A/HRC/15/56 Annex I Regional consultation for Africa Summary of discussions Human Rights Council resolution (A/HRC/RES/12/15) called for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to hold workshops on regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights to allow sharing of information and concrete proposals on ways to strengthen cooperation between the United Nations and regional arrangements, including sub-regional human rights mechanisms. In this context a Regional Consultation for Africa on Enhancing Cooperation Between Regional an International Mechanisms for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights was held in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, 30 November to 2 December 2009, under the auspices of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in cooperation with the African Union Commission - Department of Political Affairs, Participation was drawn from representatives from: Governments, the African Union Commission; the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights; the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Court of Justice, the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice; United Nations experts and committee members; as well as OHCHR and other UN agencies; national human rights institutions (NHRIs), the Secretariat of the Network of African NHRIs, the Secretariat of the African Human Rights NGO Forum; civil society organizations and academia. Participants also expressed appreciation to the Government of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia for hosting the Regional Consultation. Participants recognized that in Africa the human rights protection and promotion framework is at four levels: national, sub –regional, regional and international, utilizing different charter based and treaty based normative frameworks, standards and systems; and that the African regional system facilitates the contextualization of international human rights standards at the regional level and development of human rights principles, useful and relevant to Africa. They recognized that the African human rights system has played a significant role in the development and advancement of human rights norms in Africa and noted the complimentarity between all the systems and the need to have adequate cooperation, especially in the implementation of human rights norms at the national level. They recognized the importance of cooperation with NHRIs and civil society organizations in implementation of human rights norms at the national level, and further indicated the importance of establishing NHRIs where they do not exist, in compliance with the Paris Principles. Participants noted that the Human Rights Strategy for Africa (General Assembly Resolution 61/296 (2007)) to be developed under the leadership of the African Union Commission, in the context of the UN-AU 10 year capacity building framework, constitutes a good framework for strengthened cooperation between the two systems. Participants put forward the following recommendations in relation to strengthening cooperation between the regional (African) and international human rights systems: 1. A system of cooperation/collaboratation should be institutionalized or formalized between the two human rights systems, under the auspices of the OHCHR and AUC to facilitate such cooperation and interaction. 21