On June 20th 2014, the government of Côte d’Ivoire adopted Law N°2014 388 on the promotion and protection of human rights defenders. This was the first law to be adopted on the African continent and has set an important precedent and example for processes in other countries. As stated in the preamble of the law:

“This law enshrines, on the one hand, the rights and duties of human rights defenders and on the other hand lists the obligations of the State in order to guarantee their the effectiveness of these rights. It is intended to serve as a source of reference for human rights defenders in their activities for the promotion and protection of human rights. The family of human rights defenders, the administrative authorities and the defence and security forces must become aware of it and appropriate it. This is the reason for the publication of this booklet by the Ivorian Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (CIDDH) with the financial support of PROTECTION INTERNATIONAL and PROTECTDEFENDERS.EU.”

Find the original document here in French (JOURNAL OFFICIEL).