This issue covers the most prominent human rights developments in the African continent during the second quarter of 2026, with a specific focus on three main documentation pillars:

• The Continuation of the Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis in Sudan: Concurrently with the confirmation of famine in specific regions of Darfur and Kordofan.
• The Escalation of Violence and Forced Recruitment of Children: In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, parallel to ongoing regional and international negotiation tracks.
• The Accelerating Crackdown on Rights and Freedoms: Particularly freedom of association and media freedom in Mali and Burkina Faso.

This analysis relies on chronologically defined and verifiable UN and international sources, and clearly distinguishes between documented facts and the official positions of the concerned parties.

1. Sudan

Documented Facts:

• The joint report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) dated May 15, 2026, confirmed that approximately 19.5 million people — equivalent to two out of every five residents in Sudan — face acute levels of food insecurity (Phase 3 and above according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)), with a warning that more than 825,000 children are at risk of death due to Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) during the year 2026.
• The Famine Review Committee (FRC) of the IPC mechanism confirmed the occurrence of famine (Phase 5) in the cities of Al-Fashir (North Darfur) and Kadugli (South Kordofan), identifying a risk of famine expanding to approximately 14 additional regions until August 2026, according to the “Hunger Hotspots” report issued by the Global Network Against Food Crises.
• The Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan for the year 2026 was funded at only 20% until April 2026, despite the plan targeting the provision of assistance to more than 20 million people out of 33.7 million individuals in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
• The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated in its report issued on April 21, 2026, that nearly four million displaced persons returned to their areas of origin during the first three years of the conflict, primarily concentrated in Khartoum and Gezira State, with expectations of more than two million additional persons returning to Khartoum alone during 2026; however, the returnees face a completely destroyed infrastructure (water, health, electricity) according to field testimonies obtained by the organization.
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recorded the continuous influx of displaced persons from the states of Darfur and Kordofan, with Chad alone hosting approximately 2.25 million forcibly displaced persons by the end of May 2026, including 1.54 million refugees and asylum seekers.

2. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Documented Facts:

• The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) documented the separation of 122 children, including 36 girls, from armed groups operating in the Walikale territory of North Kivu province during the period from May 14 to 18, 2026; 110 of them have been reunited with their families as of the date of issuance of the statement, while efforts continue to return the remaining twelve children.
• The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect reported that more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Ituri and North Kivu provinces since June 2025, with the “Allied Democratic Forces” (ADF) and the “Cooperative for the Development of the Congo” (CODECO) exploiting the security vacuum resulting from the redeployment of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) to counter the March 23 Movement (M23).
• On December 19, 2025, the United Nations Security Council renewed the mandate of the mission until December 20, 2026, maintaining its deployment in North Kivu and Ituri, while its deployment in South Kivu remained contingent upon the improvement of security conditions.
• The United Nations Panel of Experts and the UN Fact-Finding Mission documented cases of execution, torture, and arbitrary detention affecting civilians accused of collaborating with parties to the conflict, attributing some of these violations to the FARDC and the government-aligned “Wazalendo” militia, alongside irregular armed groups—violations that may amount, according to these reports, to war crimes or crimes against humanity.

Developments on the Settlement Track:
The designated period witnessed developments on the political track in parallel with the continuation of on-the-ground violence; where the Congolese and Rwandan sides reaffirmed in December 2025 their commitment to the peace agreement signed under US mediation on June 27, 2025, which stipulates the cessation of hostilities in North and South Kivu, respect for territorial integrity, and the termination of support for non-state armed groups. Furthermore, the State of Qatar mediated separate negotiations between the Congolese Government and the M23 movement, which culminated in the “Doha Peace Framework” on November 15, 2025. In January 2026, the FARDC and the “Wazalendo” forces recaptured the city of Uvira in South Kivu following the withdrawal of the M23 movement therefrom.

Official Government Position:
It was not possible to obtain a separate and documented official statement issued by the Congolese Government during the second quarter of 2026 regarding the specific facts of the forced recruitment of children; however, the Congolese Government is a signatory party to the joint “Action Plan” with the United Nations since 2012 to end the recruitment and use of children, and participates through the Joint Technical Working Group (JTWG) in training and awareness activities organized by the UN mission in cooperation with the FARDC and security agencies.

3. Sahel States: Burkina Faso and Mali

Republic of Burkina Faso:

• On April 15, 2026, the Burkinabè Ministry of Territorial Administration and Mobility announced the dissolution of 118 civil society organizations, a large number of which focus their activities in the field of human rights, pursuant to Law No. 011-2025 issued by the Transitional Legislative Assembly on July 17, 2025, concerning freedom of association.
• The authorities expanded the scope of this measure on April 21, 2026, issuing instructions to suspend an additional 359 associations under the pretext of failing to renew their administrative bodies in accordance with the new law, at a time when all political parties had already been dissolved pursuant to a decree issued on January 29, 2026, following a three-year suspension of their activities.
• A presidential decree issued in November 2025 mandated national and international non-governmental organizations to close their commercial bank accounts and transfer them to a new state-controlled bank affiliated with the General Treasury—a measure described by international human rights organizations as carrying risks of arbitrary freezing of funds and tightening of financial surveillance.
• The authorities suspended or revoked the licenses of approximately 20 foreign organizations between June and July 2025, including the Community of Sant’Egidio, Diakonia, Geneva Call, and the Tony Blair Institute.

