• Article 28C(1)(i) of the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (the “Malabo Protocol”) recognises ED as a crime against humanity.272 The relevant provisions mirror the provisions in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. As at the time of writing, 15 countries have signed the Malabo Protocol, however no States have ratified it.273 The Malabo Protocol will be legally binding once ratified. adhere to safeguards in the context of detention and arrest.278 These include the right to habeas corpus, to inform the families of the arrest of a person, and refer to the need for States to adopt laws that would hold officials accountable if they refuse to provide information about the individual’s whereabouts. However, the principles and guidelines listed in the four previous paragraphs are non-binding on individual States and do not offer victims a direct route to redress in the event of ED. Despite references to ED in the instruments listed above, the ACHPR should adopt a specific instrument in respect of ED to provide guidelines to African States in order to eradicate ED. • The Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children of the International Conference of the Great Lakes (the “SV Protocol”) specifically prohibits ED of women and children as a crime against humanity.274 The SV Protocol applies to the States of the Great Lakes Region that have ratified the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region, being, at the date of this paper, at least Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.275 The national frameworks There is at present no centralised database that purports to gather information on steps taken by African States to criminalise ED. It is therefore challenging to assess the progress of States in implementing national frameworks to combat this phenomenon. • The Principles and Guidelines on Human and Peoples’ Rights while Countering Terrorism in Africa prohibiting ED, state: “No persons shall be subject to enforced disappearance. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever can be invoked as a justification for violating this prohibition.”276 However, what is clear is that at the national level, most African States lack specific laws that prevent or criminalise ED. Three of the four focus countries in this paper (Sudan, Algeria and Zimbabwe) have not yet introduced specific domestic legislation explicitly criminalising and defining ED (see the table below). Of those African countries that have ratified the ICPPED, only Burkina Faso, Senegal, Morocco and Tunisia have incorporated, or have stated that they are in the process of incorporating, legislation into their domestic system that criminalises ED: • The Guidelines on the Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention in Africa (the “Arrest Guidelines”) set out in detail the States’ obligation to provide people with the rights of life, dignity, equality, security, a fair trial and an independent judiciary.277 The Arrest Guidelines specifically mention disappearances, urging States to set up mechanisms with independent oversight and monitoring. • Burkina Faso amended its legislation in 2018 to broadly follow the definition of ED in the ICPPED.279 • The Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa urge States to • Senegal has stated that it is in the process of reforming its Criminal Code to include a new sec- 272 African Union, Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, 27 June 2014. 273 African Union, List of countries, supra note 272. 274 International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children, 30 November 2006, Article 1 (2) (i). 275 There is no up-to-date database monitoring the status of the ratifications which are outstanding, but these eight states ratified the Pact within two years of its signing, and this triggered the entry into force provisions. Under the provisions of the SV Protocol, States which have ratified the Pact are automatically bound by the SV Protocol. 276 ACHPR, Principles and Guidelines on Human and Peoples’ Rights while Countering Terrorism in Africa. 277 ACHPR, Guidelines on the Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention in Africa (Luanda Guidelines), 2017. 278 ACHPR, Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, 2003. 279 Burkina Faso: Loi N°025-2018/AN, Article 523-4. 42