The HRIC has an established record of work in relation to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) and this continues to be a significant focus of the HRIC’s activities. HRIC staff regularly attend sessions of the African Commission and participate in side events and expert meetings. In particular, the HRIC has worked closely with the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa (CPTA) and the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa, Special Mechanisms of the African Commission, as part of the AHRC Implementation of Human Rights Standards project Soft Law/RIG project and the Article 5 Initiative.

The HRIC has also organised a number of high level seminars and workshops involving members and staff of the African Commission, including:

• A high Level seminar on the role of AU bodies in follow up to decisions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, held on 17 September 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• A seminar on the strategic use of soft law documents, in particular the Robben Island Guidelines for the prevention of torture in Africa, held on 4 July 2012 in Bristol, UK
• A seminar on identifying national mechanisms to follow up and implement decisions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, held on 21-22 November 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• An expert workshop for East African National Human Rights Institutions on the implementation of Human Rights Standards and their relationship with the African Commission, held on 18-19 October 2010, Nairobi, Kenya

The reports and concluding documents of these events can be located on the Soft Law/RIG project web page

 The HRIC has produced the following policy papers on in relation to the African Commission

• 10 Years of the Robben Island Guidelines and the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) – a time for synergy’ - August 2012
• ‘Policy paper on the possible future role and activities of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa (CPTA)’ – July 2011

A number of books and articles concerning the African Commission have been written by HRIC staff members, most notably:

• R. Murray, The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and International Law, Hart Publishing, (2000)
• R. Murray and S. Wheatley, ‘Group Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights’, 25 Human Rights Quarterly (2003), p.213-236
• R. Murray, ‘International Human Rights: Neglect of Perspectives from African Institutions’, 55(1) International and Comparative Law Quarterly, (2006) p.193-204
• M. Evans and R. Murray, The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The System in Practice, Cambridge University Press, 2002, 2nd edition, (2008)
• R. Murray and M. Evans, Documents of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Hart Publishing, 2001, 2nd edition, (2007)
• D. Long and R. Murray, ‘Ten Years of the Robben Island Guidelines and prevention of torture in Africa: For what purpose?’ 12(2) African Human Rights Law Journal (2012)
• D. Long and L. Muntingh, ‘The Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa: the potential for synergy or inertia?’, 7 (13) SUR International Journal on Human Rights (2010), p. 99-117