Africa. Human Rights Watch has called on the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) to place human rights and international humanitarian law at the core of their partnership, urging both organizations to intensify efforts to address atrocities linked to armed conflicts and to strengthen the institutions and standards that protect human rights.
Allan Ngari, HRW’s Africa advocacy director, stated that growing global polarization underscores the need for both the AU and EU to uphold their fundamental responsibilities.
Ahead of the seventh AU–EU summit, scheduled for 24–25 November in Luanda, Angola, Ngari urged both bodies to spare no effort in ensuring accountability for perpetrators of atrocities and to support strategies across both continents to tackle ongoing and emerging human rights challenges.
The organization emphasized that brutal armed conflicts have displaced millions of civilians, as warring parties carry out deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, leading to numerous deaths, injuries, and other grave violations.
HRW called on the AU and EU to act urgently to support strong civilian protection initiatives and to close the accountability gap in Sudan, accusing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied groups of extrajudicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances, sexual violence against women and girls, and blocking humanitarian aid.
In the Sahel region, the organization noted that Islamist armed groups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have targeted civilians, causing large-scale displacement, while government forces have committed serious abuses during counterinsurgency operations and suppressed political opposition, media, and peaceful protests.
HRW stressed that both the EU, which is reconsidering its strategy in the Sahel, and the AU, which has appointed a special envoy for the region, are in a strong position to denounce atrocity crimes, demand civilian protection, and press for investigations, accountability, and reparations.
Regarding the Democratic Republic of Congo, the organization reported that Congolese and Rwandan forces, along with the M23 rebel group backed by Rwanda, have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, including mass killings, sexual violence, forced recruitment, and forced labor.
