As the year 2025 draws to a close, the Executive Director, on behalf of the Governing Council, Management and Staff of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), extends warm Christmas greetings and heartfelt New Year wishes to our partners, collaborators, supporters, and the communities we serve and collaborate with across Africa and beyond. May this festive season bring peace, hope, and renewed strength to you and your loved ones.
The year 2025 has been one of purposeful action, resilience, and collective progress. Despite an increasingly complex human rights landscape, ACDHRS remained steadfast in its mission to promote democracy, human dignity, and the rule of law. We successfully convened and strengthened platforms for civil society engagement with the African Human Rights System and Mechanisms, especially the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, through the Forum of NGOs, which amplified African voices on critical human rights issues including reparations, shrinking civic space, transitional justice, environmental rights, natural resource governnce and accountability. Our work to protect and empower Women Human Rights Defenders advanced through continental consultations, while targeted regional trainings equipped civil society actors, religious and traditional leaders with practical tools to engage human rights mechanisms and drive change at community, national and regional levels.
Institutionally, 2025 marked a period of consolidation and growth. We strengthened our governance structures through the active engagement of our Governing Council and Advisory Committee, enhanced institutional visibility and media outreach, and invested in staff development, teamwork, and internal learning. Our expanding partnerships with regional, continental, and international actors continued to reinforce ACDHRS as a trusted convenor and a home for African civil society.
As we look forward to the New Year, ACDHRS remains committed to deepening inclusive civic participation, advancing gender justice, supporting human rights defenders, and promoting accountability and democratic governance across the continent. In the coming year, we will prioritize sustainable resource mobilization, expanded research and training, stronger community-level engagement, and innovative approaches to amplify African-led human rights advocacy, particularly as we look forward to our 37th anniversary and a renewed strategic vision for the years ahead. Our collective support has also enabled the successful adoption of our African Strategy, which provides a clear, people-centred roadmap that will strengthen the coherence, impact, and sustainability of our future engagements across the continent.
We are deeply grateful for your continued trust, solidarity, and collaboration. Today, more than ever, our commitment to shared principles and collective strengths matter and together we can continue to create space and stretegise for the common good. Your enduring support fuels our work and affirms the power of collective action. As we celebrate Christmas and welcome the Year 2026, we renew our shared commitment to building a more just, inclusive, and democratic Africa where human rights are respected, protected, and realized for all.
We extend our profound appreciation to our partners and friends for their invaluable financial, technical, and moral support throughout the year. Your steadfast commitment continues to sustain and strengthen our work across the continent. We are equally grateful to the ACDHRS Governing Council for its strategic guidance, leadership, and unwavering oversight, which have been instrumental to our institutional growth and credibility. Our sincere appreciation also goes to the Steering Committee of the Forum of NGOs for their tireless engagement, professionalism, and dedication to duty in ensuring meaningful and inclusive civil society participation within the African human rights system. Without your trust, solidarity, and consistent support over the years, many of our interventions would have remained aspirations rather than the impactful realities they are today.
Season’s greetings and best wishes for a peaceful and impactful New Year.
THE END.
