The Maat Foundation for Peace, Development, and Human Rights organized a discussion session titled "Transnational Organized Crime: A Human Rights Perspective," with the participation of a select group of African experts and legal experts. The session was held on the sidelines of the 83rd session of the NGO Forum, preceding the 83rd session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, held in the Gambian capital, Banjul.

The session was moderated by Professor Abdel Rahman Pasha, Executive Director of Maat Foundation, who raised key questions about the role of the African Commission in addressing the crisis of transnational organized crime, the impact of transnational organized crime on women, and its work within Sudan.

Dr. Faye Ogunade, representative of the Regional Observatory for Organized Crime, said that the African Commission is the most important organization in addressing transnational organized crime, and they are the ones who can organize visits to African countries to monitor their response to crises within them. The African Commission has recognized Niger as a major transit hub for human traffickers and smugglers, yet it has not taken the decision to push these countries to adhere to the African Charter on Combating this crime, due to the crises and challenges they face, such as the funding crisis, which hinders them from carrying out the necessary work within the continent.

Mr. Masoud Gebeyehu, Executive Director of the Federation of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations, emphasized the need to activate the mechanisms of the African Charter and transform them into national legislation, in addition to building the capacity of civil society to document these crimes and address them within an integrated, collective approach. This will enable us to document violations and crime hotspots in countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Sudan, where human trafficking and illegal immigration by smugglers are rampant.

While Ramatouli Jallow, Research and Advocacy Officer, Sahha Feminist Initiative, pointed to the gendered context adopted by the parties to the conflict in Sudan, and the practices of Al-Shabaab against women in Somalia, these actions constitute a systematic pattern that should be discussed as a central issue with utmost attention by the African Commission.

For his part, Naji Moulay Lahcen, head of the Independent Human Rights Network in North Africa, emphasized that crime is on the rise in the Sahel and North Africa. He called on governments to work together to issue draft resolutions to combat and control organized crime, whether thematic or national resolutions. He also called for intensified coordination between governments, civil society, and stakeholders to improve information exchange to combat this dangerous phenomenon.

The session concluded with a set of recommendations, most notably that governments assume their responsibilities in accordance with the African Charter, support civil society organizations in documenting cross-border violations, and integrate women's issues into the debate on organized crime.