Senegal has long been considered a beacon of democratic stability in Africa. However, from early 2021 until the March 2024 presidential elections, the country experienced significant political unrest, marked by mass protests and violence. Government and security force officials engaged in serious human rights violations – including torture and killings – with impunity.
Freedom of Expression
In 2024, the Lab filed a lawsuit before the ECOWAS court challenging the Senegalese government’s shutdown of the Internet in 2023. The case argues that Senegal’s Internet restrictions breached journalists’ right to freedom of expression as well as their right to work, while significantly stifling media freedom and free expression in Senegal.
The Lab also issued a report analyzing Senegal’s 2024 Amnesty Law, which shields from accountability perpetrators of grave human rights violations associated with protests that occurred in the country between March 2021 and February 2024.
