I. INTRODUCTION 1. Article 30 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) establishes the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) as an African intergovernmental human rights mechanism entrusted with the mandate to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights in Africa. Article 45 (1) of the African Charter, and point 30 of the Mauritius Plan of Action mandates the African Commission to formulate and lay down principles and rules aimed at solving legal problems relating to human and peoples’ rights and fundamental freedoms upon which African Governments may base their legislation. 2. Though absolutely prohibited under Article 5 of the Charter, torture and other forms of ill treatment have been some of the most prevalent human rights violations in most parts of the Continent. In recognition of this reality, the African Commission, in collaboration with the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), drafted and adopted, in October 2002, the Robben Island Guidelines for the Prohibition and Prevention of Torture in Africa. The Robben Island Guidelines are a set of concrete measures aimed at helping States Parties to the African Charter to effectively implement the provisions of Article 5 of the African Charter on the prohibition and prevention of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. 3. For greater effectiveness of these Guidelines, the African Commission also set up a monitoring committee - the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa (CPTA), as its special mechanism responsible for promoting and facilitating the effective implementation of the Robben Island Guidelines and other instruments on the prohibition and prevention of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. 4. The CPTA is composed of Members of the African Commission and independent experts and has as mandate: - To organise, with the support of interested partners, seminars to disseminate the Robben Island Guidelines to national and regional stakeholders; To develop and propose to the African Commission strategies to promote and implement the RIG within Member States; To promote and facilitate the implementation of the RIG within Member States; To make a progress report to the African Commission at each of its Ordinary Session. 5|Page