Arusha, 6 October, 2015: The President of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) Hon. Justice Augustino Ramadhani yesterday addressed the first Ordinary Session of the Fourth Parliament in Midrand, South Africa.
He urged the Parliamentarians to implore the countries which have not ratified the Court’s Protocol to do so.
Justice Ramadhani also urged AU Member States which have not made Declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol which allows individuals and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) direct access to the Court, to do so as well.
‘’I beseech your Excellencies to ask your respective Executives to ratify the Protocol and to deposit Declarations which will allow individuals to come directly to the highest Court of Human Rights on the continent,’’ said Justice Ramadhani.
Twenty five States have not ratified the Protocol and 47 States have not deposited the Declaration, out of the 54 AU Member States.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
1. Since the adoption of the Protocol in1998, only twenty nine (29) Member States of the African Union have ratified it. These are: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Comoros, Congo, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Niger, Uganda, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo and Tunisia.
2. As at October 2015, only seven (7) of the 29 States Parties to the Protocol had made the Declaration recognizing the competence of the Court to receive cases from NGOs and individuals. The seven (7) States are Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda and Tanzania.
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