Banjul, The Gambia — October 22, 2025
KELIN is honoured to be participating in the 85th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)—commemorating African Human Rights Day under the African Union theme: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”The public session, that formally kicked off on the 21st October and will run until October 30, 2025, provides a crucial platform for dialogue on Africa’s human rights landscape, including state reporting, communications, and cooperation with civil society actors.
In its formal statement on the floor of the Commission, KELIN’s Deputy Executive Director- Ms Hortense Minishi, will draw attention to the structural barriers in health financing that continue to reflect the deep scars of slavery, colonialism, and extractive systems. These colonial legacies left infrastructures fragile, financing models inequitable, and communities burdened with unbearable out-of-pocket costs. The recent 2025 USAID funding cuts have only compounded these vulnerabilities, exposing the precarity of donor-dependent systems. KELIN calls upon African Union Member States to rethink health financing not merely as a budgetary exercise, but as an act of reparatory justice—Financing health is not an act of charity; it is justice owed, and dignity restored. Additionally in solidary with other civil society organizations, KELIN will call for the pause in ratification of the AU Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls to allow for inclusive review and alignment with established African and international human rights standards.
As part of its advocacy with human rights mechanisms, KELIN will engage the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, Hon. Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, during a side event on October 22, co-organized with the Centre for Human Rights (University of Pretoria), the Center for Reproductive Rights , Equality Now. The dialogue—titled “Strengthening the African Human Rights System: Advancing Gender Justice, Procedural Accountability, and the Elimination of Obstetric Violence”—will spotlight gender-based abuses in healthcare and explore systemic reforms for justice and accountability and Ms. Melinda Mugambi will share insightful contributions on the need for stronger policy and legislative frameworks to curb the vice.
A special highlight of the side event will also see KELIN unveil a powerful new documentary on obstetric violence (O.V) titled, “The Silent Labour Pains”. The documentary captures the often-unseen suffering and silence surrounding women’s experiences during childbirth—laying bare the emotional, psychological, and systemic abuse that women endure but rarely voice. This film forms part of the ongoing #EndObstetricViolenceKe campaign also piloted by KELIN in July 2025, which seeks to break the silence, restore dignity, and reimagine respectful maternity care in Kenya and beyond. Watch the official trailer here .
On October 23, KELIN will also co-chair a high-level side event with Kenya Human Rights Commission titled “The Case for Reparations: Accountability and Justice for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.” In this dialogue, Ms. Elsie Milimu alongside other key panelists from the Commission will spotlight both state and non-state obligations in ensuring justice, redress, and reparations for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence across Africa.
Beyond the 85th Ordinary Session, KELIN remains steadfast in its engagement with the National Committee on International and Regional Human Rights Obligations to advance key priorities: strengthening health financing for equitable access to care; promoting legal and policy reforms to address maternal mortality, morbidity, and obstetric violence; and enhancing state due diligence mechanisms to ensure accountability, justice, and comprehensive redress for survivors of sexual violence.
“KELIN’s participation at the ACHPR underscores our commitment to transforming health governance and amplifying African women’s voices within domestic and regional justice systems,” said Hortense Minishi, Deputy Executive Director and Head of Programmes at KELIN
📢 Join the full O. V documentary launch during the side event at the sidelines of the 85th ACHPR Session in Banjul, The Gambia, today — October 22, 2025, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (GMT).
👉 Register and participate (in person or virtually).
To contribute to the discussions on this forum, follow KELIN on our website and social media platforms.
Website: www.kelinkenya.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kelinkenya
Twitter(X): @KELINKenya.
For more information please contact, Elsie Milimu,
Program Officer- SRHR, Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV/AIDS(KELIN),
Email: elsiemilimu@kelinkenya.org
