PERSONS WITH ALBINISM Crimes against persons with albinism, including reports of attempted abductions, physical attacks and desecration of graves, increased in Malawi. In Angola, the National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of the Human Rights of Persons with Albinism was adopted. Governments must urgently combat all forms of gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls, including by addressing the root causes, and increasing efforts to eliminate harmful practices. Governments must strengthen protections of LGBTI people’s rights including through legislation, and by effectively investigating reports of abuse and bringing suspected perpetrators to justice. RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT Several countries were affected by extreme weather events, the intensity and frequency of which could be related to climate change. However, governments were ill-prepared to respond to slow and rapid onset weather events across the region. In February and March, Cyclone Freddy affected millions of people in Malawi and Mozambique, killing 679 and 453 people, respectively. Floods claimed many lives in several other countries, including the DRC and Rwanda. In September, the first Africa Climate Summit was held in Nairobi to establish a united African position ahead of negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28). Governments must take immediate measures to protect against the risk and impacts of the climate crisis and strengthen their preparedness for extreme weather events, including by seeking international assistance and climate finance from developed countries to adopt effective mitigation and adaptation policies, and to remediate the loss and damages experienced by the most marginalized. RIGHT TO TRUTH, JUSTICE AND REPARATION Following the Ethiopian government’s cynical campaign to frustrate justice and accountability initiatives, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights prematurely terminated the mandate of its Commission of Inquiry into the situation in the Tigray Region, without publishing any findings. The government also targeted the UN International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE), resulting in the failure by member states at the UN Human Rights Council to table a resolution to renew ICHREE’s mandate. Meanwhile, Burundi walked out of its review session at the UN Human Rights Committee, objecting to the presence of a human rights defender convicted in his absence on false accusations of participating in the 2015 coup attempt, while Tanzania prevented a UNESCO fact-finding delegation from visiting Ngorongoro to investigate reports of violent forced evictions against the Maasai Indigenous People. Several countries introduced or considered introducing truth and reconciliation processes, albeit at the expense of pursuing justice and accountability for victims of crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations and abuses. The DRC’s government adopted the Draft National Transitional Justice Policy, and the Ethiopian government started consultations for the adoption of a similar policy. In South Sudan, the Council of Ministers approved two draft bills to establish the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing and the Compensation and Reparation Authority, which were yet to be tabled for debate in parliament. However, it continued to block the establishment of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan. Authorities in the Gambia agreed to establish a hybrid court to prosecute suspected perpetrators of serious human rights violations during Yahya Jammeh’s presidency. The State of the World’s Human Rights 31