Republic of Mali:

• On January 16, 2026, the authorities issued a decision banning the circulation and distribution of “Jeune Afrique” magazine “in all its forms” under the pretext of “preserving public order,” accusing the magazine of “glorifying terrorism and defamation” and leveling accusations against the security forces of the Alliance of Sahel States of committing human rights violations, following its publication of an investigation into the fuel crisis in the country.
• Mali has witnessed a broader pattern of restricting freedom of expression, including the suspension of media outlets, the dissolution of civil society organizations, the abolition of political pluralism, and the prosecution of dissenting voices since the 2021 coup.

Official Position of the Authorities in the Sahel States:
The Burkinabè Minister of Administration, Émile Zerbo, in his statement issued following the announcement of the dissolution of the organizations, called upon the heads of the concerned entities to “comply with the July 2025 law,” warning that “any offender shall be subject to the penalties stipulated in the regulations in force.” Furthermore, the Burkinabè Government had threatened in early April 2026, in response to a report by Human Rights Watch documenting war crimes and crimes against humanity, to take “strict measures” against what it described as “imperialist laboratories disguised as non-governmental organizations.” For their part, the Malian authorities justified the ban on “Jeune Afrique” magazine citing the necessities of “preserving public order,” without providing detailed evidence to support the claims leveled against the magazine.

Joint Regional Position on Media Freedom:
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (May 3), Reporters Without Borders coordinated an open letter signed by approximately thirty international and regional human rights and media organizations, documenting the suspension of local broadcasting of Radio France Internationale (RFI) and France 24 in both Mali and Burkina Faso, and the expulsion of correspondents for the French newspapers “Libération” and “Le Monde,” alongside escalating threats and incitement against journalists across social media platforms by entities close to the two transitional authorities.

1. The Right to Life and Security of Person:
The most prominent risks to the right to life were concentrated in areas of active armed conflict, particularly in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan; where UN reports documented a large number of civilian casualties resulting from the disproportionate use of force, drone strikes on populated areas and humanitarian facilities, and the siege of entire cities (as in Al-Fashir and Kadugli in Sudan), raising serious issues related to the obligation to protect civilians under international humanitarian law.

2. Freedom of Opinion, Expression, and Association:
The second quarter of 2026 witnessed a tangible and quantifiable escalation in the restrictions imposed on the civic and media space in the Sahel states; manifested in the dissolution and suspension of approximately 480 civil society organizations in Burkina Faso within one week (April 15 and 21, 2026), and the banning of a prominent regional media outlet in Mali. These measures raise serious questions regarding their compatibility with the criteria of necessity and proportionality stipulated in Articles 19 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Articles 9 and 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, both states being parties to these instruments.

3. Child Protection in Armed Conflicts:
The recruitment and use of children by armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo remains a continuously documented grave violation, despite the separation and reintegrating efforts led by the UN mission and its partners. These events fall within the six grave violations monitored by the UN Security Council under the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) on children and armed conflict, and directly relate to Article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

4. The Right to Health and Food:
UN specialized agencies confirmed a severe deterioration in food security indicators in Sudan, with an official confirmation of famine occurring in specific areas according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) mechanism — which is the sole independent technical mechanism authorized to declare a famine, and is not issued by a single UN entity on its own. This is coupled with a severe funding gap in the Humanitarian Response Plan, raising issues closely linked to the right to adequate food and health under Articles 11 and 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

5. The Right to Education:
General UN reports indicate that the continuation of armed conflicts in Sudan and the eastern DRC continues to adversely affect the continuity of the educational process as a result of repeated displacement and damage to or destruction of school facilities, without this item having an updated and chronologically defined UN statistic for the number of children specifically affected during the second quarter of 2026; it is recommended to follow up on this indicator in the next issue as soon as updated data from UNESCO or UNICEF becomes available.

To the Concerned Governments (Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Burkina Faso):

• Facilitate the unhindered access of humanitarian workers and food and medical aid to all affected areas, in line with strict obligations under international humanitarian law.
• Review laws and administrative decisions that restrict freedom of association and media freedom, ensuring their full compatibility with the criteria of necessity and proportionality stipulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter.
• Strengthen the effective implementation of action plans dedicated to ending the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts, in coordination with UN monitoring and reporting mechanisms.

To the African Union and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights:

• Activate oversight mechanisms and follow up on the files of Mali and Burkina Faso through the mechanisms of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, and issue public statements assessing the compatibility of the measures taken with the provisions of the African Charter.

To United Nations Bodies and the International Community:

• Bridge the acute funding gap in the Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan for the year 2026, and exert diplomatic pressure toward imposing an immediate humanitarian truce in areas of confirmed famine.
• Support the continuation of regional settlement tracks between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and the M23 movement, linking political support to tangible indicators for civilian protection and ending child violations.

To Civil Society and Human Rights Organizations:

• Intensify the documentation of the impact of association dissolution measures on the capacity of local actors to monitor violations, in preparation for submitting shadow reports and technical contributions to the relevant Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanisms.