is likely to provoke more political instability.

In the run-up to the World Congress, ALM and the IACL-AIDC blog present a new series as a foretaste of the brilliant thinking that will be in evidence at the Congress. We will feature some of our wonderful plenary speakers as well as members of the Programme Commission and some members of the Executive Committee of the IACL who have constructed the programme. Our theme for the conference is ‘Constitutional Transformations’.

The African Commission and African Court have made important contributions towards furthering rights protected by the African Charter. However, without sufficient compliance mechanisms, what is the significance of rich jurisprudence beyond academic interest? There is a serious culture of non-compliance and non-enforcement, which undermines the legitimacy and credibility of the Commission and Court’s judgments and orders.