SENSITIZATION SEMINAR FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS IN TANZANIA OPENING STATEMENT BY HONORABLE JUSTICE GERARD NIYUNGEKO

Sensitization Seminar for Human Rights Organizations in Tanzania

Organised by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in collaboration with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Tanganyika Law Society

13 December, 2010

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

OPENING STATEMENT BY HONORABLE JUSTICE GERARD NIYUNGEKO, PRESIDENT OF THE AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS AT THE SEMINAR FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS IN TANZANIA

13^TH DECEMBER 2010

Your Excellency, First Vice President of Zanzibar,

Honorable Judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 

Honorable Chief Justice of the United Republic of Tanzania

Honorable Judges of the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Tanzania,

Honorable Member of the Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

Honorable Members of the Commission on Human Rights and Good Governance,

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,

Deputy Registrar and Staff of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights,

Deans of Faculties of Law,

Senior Government Officials here present,

Learned Members of the Bar Association,

Distinguished representatives from the Religious Bodies,

Non Governmental Organizations here represented,

Media representatives here present,

Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen

1. It is my privilege and honor to welcome you all, to this, the first seminar organized by the Court in collaboration with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Tanganyika Law Society, to sensitize all relevant stakeholders, in the United Republic of Tanzania, about the Court, to ensure that it starts receiving cases and discharging the human rights protective mandate for which it was established. It is pertinent to mention here that, during the three years that the Court has been in Arusha, Tanzania, it has only received one case, even though everything has, since 2008, been in place for the Court to deal with human rights cases.

• I am pleased however, to note that the government of the United Republic of Tanzania takes the Court very seriously. As evidence of this, firstly, we must acknowledge and appreciate the willingness and commitment of the United Republic of Tanzania to host the Court. Secondly, Tanzania is one of only four countries to have deposited the declaration allowing direct access to the Court by individuals and nongovernmental organizations.

And thirdly, on the political front, the Court has received tremendous support from the government of the united Republic of Tanzania. To start with, I would be remiss if I did not mention that, only two months ago, we were honored by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, gracing the opening ceremony of the 18^Th Ordinary Session of the Court. Following upon that, the Court was be formally received by the former President of Zanzibar, His Excellency Amani Abeid Karume.

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And today, His Excellency, the First Vice President of Zanzibar, Seif Shariff Hamad, has graciously accepted, at rather short notice, the Court’s request to open this seminar. Your Excellency, the Court acknowledges with grateful thanks, the tangible efforts that the government of the United Republic of Tanzania is making to ensure that the Court is well settled, supported and provided for in material and other respects. Your being here, as well as the presence of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and other senior government officials, which I recognize, is evidence of the good will that your government bears the Court.

The Court is appreciative of these and other non-public support gestures. I would therefore not be surprised if Tanzania were to again take the lead in being the first African Union Member State to request the Court to exercise its advisory jurisdiction by making an application seeking an advisory opinion.

Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen

•   I recognize and welcome Honorable Members of the Judiciary of the United Republic of Tanzania. Honorable Judges, we were together two months ago during our 18^th Ordinary Session, yet you found time again to be with us today to participate at this seminar and assist in mapping the way to enable applications to be submitted to the Court, either seeking advisory opinions or otherwise . We are grateful for your interest and support and look forward to closer and better relations in future. I take this opportunity to thank the Chief Justice of the United Republic of Tanzania, who is also a Member of the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights for his active support in the facilitation of this seminar.

• Only last October, at a colloquium with similar institutions organized by the Court, in Arusha, we had occasion to exchange views and modalities on how we can work together in complementarity with representatives of the Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. I must mention that this Committee is one of those AU organs entitled to seek the advisory opinion of the Court on matters of the rights and welfare of children. I am therefore pleased to welcome the presence of the Member of that Committee, and look forward to our continued cooperation and collaboration.

• I extend a warm welcome to Honorable Members of the Commission on Human Rights and Good Governance. As an independent statutory body set up by the United Republic of Tanzania to have oversight on human rights observance in the country, I am sure you will consider and advise government on which human rights and governance issues to seek the Court’s advisory opinion. This seminar could not therefore have been held without your presence as you form the fabric of the human rights architecture of this nation.

Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen

• Allow me to welcome Members of the Bar Associations. It is you who shape practice of human rights law and in that regard you are an integral force in the development of human rights protection activities. I extend an especially warm welcome to the learned members of the Tanganyika Law Society, without whom, the organization of this seminar would have been burdened with challenges. At the end of this seminar, I look forward to conclusions that will see you submitting cases to the Court and that you will appear before the Court to argue your cases in the not too distant future. I can assure you that you will find the Court a professional, independent, informed, knowledgeable and responsible judicial institution.

• I recognize representatives of Faculties of Law of the Universities of Tanzania. In your teaching of human rights law and practice, you guide the development of the Human Rights Architecture in Africa, and are therefore an important element in all human rights discourses.

• Distinguished representatives from the Religious Bodies operating in the field of human rights and Human Rights Non- Governmental Organizations, you are directly in touch with the general populace and are best placed to educate and inform them about their rights, the remedies that are available to them, and the procedures they can follow to obtain relief for any violations of their rights. I urge you to take advantage of the enabling environment that the government has put in place and fully take your place alongside your progressive government  by taking up the opportunity you have been accorded to access the Court. We therefore welcome you and look forward to your concerted efforts in promoting the Court and to your valuable input into the outcomes of today’s seminar.

Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen

• The media is called the Fourth Estate for very good reasons: without accurate, objective, informative and timely reports on events and developments in the world, civil society will remain uninformed and/or misinformed. The power of the media cannot therefore be overemphasized. However, such power comes with a big responsibility: an obligation towards responsible reporting. I therefore welcome you, representatives of the media, and assure you that the Court looks forward to working hand in hand with you in spreading information on the Court’s activities.

1. Honorable Judges, Deputy Registrar and Staff of the Court, I urge you to take heart at the support we are receiving from our hosts. While we have been disappointed at the lack of cases coming to the Court, the attendance at this seminar, from across all levels of the Tanzanian human rights landscape, should bolster us and push us to go on working hard to reach out to all stakeholders across Africa and raise awareness about our mandate and the state of our preparedness to execute that mandate.

Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen

1. In planning this seminar, careful thought went into the decision over the themes of the seminar to achieve the goal that African Union Member States, African Union Organs, Individuals and NGOs optimally utilize the Court for human rights protection. In that regard, the starting point must be the general African human rights framework; hence the first theme is an Overview of the African Human Rights System. And since this seminar is aimed at promoting awareness of the Court’s role in that system, the second theme is a General Overview of the African Court, which focuses on the establishment, function and mandate of the Court and state of readiness of the Court to exercise its contentious and advisory jurisdiction. Following logically on that is the third theme, which is the practical and/or technical part: focusing as it does on access to and litigation before the Court. Lastly, and certainly not least, the final theme focuses on the role of all of you gathered here today, in promoting your Court, for the African Court was established to serve you and all Africans, and each of us has a role to play in ensuring that it manages to discharge its mandate.

Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen

1. In conclusion, therefore, I reiterate that this seminar is the first in a series of planned activities to raise awareness about the Court. I therefore look forward to your full participation and to fruitful contributions which would result in the Court receiving applications, and with suggestions that we can take forward to other countries on similar seminars. Tanzania is in the unique situation of both being the host of the Court and one of only four countries that allow individuals and non-governmental organizations to directly access the Court on human rights issues. This means that Tanzanians, apart from being one of the most empowered people on the continent in terms of the legal framework, also have the easiest access to the Court because of its proximity. Were the Court to receive cases from Tanzania, it would set a good precedent, and maintain the country’s place on the frontier of new developments in human rights protection that began with its support of the liberation of colonized Africans. You will notice that the seminar program is tailored to ensure that the exact modalities of how to submit a case before the Court will be clear to all participants at the end of the day.

I therefore leave you to critically ponder your place in the history and development of the Court in carrying out its human rights protection mandate.

Thank you for your attention.

Dar es Salaam

13 December 2010