OPENING REMARKS OF DR. ROBERT ENO, REGISTRAR OF THE AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS ON THE OCCASION OF THE RETREAT OF JUDGES OF THE AFRICAN COURT

Dodoma, United Republic of Tanzania, 14-16 June 2023

1. Today will make me 12 years, 10 months and 24 days working at the Registry of the Court. Six months as Deputy Registrar, one year as Acting Registrar and the rest, to date, as Registrar of the Court. During this period, I have had the unique opportunity to serve under all the 6 (six) Presidents who have presided over the affairs of this unique institution, all of them with different styles of administration. I am fortunate to have been and to still be in this position and to have learned a lot from each of them and I continue to learn.
2. I have also had the privilege to serve as the “stop-gap” between the general public and the Judges, through my direct engagement with stakeholders of the Court, and thus know, to a very large extent, what most of the stakeholders feel and say about the Court – some positive and some of course negative, some legitimate and some unfounded, some encouraging and some discouraging, etc.
3. From whichever angle you choose to look at things, by whichever lens you use and wherever you stand on the issues stakeholders say about the Court, what is undeniable is the fact that their perception of the Court can make or mar the effective discharge of the mandate of the Court. Perception must thus not be overlooked.
4. As I said, throughout my almost 13 years of service at the Court, I have been greatly edified by the wisdom and guidance from the leadership of the Court, my interaction with Judges, the staff and other stakeholders. But the one thing that has stuck with me, and which perhaps has informed my approach to the way I relate with colleagues and the Hon. Judges, is the “cliché” that “there is always room for improvement”.
5. This was the “mantra” of one of my bosses, a former President of the Court. He would always tell me, Mr. Registrar, you and your colleagues have done well, but there is still room for improvement.
6. Many of my colleagues thought he was too tough in his assessment of staff. So, one day, I met him in his office and shared staff sentiments with him. He smiled and said he appreciated the very good work of staff members and the sacrifices some were making under very difficult circumstances. However, he believed that every human being has the potential and ability to always improve in whatever they do. On the occasion of his send-off party, at the end of his term as Judge, he did address staff members on this.  According to my former boss therefore, the human been has the unlimited potential to constantly improve. According to Vusi Thembekwaya, a South African motivational speaker, “we don’t need to be perfect. We just constantly have to be willing to improve”, for according to him, “perfectionism is not achievable, imperfection is guaranteed and improvement should be our goal”.
7. Hon. Judges, like staff of the Court, or indeed, any other human being, I believe there is also room for improvement even for organizations, including the African Court. If we compare ourselves to other similar regional Courts, and other organs of the AU, we can say without any sense of guilt that the African Court has done very well as a regional Court. The number of cases and our jurisprudence speak for themselves.
8. In spite these successes, within this very short period of time, we all agree that the Court still faces a lot of challenges: external as well as internal – including push back and resistance from the very Member States that established the Court in the first place, criticism from some stakeholders, lack of visibility or proper connection with the public, inability to dispose of cases expeditiously, to name but a few.
9. These and many other challenges tell us that our successes notwithstanding, “there is still room for improvement”
   • Improvement to enhance our visibility
   • Improvement in our working methods;
   • Improvement in the quality of delivery of services;
   • Improvement in our relations with States and other stakeholders;
   • Improvement on how we manage scarce resources;
   • Etc
10. It is in this context, Hon. Judges, that the Registry joins you in this retreat to explore ways and means in which we can build on our success to improve the work of the Court going forward.
11. To the best of my knowledge, there has been no Retreat exclusively for Judges of the Court since the establishment of the Court.
12. More than 16 years after its establishment, therefore, it is important for the Judges to have such a retreat where they can have a heart-to-heart, face-to-face conversation on the state of affairs of the Court. It is an opportunity to have a self-introspection and ask pointing questions and have an honest, frank and constructive intra-judges dialogue. It is an opportunity for reflection on why the Court was established, what has the Court done since its establishment, has it met the expectations of the people it was established to serve? What’s the court’s relationship with its stakeholders – in brief, it is a 16-year reflection of where we are coming from, where we are and where we are going.
13. If there is only one thing I must commit, I can guarantee you, Hon. Judges, it is that the staff of the Court are strongly behind you and ready and capable to work with you to ensure the effectively discharge of this noble task entrusted to you – of enhancing the protection of human rights on our continent.
14. We all share the vision of an Africa with a viable human rights culture, and believe that the realisation of the objectives of the AU and the aspirations of Agenda 2063 must be premised on a firm foundation of human rights.
15. To achieve the Africa we want, we must always endeavour to build on our successes, by seeking to getting better at what we do – there is always room for improvement.

I thank you.