Digital rights featured prominently at the 68th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), held virtually from 14 April to 4 May 2021. The session also provided a platform to take stock of the general state of the human rights situation on the continent. Together with other civil society and human rights institutions, members of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (AfDec) Coalition demonstrated the gravity of online rights violations on the continent in the reports presented during the human rights situation sessions.

In an increasingly digitised world our personal data is collected and used by different public and private sector parties to enhance customer experiences and service provision. However there are piling concerns over the manner in which law enforcement and state security agencies collect and manipulate some of the data in the name of tackling crime.

Read more about the calls for more accountable use of personal data by state security and law enforcement agencies here: 

African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (AfDec) Coalition commissioned 19 articles by African researchers, academics, journalists, and human and digital rights activists on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on digital rights in Africa as part of the Securing human rights online in Africa through a strong and active ‘African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms’ network initiative. The initiative aims to promotes human rights standards and principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation on the continent, guided by the 13 principles established in the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms. Read more here