GI-ESCR co-hosted and participated in a webinar unpacking General Comment 7 of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights ACHPR, on State obligations under the context of private provision of social services.

The main objective of the webinar was to unpack General Comment 7, highlighting its main contents and creating awareness among CSOs and other relevant stakeholders working on the subject. The discussion also explored how the General Comment can strengthen civil society advocacy and enhance corporate accountability. The webinar was also an opportunity to identify key stakeholders working on reclaiming public services to add to the growing continental effort towards effective implementation of the General Comment 7. 

The webinar is the first in a series of discussions leading to the African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA) 10th anniversary, 2023 Conference and General Assembly under the theme ‘Regulating privatisation of social services: Exploring the legal frameworks and policy options from a business and human rights perspective’.  

This is aligned with GI-ESCR’s goal of working on reversing commercialisation and strengthening public services. GI-ESCR supported the ACHPR Working Group on economic, Social and Cultural Rights as part of the drafting committee for General Comment 7, along with the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria; the Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape; the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER); the Open Society Foundation, and the Right to Education Initiative (RTEI). 

The recording of the event is available here: https://fb.watch/k21EL6EfRe/