His Excellency Aïmene Benabderrahmane the Prime Minister
His Excellency Abderrachid Tabi, Minister of Justice & Keeper of the Seal
Honorable Modibo Sacko, Vice-President of the African Court,
Honorable Judges and Presidents of various domestic courts,
Representatives from governments
Members of the Diplomatic Corps present here
Honorable Judges of the Court,
Registrar and Deputy Registrar,
Staff of the Registry,
Dear Colleagues.
It is indeed a pleasure for us to be holding our session, the 71st ordinary session of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, here in this beautiful city of Algiers. On behalf of my colleagues Judges and staff of the Court and on my personal behalf, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, His Excellency Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who is personally represented here by His Excellency Aïmene Benabderrahmane the Prime Minister, and his government for accepting to host not only the 71st Ordinary Session of the Court, but also 6th African Union Judicial Dialogue.
Your Excellency Prime Minister, Honorable Judges and dear colleagues,
As we all know, the African Court is the main judicial arm of the African Union charged with the protection of human rights on the continent. It was established through the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Court’s Protocol), to complement the protective mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, a quasi-judicial human rights organ of the African Union. To date, of the 55 Member States of the African Union only 34 have ratified the Protocol, Algeria amongst the 34. Of the 34 State parties, only 8 have deposited the Declaration under Article 34(6) allowing individuals and NGOs direct access to the Court. The 8 States are: Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Malawi, Niger and Tunisia. As we can see, Algeria is not among the 8.
Your Excellency Prime Minister, Honorable Judges and dear colleagues,
Algeria was one of the 32 African countries that established the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, and the success of the Organisation was grounded on the premise that freedom, equality, justice, peace and dignity are essential for the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples. The life struggle of one of the greatest Africans, a true son of the soil, His Excellency, Ahmed Ben Bella, the first President of this country was an embodiment of these values. He is quoted as having said that, “The struggle for justice and equality is never easy, but it is necessary for a better future”. It is that better future that encapsulated his enduring struggle for independence and the fight for fundamental human rights. This statement highlights the fact that achieving justice and equality requires tremendous effort, persistence, and resilience. By actively advocating for justice and equality, we pave the way for a society in which every individual can thrive and contribute their fullest potential.
Fifty years after the OAU, in 2013, those ‘legitimate aspirations’ expressed by the Founding fathers were restated and firmly entrenched into Africa’s new blueprint – Agenda 2063. The dream of His Excellency Ben Bella of a ‘better future’ is thus still alive.
Agenda 2063 encapsulates that dream, now fully expressed by the African people into 7 key “legitimate aspirations” – aspirations which if fully accomplished, will lead to ‘An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena’ – that is, the Africa we want.
Excellencies;
Yes, Ben Bella is not with us, but he, and many of his generation, bequeath to us a continent full-on potential. Africa’s potential can only be harnessed and realized within an integrated, united, peaceful and prosperous continent, standing on a firm foundation of good governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Significantly, the objectives of the African Union and the aspirations of Agenda 2063 are linked by a common thread – human rights. None of the objectives or aspirations can be achieved without a strong human rights foundation. Our prosperity, unity, integration, development, security, peace, including our standing on the international stage are all linked to our approach to human rights.
Excellencies,
Given the intrinsic relationship between human rights, integration, peace and development, the role of human rights bodies, and in particular, the African Court in our case, is extremely important. History teaches us that an independent judiciary is indispensable for the socio-economic and political development of any community.
Aspiration 3 of Agenda 2063 is crucial to the realization of the objectives of the African Union and Agenda 2063. This will require that Member States of the African Union undertake their international human rights obligations, including ratification of international human rights instruments, domestication of these instruments, deposit of the Article 34(6) Declaration, compliance with decisions and recommendations of human rights bodies, and such other support as may be required to ensure the effective functioning of human rights bodies.
Your Excellence Prime Minister, Honorable Judges and dear colleagues,
Algeria is one of the first country to have signed the Protocol in 1999. It ratified the Protocol in 2003. The first Annual Meeting between the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, after harmonization of their respective Rules of Procedures, took place here in Algiers in July 2012. When the Court decided to develop its electronic case management system, one of the countries it visited for benchmarking was Algeria. At the level of the AU, Algeria has been very supportive of AU African Union human rights institutions, including the African Court, to ensure they operate without outside interference. Additionally, Algeria is one of the few Member States of the African Union that currently has its nationals serving concurrently in all three African Union human rights organs. These demonstrate Algeria’s commitment not only to human rights, but to a strong, independent and resilient justice system on the continent. I wish to use this platform to encourage Algeria to crown this wonderful accomplishment by depositing the Article 34(6) Declaration, hopefully, before the Court’s session comes to an end. It will be a wonderful gift for the Court to take back to Arusha.
Excellencies,
As I indicated earlier, Algeria is hosting two very important meetings of the Court – the 71st ordinary session, and the 6th African Union Judicial Dialogue. The latter event, which will be from 20 to 22 November, will bring together Chief Justices and Presidents of the Constitutional Courts from across the continent, to exchange on how to enhance the protection of human rights generally and the effective administration of justice, through integrating regional and international human rights jurisprudence at domestic level. It is hoped that this biennial African judicial jamboree will provide an avenue for fruitful exchange of experiences, best practices and come up with ways of improving the protection of human rights on the continent.
Your Excellency Prime Minister, Honorable Judges and dear colleagues,
During this session, and immediately after this solemn ceremony, the Court will be delivering 9 judgments. It will proceed to examine 13 cases on its cause list for the session.
We will also consider, among other items, a proposal on the disposal of cases for 2024, the draft guidelines on compliance hearings, the draft manual on procedures before the court, reports on sensitization visits to Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, and Cape Verde, as well as a number of administrative matters.
I trust that with all the facilities put at our disposal by the government, and the usual dedication by the Judges and staff of the Court, we will as usual execute our mandate to the best of our ability.
Your Excellency Prime Minister, Honorable Judges and dear colleagues,
Kindly allow me to take a moment to thank all members of staff from the Registry, the freelance staff, the technical support staff provided by the government and all those associated with the preparation of these activities. We count on your support and sacrifice to ensure that our session and judicial dialogy will be a huge success.
Let me end by thanking my sister, Hon. Justice Bensaoula, the Algeria Ambassador to Tanzania, the Algeria Ambassador to Ethiopia, the Algerian Minister of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their teams, and all those in government that have contributed in one way or another for the wonderful cooperation we have had throughout the organization of these activities.
Excellencies, Honorable Judges and dear colleagues,
With these few words, it is now my singular honor and pleasure to declare the 71st Ordinary Session of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights officially open, and I wish us all fruitful deliberations.
Long Live the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Long Live the African Court
Long Live the African Union
Long live Africa
I thank you.
IMANI DAUD ABOUD