ACIJLP CALLS NGOS: TO ACCEDE TO AFRICAN ALLIANCE FOR AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Cairo, February 12, 2013

ACIJLP CALLS NGOS:

TO ACCEDE TO AFRICAN ALLIANCE FOR AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN RIGHTS

 

The Arab Center for Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) – the "coordinator" of the African Alliance for African Court; North Africa - calls non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Egypt and Arab countries in the African continent to accede to the African Alliance for African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, which specializes - according to its protocol – in taking decisions on the issues and disputes concerning the interpretation and execution of the African Charter on Human Rights, the Court Protocol and any human rights treaty ratified by the concerned state and giving advisory opinions on any matter within the scope of its competences. Any member state of the African Union, African Union institutions or any African organization recognized by the African Union can ask for advisory opinion. The court also can strengthen / promote the amicable settlement of the issues before it and interpret its judgment.

The temporal jurisdiction of the court extends to the date on which the Court's Protocol entered into force in relation to the concerned state except for the cases of persistent violations. The principle of continued violation was adopted earlier by the African Commission on Human Rights.

It should be noted that the alliance for the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights was created in 2003, it includes a group of human rights organizations, individuals, and national institutions for human rights in Africa. Its mission is to ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, independence and credibility of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. It was registered in 2007 in Tanzania, its headquarters is located at the city of Arusha. Its main objective is to have effective and independent African Court in order to provide treatment to the victims of human rights and strengthen human rights protection system in Africa and at the local level. The objectives of the Alliance are to encourage all the 53 countries of the African Union to ratify the protocol establishing the African Court; thus get the full ratification, strengthen transparency in the nomination and election of judges, provide a platform for the civil society to sustainably participate in the creation of the African Court and provide technical support for each of the African Union and the African Court. The alliance, since its emergence in the African scene, achieved notable successes to ensure the establishment of an effective African Court, its members are increasing gradually every day.

It is noteworthy that the protocol establishing the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights, which was adopted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on June 9, 1998, entered into force on 25 January 2004. The protocol was ratified by some North African countries including Algeria on April 22, 2003, Libya on November 19, 2003, Mauritania on May 19, 2005 and recently Tunisia on August 21, 2007, but it was not ratified until now by Egypt, which signed the protocol on February 17, 1999.

In this context, the center calls NGOs to join the Africa alliance for the African Court on Human Rights to support its activities, which aim at promoting, supporting and protecting human rights in the African continent, enhance the system of African human rights and support the guarantees necessary for their protection.

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Court) was founded under the African Charter Protocol. The protocol on the establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights was adopted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on June 9, 1988 and entered into force on January 25, 2004. The Court was established in order to complete the mandate of the commission and its decisions are final and binding to the States Parties to the Protocol.

The Court consists of 11 judges elected by the Conference of African Union from the list of candidates nominated by member states of the African Union. The judges are elected in their personal capacity and may not include more than one national (judge) of a particular State. Consideration is also given to gender and geographical representation. The judges are elected for six years and are eligible to be re-elected for only one more time.

                                  
The President of the Court takes the office as a full-timer and the rest of the ten judges are part-timers. The Court first judges sworn on July 1, 2006, its headquarters is located at Arusha, Tanzania.

To join the African Alliance for the African Court of Human Rights, please send an email to ACIJLP: acijlp@thewayout.net