PALU set about preparing the AHRAP to be inspired and shaped by the best available research and analysis. It held some general consultations with various stakeholder groups on the continent and thought about the possible content of this Plan. In particular, it collected a significant amount of information from African youth groups, other civil society organizations (CSOs), and individuals. Yet, the preparation of the AHRAP was still nascent at the time, hence the moment was thus opportune to contribute to the plan’s preparation, the additional scholarly capabilities that PALU wanted and indeed needed, hence the applicant, his co-applicants and collaborators, decided to engage with PALU on the AHRAP. What is more, PALU noted that it sorely needed this very kind of expertise. For example, PALU noted that the information it had collected from African CSOs remained unprocessed as a result of this relative gap in its research/analysis capacity. Against this background, the proposed partnership, “the Research/Dissemination Network on the Development of the African Union’s African Human Rights Action Plan (AHRAP-NET),” was established, and funded by SSHRC.

AHRAP-NET undertook and disseminated relevant research/analysis that enhanced the capacity and ability of PALU (and in the end the African Union) to develop and adopt an optimal AHRAP, while allowing Canadian/African foreign policy and human rights practitioners to learn significantly more about aspects of the challenges, accomplishments, and prospects of Canada’s human rights role in Africa. Apart from what the partnership did to facilitate PALU’s important work in leading the preparation of the AHRAP, and how it will eventually benefit the African Union in relation to its efforts to enhance human rights across the African continent, key Canadian and African policymakers, practitioners, scholars, and citizens benefit significantly from additional and improved insights on the entailed questions.