AFRICAN UNION UNION AFRICAINE UNIÃO AFRICANA African Commission on Human & Peoples’ Rights Commission Africaine des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples 48, Kairaba Avenue, P. O. Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia Tel: (220)4 377721 Fax: (220)4 390 764 E-mail: achpr@achpr.org Web www.achpr.org Forty-Fifth Ordinary Session 13 - 27 May 2009, Banjul, The Gambia Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under the Terms of Article 62 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Concluding Observations and Recommendations on the Second Periodic Report of the Republic of Benin I - Introduction 1. The Republic of Benin (Benin) is a State Party to the African Charter on Human an Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter) having ratified same on 20 January 1986. 2. Benin submitted its Initial Periodic Report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Commission) in 1992 and the Report was considered in October 1994 at the 16th Ordinary Session of the African Commission. The First Periodic Report was submitted in May 2000 and was considered in October 2000 at the 28th Ordinary Session. 3. The present Report which covers the period from 2000 to 2008 is the State Party’s Second Periodic Report and was submitted to the Secretariat of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Secretariat) on 28 August 2008. It was examined by the African Commission during its 45th Ordinary Session held from 13 to 27 May 2009. 4. The Report was introduced to the African Commission by Mr. Hounyeaze Patrice, Head of the Delegation of Republic of Benin, and presented by Zinkpe Marie-Gisele, Director of Human Rights Services of the Ministry of Justice, Benin. The Report highlights the developments that have taken place

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