• • Assist the African Commission in its work Present activity reports every 2 years Recommendations from Session 2: • • • NHRIs should monitor implementation and follow up on decisions of the African Commission NHRIs without affiliate status should apply for the same NHRIs should submit alternative report during the State reporting procedure Session 3: Complementarity in the Promotion Mandate of the ACHPR: A Focus on the Implementation of Resolution 275 This session delved where Resolution 275 of the African Commission on Protection against Violence and other Human Rights Violations against Persons on the basis of their real or imputed Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity - ACHPR/Res.275(LV) of 2014 has been invoked and to assess the challenges that persons forming part of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression minorities (SOGIE) persons face during the Covid 19 pandemic. This Resolution was adopted after intense advocacy by CSOs across Africa. Resolution 275 is imperative as it clarifies the position of the African Commission on SOGIE issues by clearly providing that States have to protect persons forming part of sexual minorities from violence by enacting laws and by ensuring that human rights defenders working on these issues operate in a safe environment. While many have labelled this Resolution as contentious, there is nothing contentious per se because its crux is on ending violence against persons forming part of sexual minorities and violence cannot be justifiable under any circumstances. After the adoption of Resolution 275 in 2014, NANHRI saw there was a gap since many NHRIs did not understand the challenges of SOGIE persons. From the year 2016 to earlier this year, NANHRI has been working with 5 NHRIs (Kenya, SA, Malawi, Uganda and Ghana) to capacitate the NHRIs to institutionalise SOGIE in their mandate and to extend the protection of SOGIE in their States. Some of the NHRIs had not actually interacted with the subject or have linkages with CSOs in the topic. They started interacting, having press releases and undertaking research on SOGIE matters, as well as integrating SOGIE matters in other cross-cutting areas of human rights. Based on the successes, they were able to extend the project to 5 more countries such as Liberia, Nigeria, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo. This session also elaborated on the different instances when Resolution 275 have been used by the African continent, specially by the African Commission. Some of them are: • • • • General comment number 2 under article 14 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa Resolution 376 of the African Commission on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Africa adopted in 2017 General Comment number 4 of the African Commission on the Right to Redress for Victims of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Punishment or Treatment Concluding observations, guidelines and principles of the African Commission Recommendations from Session 3: 10