The European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) held the 20^th Human Rights Dialogue on 07 October in Brussels, Belgium. H.E. Kajsa Ollongren, EU Special Representative for Human Rights, and H.E. Bankole Adeoye, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security co-chaired the Dialogue and leading their delegation comprised of human-rights organs and department from both sides.

The EU-AU Human Rights Dialogue allows the EU and the AU jointly to assess the state of Human Rights in Europe and Africa, respectively, exchanging experiences and addressing political and legal issues relevant to the safeguarding and promotion of Human Rights in both Africa and Europe. This year the Dialogue specifically focused on enhancing the relevance and effectiveness of human-rights organs, the implementation of relevant human-rights legislation in Africa and Europe, especially the AU Human and Peoples’ Rights Decade Action Plan, African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights as well as the implementation of Decisions. The participants also discussed the theme of the year 2025 of the African Union on "Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations". Furthermore, they had in-depth discussions on anti-discrimination, recent geopolitical developments including the global shifts in resourcing for human rights and democracy and in information flows, identifying thematic issues for joint action as well as those warranting further discussion.

1. Specifically, the EU and the AU found that, within the appropriate frameworks, joint AU-EU action was warranted on:
   • Human Rights in conflict, conflict prevention, peacekeeping and post-conflict situations, including Children affected by Armed Conflict, Compliance and Accountability, and Transitional Justice.
   • Election observation, democratic participation - including by youth - and democratic integrity.
   • Death penalty, including the jurisprudence of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

They found that EU and AU ought to hold further joint in-depth discussions on:

• Efforts for equality and combatting discrimination on all grounds in the face of a growing backlash with the understanding that non-discrimination is necessary for the enjoyment of all other rights for all.
• Right to Development, including connections with Business and Human Rights;
• Human Rights and digital transformation.

The EU and the AU underlined that the principle of universality, indivisibility, interrelatedness, interdependence and mutually reinforcing nature of all human rights should continue to guide EU’s and AU’s joint efforts in the multilateral sphere to strengthen the right to development, recalling the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the ACHPR Resolution 586 and the spirit of the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development. They furthermore highlighted that implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as complemented by the Pact for the Future was the most promising way to achieve sustainable development, stressing the need to continue inclusive discussions on the matter.

The EU and the AU discussed their respective progress on business and human rights. This included highlighting Africa’s evolving regulatory environment - marked by the 4th African Business and Human Rights Forum, which takes place the same week in Lusaka, Zambia - as well as the legislative developments, policies and actions towards an EU Framework on Business and Human Rights to support corporate social responsibility and responsible business conduct. Both sides committed to strengthening cooperation to operationalize the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, including the promotion of the implementation of National Action Plans among their respective Member States. They concurred that, in the context of geopolitical competition for extractive resources, an effective regulatory environment for business and human rights was vital to promote accountability, prevent business-related harms, and foster positive contributions of business towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

The EU and the AU discussed their respective efforts to meet the important human-rights challenges brought by digital transformation - a double-edged sword for individuals’ rights. They identified information and election manipulation as key areas of joint concern. They concurred that there was ample scope for enhanced cooperation in these areas.

The EU and the AU recognized the unprecedented need for resources to strengthen inclusive democratic institutions and the rule of law. In this respect, they underlined the key importance of joint programs addressing youth. The EU and the AU concurred that coordination of their election observation efforts should continue, and that more attention should go to the follow-up of recommendations emanating from such efforts including the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) guidelines on children rights during election periods, because these recommendations could help strengthen national electoral frameworks.

The EU and the AU committed to strengthening implementation of the main existing frameworks related to gender, such as UN Security Resolution 1325, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and the AU Convention on Ending Violence against Women.

The EU and the AU welcomed the positive trend of abolition of the death penalty in Africa. They also welcomed the efforts towards adoption of the draft additional protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the abolition of the death penalty in Africa. They recalled the upcoming 23rd World Day against the Death Penalty, due on 10 October 2025.

The EU and the AU acknowledged the importance of upholding human rights in conflict and post-conflict environments, noting the need to protect children in armed conflicts better. They underlined the significance of the AU Compliance and Accountability Framework in view of helping ensure human-rights compliance, accountability and the protection of civilians in the framework of AU peace-support operations. In this context, they highlighted the importance of continued EU support for the implementation of the AU’s Compliance and Accountability framework in a sustainable way, noting the need of effective operationalization through the AU-EU-UN tripartite partnership project. They agreed to raise awareness of the framework. They underlined that the new EU support project to AU Governance Peace and Security frameworks was designed to foster joint progress in this field. They furthermore recalled that the UNSC 2719 recognized the critical relevance of human-rights benchmarks as enablers for AU peace-support operations.

On Transitional Justice Processes, the EU and the AU discussed the implementation of their respective transitional-justice policies. They encouraged progress on transitional justice and criminal accountability at national level, and assessed possibilities for further support. They commended the holding of the 2025 AU-EU Experts Seminar on Transitional Justice (Abuja, June 2025), under the EU-funded program “European Support for Transitional Justice in Africa” (EUR 5M), and underlined the importance of continued support to joint EU-AU initiatives in Transitional Justice. The AU and EU reiterated their joint commitment to continuing to work together with State Parties to the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court.

The EU and the AU welcomed the constructive recommendations submitted at the outset of the Dialogue by a substantial joint African European consortium of civil-society organizations (CSOs). They stressed the key role of civil-society actors in contributing to good governance, accountability and defense of human rights, as well as sustainable development more broadly. Recalling the Right to Defend Human Rights, more can be done to protect citizens acting as human rights defenders, including CSOs and journalists, from threats and attacks. They expressed concern about the shrinking of civic space globally, stressing the critical importance of preserving an enabling environment for CSOs both to resource themselves and to conduct their programmes and activities.

To conclude, mindful of this year’s 25th anniversary of the AU-EU partnership in 2025, the EU and the AU underlined the importance of reconfirming, at the highest political level, this Dialogue’s positive role in furthering the protection of human rights for all, which, according to the Joint Vision 2030, is a core objective of the AU-EU partnership. Furthermore, they recalled that holding regular exchanges, at both political and technical levels, facilitates implementation of commitments made. Therefore, in line with existing agreements between EU and AU, they concurred that the 21st edition of the Dialogue should be held in 2026 in Africa.