The Prohibition of Torture and Ill-treatment in the African Human Rights System: A HANDBOOK FOR VICTIMS AND THEIR ADVOCATES Not all intervention attempts, however, have been met by a positive – or any – government response. In the case of Ken Saro-Wiwa, for example, the Nigerian Government did not only fail to respond, but also completely disregarded the SRP’s (and Commission’s) concerns. Additionally, in response to an appeal from 282 prisoners on hunger strike in Djibouti, Commissioner Dankwa wrote to the Government, but received no response. One of the objectives of the SRP’s mandate is the promotion of prisoners’ rights and instruments on the protection of prisoners in Africa. Specific aspects of this objective include the promotion of the Kampala Declaration,599 which sets forth African-generated standards for penal conditions and reform, as well as promotion of the existence and activities of the SRP. Success in this endeavour is certainly difficult to quantify, but the SRP’s activities have themselves promoted awareness of the SRP’s existence and mandate. However, although efforts have been made to disseminate SRP reports, the SRP still lacks significant visibility in Africa. This problem is related to the lack of visibility of the Commission as a whole, as well as the lack of funding available to the SRP’s Office to enable it to effectively fulfil its mandate.600 2. Other Special Rapporteurs The first special mechanism established under the African Charter was the Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions in Africa. Born from the atrocities in Rwanda during 1994, the current relevance of this mechanism is without question. The relationship to torture and other ill-treatment is evident in the Rapporteur’s mandate and in related jurisprudence of the Commission. Unfortunately, the position of this Special Rapporteur has been defunct since 2001, in large part due to the recalcitrance of States. Other related rapporteurships are the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa and the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in Africa. The Working Group on the Death Penalty and Extra-judicial, Summary and Arbitrary Killings in Africa is also relevant to the mandate of the SRP. The Working Group was originally established in 2005 during the Thirty-eighth Ordinary Session of the Commission, as the Working Group on the Death Penalty, mandated to: – – Elaborate further a Concept Paper on the Death Penalty in Africa; Develop a Strategic Plan(s), including a practical and legal framework on the abolition of the Death Penalty; 599 See Kampala Declaration, supra note XX. 600 See, for example, ACHPR, Inter-session Activity Report of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa, 40th Ordinary Session (15th – 29th November 2006). Available at: http://www.achpr.org/sessions/40th/intersession-activity-reports/mumba-malila/. 144