94 PROMOTING AND PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS The broad mandate of the African Commission is set out in article 45 of the Charter. It includes the promotion of human rights, through studies, research, the organization of seminars and dissemination of information; making its views and recommendations known to Governments; formulating and laying down principles and rules to guide African Governments in their domestic legislation; interpreting the provisions of the Charter; and ensuring the protection of human and peoples’ rights, as laid down in the Charter. Minority advocates should be able to raise relevant issues at Commission sessions and through the submission of formal communications under the Charter. The Commission’s promotional role also offers numerous opportunities for education and dissemination of information on minority rights and those general human rights which are of particular importance to members of minority groups. Promotional activities Promotional activities are at the heart of the African Commission’s mandate, and individual members report at each session on the initiatives they have taken to promote human rights in various African countries assigned to them. The Commission has carried out this mandate by conducting missions whereby commissioners visit States to disseminate information about the role of the African Commission and participate in workshops to raise awareness about the Charter and other key human rights instruments in Africa.108 The Commission has also employed other mechanisms, such as special rapporteurs and working groups, to carry out its promotional mandate and undertake specific activities on various thematic issues of concern. Currently there are special rapporteurs on prisons and conditions of detention; refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and internally displaced persons; human rights defenders; the rights of women; freedom of expression and access to information. The Commission has also established a committee for the prevention of torture, and working groups on the death penalty, and on extractive industries, environment and human rights violations. Two working groups that may be of particular concern to minorities are discussed below. The Working Group of Experts on Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa was established in 2000 with a mandate “to examine the concept of indigenous peoples and communities in Africa”; “study the implications of the African Charter on Human Rights [and the] well being of indigenous communities especially with regard to the right to equality (Art. 2 and 3), the right to dignity (Art. 5), the protection against domination (Art. 19), self-determination (Art. 20) and the promotion of cultural development and identity (Art. 22)”; and “consider appropriate recommendations for the monitoring and protection of the rights of indigenous communities”.109 Its renewed mandate includes gathering information on violations of indigenous peoples’ human rights, undertaking country visits (with the permission of the country concerned), and formulating recommendations on appropriate measures to prevent and remedy violations of indigenous peoples’ human rights.110 A comprehensive report submitted by the Working Group to the Commission in 2003 examines the human rights situation of indigenous peoples in Africa, analyses the African Charter and its The major human rights instruments in Africa include the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). 108 Resolution on the Rights of Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa adopted at the 28th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Cotonou, Benin, 6 November 2000. 109 Resolution on the adoption of the Report of the African Commission’s Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities adopted at the 34th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Banjul, the Gambia, 20 November 2003. 110