AFRICAN UNION
UNION AFRICAINE
UNIÃO AFRICANA
AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
COUR AFRICAINE DES DROITS DE L’HOMME ET DES PEUPLES
CONCEPT NOTE
FOR THE
REGIONAL SENSITIZATION SEMINAR ON THE
PROMOTION OF THE AFRICAN COURT, FOR EAST
AND NORTH AFRICA
22 -24 AUGUST 2012
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
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Introduction
1. The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Court) was established by
virtue of Article 1 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples'
Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights,
(the Protocol) to complement the protective mandate of the African Commission
on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission), with a view to enhancing the
protection of human rights on the continent.
2. The establishment, it was believed, would fill the deficiency gap identified in the
operations of the Commission; including the fact that the Commission can only
render non binding recommendations. The main purpose for the establishment of
the Court therefore was to ensure the effective protection of human rights on the
continent.
3. For the Court to achieve the purpose for which it was established, it must involve
the different human rights actors, in particular; individuals, NGOs and States
Parties to the Charter and the Protocol. These actors must understand not only
the existence of the Court, but also its importance, how they can utilize it to seek
remedy for human rights violations and such other information as may be useful.
Since the adoption of the Protocol in June 1998 (more than twelve years ago),
only twenty six (26) of the fifty four (54) Member States of the African Union have
ratified it, and only five (5) States Parties to the Protocol have made the
Declaration under Article 34(6) thereto, allowing individuals and NGOs direct
access to the Court. These State Parties are Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, Mali
and the United Republic of Tanzania.
4. As at July 2012, the Court had received twenty (22) applications on contentious
matters, thirteen (13) of which have been disposed of and nine (9) are pending.
The Court has also received three (3) requests for advisory opinion two (2) of
which have been disposed of and one (1) is pending.
5. It is not certain why all fifty four Member States of the African Union have not
ratified the Protocol and make the Declaration. The low level of ratification may
be due to lack of institutional capacity at domestic level, or in some cases, lack of
information. In some instances, a State may require just information to enable it
initiate and/or finalize the ratification or declaration process.
6. Experience from other regional human rights bodies, including the African
Commission and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights of the Child
shows that very few people know about the existence of these institutions, let
alone, how they can access them. The situation may not be different with respect
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to the Court. It is probably the case that the majority of the people the Court was
established to serve do not know about its existence, let alone, how they can
access it.
The success of the Court as a human rights protection mechanism would require
much wider ratification of the Protocol by Member States, as well as their
acceptance of the competence of the Court by making the Declaration under
Article 34(6). This ‘universal’ ratification will give the Court the legitimacy it needs
to effectively discharge its mandate. It will also demonstrate the commitment of
States Parties to the protection of human rights and bring renewed hope to the
people that perhaps, the protection of human rights is no longer business as
usual.
7. The effective protection of human rights on the continent therefore requires the
involvement of all the key stakeholders, including in particular, the general
population, NGOs, NHRIs and Member States themselves. One way to involve
these stakeholders is to engage them in dialogue, through meetings and other
awareness and sensitization activities to address them about the Court, in
particular, on its establishment, mandate, relevance to the protection of human
rights and to national and regional development as a whole, as well as on the
role each stakeholder can play or should play to ensure the effective protection of
human rights in general and the effectiveness of the Court in particular.
8. The Court thus decided to engage in a sensitization programme across the
continent to create awareness. In March 2011, the Court held a continental
conference in Lilongwe, Malawi and since then has undertaken sensitization
missions to eleven (11) State Parties to the Court’s Protocol. With a view to
sensitize stakeholders in a regional or sub-regional reach, the Court decided to
organize the sensitization missions at the regional level.
Aims and Objectives
9. The main objective of the sensitization seminars is to enhance the protection of
human rights in Africa.
10. The specific objectives include:
- Raising public awareness about the Court;
- Encouraging the deposit of the Declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol of
the Court;
- Sensitizing would-be applicants on how to access the Court and the procedures
before the Court; and
- Encouraging the public to utilize the Court in settling human rights disputes
- Encouraging the utilization of the Court to render advisory opinions.
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Venue and date
11. The seminar will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 22-24 August 2012.
Theme and topics for discussion
12. The theme of the seminar is ‘The African Court on Human and Peoples’
Rights: Your New Partner in Strengthening the Protection of Human Rights
in Africa’.
13. The topics for discussion include:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
Overview of the African Human Rights system
General Presentation of the African Court;
The role of the Court in contentious matters;
The Advisory Jurisdiction of the African Court;
Enforcement of the Court’s Decisions;
The relationship between the Court and the African Commission on Human and
Peoples’ Rights;
The relationship between the Court and Regional Communities’ Courts;
The relationship between the Court and national judiciaries; and
Strategies for more ratifications of the Court’s Protocol and deposit of Article
34(6) declaration.
Participants
14. It is expected that the seminar will be attended by a wide range of stakeholders
drawn from East and North Africa. They will come from human rights
organizations working towards the promotion and protection of human rights in
the region. They will include AU Organs, Regional Courts, National Human
Rights Institutions, academic institutions, individuals, NGOs, media and Bar
Association.
15. It is expected that the opening ceremony will be attended by African and other
Diplomatic Missions in Ethiopia, UN representatives, international NGOs and
intergovernmental organizations and the media.
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Methodology
16. The Conference will be consultative as well as participatory, to facilitate
exchange of information and experiences. There will be presentations on various
topics, and presentations and/or moderation will be done by Judges and/or
African experts or practitioners in litigation before international tribunals or
experts on the Court.
Conference languages
17. The Conference will be conducted in Arabic, English, French and Portuguese,
with simultaneous interpretation, and documentation will, as far as possible, be
available in these languages.
Further information
18. Further information on the Court’s Sensitization Seminars can be obtained from
the Court’s website at www.african-court.org . For enquiries on this sensitization
seminar, please contact:
Ms. Grace Wakio
Legal Officer
African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Email: grace.wakio@african-court.org or gwakio@yahoo.com
Tel: +255783057533/+255732979745
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