Africa Internet Governance Forum 2025

This session seeks to discuss the trends and findings from Paradigm Initiative’s Digital Rights and Inclusion in Africa Report (Londa), unveiling a new Score Index that digital rights actors can use to assess the compliance of African countries to the African Commission on Human and People's Rights' Declaration on Principles of Freedom of Expression and Access to Information. The Declaration outlines key principles and standards regarding these rights stating the role of governments in upholding digital freedoms. The report investigates violations, makes recommendations and offers an opportunity for the digital rights advocates to keep a record of violations and developments. The report also offers an opportunity for governments to reflect on their policies and actions. The report acts as a shadow report to the ACHPR Special Rapporteur’s reports to the African Commission by analysing national digital rights and inclusion legislation, policies and practices within 27 countries in Africa, monitoring their compliance with freedom of expression and access to information standards. The session will provide a comparative analysis of the scores of 27 countries in Africa and how they faired with respect to digital rights compliance in 2024. The session will assess policy adoption and implementation across the 27 countries. The session will be conducted in an interactive format to allow attendees to reflect on their countries' policy priorities and overall performance based on the index. During the session, attendees will make inputs to an interactive map that shows their location and issues identified. The session will seek to discuss how stakeholders can champion digital rights and combat threats given the findings from research.

Session Objectives:
To assess 27 states’ compliance to the ACHPR’s Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.
To spotlight areas of improvement for countries in Africa

Target Audience
The session targets policymakers, regional and national regulators and digital rights advocates._x000D_

The session seeks to address the following questions:
How can the newly unveiled Score Index, assessing compliance with the ACHPR Declaration, be effectively integrated into national and regional monitoring mechanisms?
What specific legislative and policy reforms are needed in the 27 African countries analysed to align with the ACHPR Declaration's freedom of expression and access to information standards?
How can the Global Digital Compact be effectively implemented at the national and regional levels to address the digital rights threats and widening divides highlighted in the Londa Report?