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Rabat – The fourth annual conference of the African Network of National Preventive Mechanisms Against Torture opened today in Kigali, Rwanda, with participants welcoming the signing of an agreement establishing the network’s permanent secretariat in Rabat and commending Morocco’s support for the organization.
Speaking at the opening session in her capacity as President of the African Network and President of Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH), Amina Bouayach announced that the Moroccan government and the network signed the headquarters agreement in April.
The CNDH chief thanked Morocco for its quick response and continued commitment to supporting the network and strengthening its institutional development. Bouayach and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita signed the agreement, marking what she described as an important step in strengthening African cooperation in the prevention of torture and the protection of human rights.
She said the agreement represents a new stage in the network’s development by providing greater institutional stability and improving coordination among national mechanisms working to prevent torture across Africa. According to Bouayach, this will help members share expertise, exchange good practices, and strengthen efforts to protect human dignity in places of detention.
Bouayach also highlighted the regular organization of the network’s annual conference, noting that this year’s meeting in Kigali follows previous gatherings in Marrakech, Cape Town, and Praia. She said the continuity of these meetings demonstrates African institutions’ determination to maintain dialogue and collective action despite the challenges facing the continent.
“Our regular meetings and the renewed commitment of our members at every stage are strong indicators of our shared determination to strengthen preventive approaches within Africa’s human rights protection systems,” she said.
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CNDH’s chief stressed that Africa is building its collective solutions through consultation and cooperation. She commended the coordination between teams in Rabat, Cape Town, and Kigali that helped organize the conference and emphasized the importance of maintaining this momentum to achieve the goal of “zero tolerance for torture in Africa.”
Referring to Rwanda’s history, Bouayach said the choice of Kigali as the host city carries a powerful message about the importance of preventing violations before they occur. Major tragedies throughout history, she argued, were not only the result of violence but also of weak early warning systems and failures to act in time.
She called for a “prevention by design” approach, urging governments to integrate the protection of human dignity into the design of public policies, legislation, and institutions from the outset, rather than responding only after violations occur.
“Prevention remains the most effective tool to avoid the repetition of human tragedies and to protect individuals from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,” Bouayach said.
Addressing conditions in places of detention across Africa, she pointed to several ongoing challenges, including prison overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, limited human and financial resources, and health-related difficulties. She also highlighted the particular vulnerabilities that women and children deprived of their liberty face.
Women and children in detention often face specific risks that require approaches that take gender considerations and the needs of vulnerable groups into account.
Bouayach concluded by warning that the world is experiencing a growing number of crises and conflicts, which result in significant human suffering. This, she said, makes prevention a strategic necessity for human rights protection systems and reinforces the need for collective African action to make the prevention of torture and the protection of human dignity a shared priority across the continent.
