S4 E13: Africa Day 2023

In conversation with Mr Lloyd Kuveya

Africa Day is celebrated annually on May 25th to commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU) created on May 25th, 1963. Today marks the 60th anniversary of the OAU-AU and the day is intended to celebrate and acknowledge the successes of the African Union in the fight against colonialism and apartheid, as well as the progress that Africa has made while reflecting upon the common challenges that the continent faces in a global environment. Celebrations on May 25th recite the annual commemorations of Africa’s independence, freedom and liberation.

On this episode, in celebration of Africa Day 2023, Africa Rights Talk chats with Mr Lloyd Kuveya on the significance of Africa Day for unity, peace, security, and development in Africa. He highlights that Africa Day is a day to celebrate the principles of African unity, the evolution of the principles of the African Union and the key achievements of the African Union. He iterates that the African Union provides mechanisms such as African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) as well as the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) to resolve conflicts and bring states together to hold each other accountable on human rights protection and adherence to the rule of law. He expresses excitement for the acceleration of economic unity and integration through the Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation, a theme for this year's celebration to promote intra-Africa trade, investments and accessible borders to the African people towards the achievement of Agenda 2063.

 

Lloyd Kuveya is the Assistant Director at the Centre for Human Rights, at the University of Pretoria. He obtained his LLB from the University of Zimbabwe and LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria. Mr Kuveya is an avid human rights advocate with research interests in international law, human rights law, rule of law, litigation and advocacy.  He was the Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum from October 2015 to May 2017. Before taking up his position at the Centre, Lloyd was Regional Researcher and Advocacy Manager with Amnesty International. Also, he was the Senior Legal Advisor for the International Commission of Jurists from 2013-2015 and Regional Advocacy Manager for the Southern Africa Litigation Centre from 2007-2013. Mr Kuveya is passionate about advocacy for human rights in Africa and developing human rights mechanisms for human rights promotion and protection in Africa. 

 

Watch this episode on our Youtube channel.             

 

This conversation was recorded on 22 May 2023.

 

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