2025 Human Rights Roadmap for the African Union

On March 13, 2025, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf took office as the new African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, the AU’s chief executive officer and legal representative, following his election at the 38th AU summit in mid-February. His election provides an opportunity for member states and AU organs to assess the record of the regional body in protecting and promoting human rights across the continent under his predecessor, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and take urgent action to better address key human rights issues.

In 2025, Angolan President João Lourenço is taking the rotating role of AU Chairperson, tasked with addressing peace and security across the continent, among other issues. While the Angolan presidency announced that it would cease its mediation work in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on March 24, Lourenço should center human rights protection in other regional peace efforts as AU Chairperson.

This policy brief draws on Human Rights Watch research and engagement with the AU, notably during Mahamat’s second term from 2021 to 2025. Considering the proliferation of armed conflicts in Africa, with devastating consequences for civilians, the policy brief focuses primarily on civilian protection issues. It sets out policy recommendations to AU organs to urgently address grave violations and abuses of international humanitarian and human rights law in conflicts in Burkina Faso, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Sudan.

The brief also covers issues across the continent related to the AU’s 2025 theme of reparations to address the ongoing impacts of historical crimes, as well as the defense of civil and political rights.