Environmental Rights Africa (ERA), a Pan-African coalition of more than 55 civil society organizations across the continent, has endorsed its newly elected Steering Committee (SC) leadership, cementing a governance structure to advance a continent-wide environmental rights agreement and protect defenders at the front lines of environmental crisis.
The endorsement took place at ERA’s General Membership Meeting on August 26, 2025, following the inaugural SC meeting on August 21, where Ahmad Abdallah of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms was elected Chairperson. Saran Touré of Guinea’s Plaidoyer Recherche et Renforcement de Capacités des ONG was chosen as Co-Chairperson, ensuring gender, youth and linguistic balance in the coalition’s leadership.
The Steering Committee reflects ERA’s regional and thematic diversity. Regional focal points include Saran Touré (Guinea – West Africa), Walda Keza Shaka (Uganda – East Africa), Olivier Ndoole (DRC – Central Africa), Thuli Makama (Eswatini – Southern Africa), and Abdallah (Egypt – North Africa).
Working Group leaders are Paul Mulindwa (Outreach & Advocacy – CIVICUS), Emily Kinama (Case Studies – Katiba Institute, Kenya), Lucien Limacher (Defenders Emergency – Natural Justice, South Africa), Fiona Iliff (Technical Drafting – ABA, Zimbabwe), Wanjira Mathai, MD, Africa & Global Partnerships, WRI and Philip Jakpor (Communications – Renevlyn Development Initiative, Nigeria). Francis Colee (Green Advocates, Liberia) serves as SC Secretary, while Alfred Brownell (USA/Liberia) is the Lead Campaigner of the ERA movement.
In his acceptance remarks, Chairman Ahmad Abdallah pledged to place communities and defenders at the heart of ERA’s mission:
“I am deeply honored and humbled to serve as Chair of ERA, not just with gratitude, but with a profound sense of duty to our continent and our communities. Our struggle is not abstract — it is the struggle of farmers losing their lives to droughts, of coastal communities watching the sea rise, of indigenous people defending their sacred lands. It is the struggle of courageous defenders who face violence, intimidation, and death for speaking truth to power. Our mission is to ensure these voices are not silenced, but amplified — placed at the very center of Africa’s climate agenda and environmental rights. Together, we will work for a binding African agreement to empower defenders, and to write a new chapter where environmental rights are not just aspirations, but realities.”
His words captured the essence of ERA’s vision — a movement rooted not in abstract ideals, but in people, communities, and lives at stake.
With support from two international observers – Joseph Burke and Elizabeth Moses from ALLIED, the Steering Committee will provide strategic direction, oversee ERA’s five-year plan, mobilize resources, and ensure good governance. It will also spearhead ERA’s push for a legally binding African agreement recognizing the right to a healthy environment.
The ERA Secretariat, headquartered in Monrovia, Liberia, with a core team led by Peter Quaqua (MRU CSO Platform) as Head of Secretariat. He’s supported by Clement Voule (former UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Assembly) as Strategic Advisor, Dr. Tresor Makunya (University of Goma) as Legal and Policy Advisor, and Radiatu Kahnplaye (Green Advocates) as Finance Officer. All the Working Groups will function in closely with the Secretariat.
ERA’s Five-Year Strategy
Over the next five years, ERA will pursue a strategy built on three interlinked pillars:
Coalition Building & Advocacy – Expanding alliances, strengthening governance, and building political momentum through workshops, side events, and targeted outreach.
Research & Policy Development – Conducting 54 national case studies to document the lived realities of defenders and vulnerable communities, producing evidence-based continental reports to inform a regional treaty.
Government Engagement & Negotiation – Moving from advocacy to action by initiating formal negotiations for a binding regional treaty, supported by technical expertise and public campaigns.
Looking Ahead
While acknowledging a recent USD 600,000 four-year grant from the Open Society Foundations, ERA Lead Campaigner Alfred Brownell paid tribute to members who sustained the movement through its formative years:
“As we mark this important transition in ERA’s journey, I want to remind us of the path we’ve walked over the last four years. What sustained ERA was not resources, but the enthusiasm, commitment, and voluntarism of our members who persevered despite daunting challenges. That energy has carried us here — and it will continue to drive us forward as we enter this new phase of the struggle for environmental rights and justice in Africa.”
ERA is preparing for high-level advocacy at the African Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the UN Humanitarian Conference (Sept 29–30, Geneva), and the Global Peer Learning Conference, scheduled for December, in Kenya, alongside ongoing engagements with the African Union, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, UN Economic Commission for Africa, and UN Environment Programme.
With renewed leadership and momentum, ERA is poised to strengthen its visibility, deepen advocacy, and unite Africa’s defenders under one powerful movement for justice, accountability, and environmental rights.
