13/12/2022

Contributing to the implementation and follow-up of the UPR recommendations in Togo

Togo mission

By empowering women’s participation in the decision-making process or by raising awareness of the importance of birth registrations, civil society organizations (CSOs) are contributing to implementing UPR recommendations in Togo.

Togo training on capacity building, implementation and follow-up of recommendations

From 17 to 20 October 2022, UPR Info, in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) of Togo, the Collective of Associations Against Impunity in Togo (CACIT), and the Ministry of Human Rights, Citizenship Training and Relations with the Institutions of the Republic, organized two workshops for national stakeholders on the implementation of the UPR recommendations. As a result, 56 actions were identified by CSOs to contribute to the implementation of 23 recommendations.

Women’s representation in decision-making bodies increased from 23% in 2019 to 35% in 2021. Despite the increasing percentages, at the last UPR review in January 2022, Kenya recommended the Togolese government to “continue efforts to empower women in political leadership positions, both in the public and private sectors”.

During UPR Info’s workshop, Togolese CSOs working on women’s rights developed action strategies to strengthen women seeking to be involved in political and decision-making bodies. These strategies included a variety of actions including training programmes for women members of political parties, communities, and CSOs, as well as campaigns on women’s leadership for girls in schools and universities on women's leadership.

Regarding the issue of birth registrations, according to UNICEF 22% of children in Togo do not have legal proof of identity. This proportion increases in rural areas to 31%.

In the 3rd UPR of Togo, Mozambique recommended the government to strengthen measures to ensure the effectiveness of the civil registration system, particularly birth registration”.

In the past years, the government has taken various measures to address this issue. However, the major problem is the lack of awareness of parents on how important birth registration can be for the life of a child said a CSO member attending UPR Info’s workshop.  For this reason, CSOs intend to conduct awareness campaigns among parents, and future parents, on how key it is to have legal proof of identity as it also ensures that children’s other rights are upheld – like the rights to protection from violence and access to essential social services like health care and education. CSOs also planned to conduct awareness among health personnel who could relay the information and inform parents, or support in setting up a system to send directly the birth documents to the registrar from the hospital (which in some parts of the country is already possible).

All the action strategies developed during UPR Info’s workshop will allow CSOs to position themselves as co-actors in implementation, thus moving beyond their watchdog role.

UPR Info Workshop with CSO and NHRI Togo

During the same week, UPR Info also held a workshop with members of the Inter-Ministerial Commission for the drafting of reports and follow-up of recommendations on human rights (ICRR). The two-day workshop brought to concrete results: the development of indicators to monitor the progress of UPR recommendations. Five thematic groups identified and contextualized 38 indicators for monitoring nine UPR recommendations.

The workshops were enriched by the expertise and experience of the Center for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR). The CCPR integrated into the sessions the recommendations that Togo received from Treaty Bodies.

Countries: Togo