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Lancaster
House
33 Islington High Street
London N1 9LH, UK
Fax: +44 (0)20 7278 4334
Email: ir@interights.org
33 Islington High Street
London N1 9LH, UK
Fax: +44 (0)20 7278 4334
Email: ir@interights.org
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Lancaster
House 33 Islington High Street London N1 9LH, UK Fax: +44 (0)20 7278 4334 Email: ir@interights.org |
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The Republic of Niger was the 16th state to ratify the Protocol on the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. Niger deposited its instrument of ratification on 17 May 2004. Read the communiqu� in French here. The Protocol on the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights entered into force on 25 January 2004. The Protocol received the required 15 instruments of ratification when the Union of Comoros deposited its instrument of ratification on 26 December 2003. The seat of the court, and the identity of the 11 judges will now be decided in February 2005. Read the African Union's press release in English and in French, and the final communiqu� here. Background The Commission of the African Union, in collaboration with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and INTERIGHTS organised a conference for East and Southern African States on the Protocol for the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights in Gaborone, Botswana on 9-10 December 2003. The Government of the Republic of Botswana hosted the conference. Representatives of the following States attended the conference: Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The representatives of the DRC and Lesotho informed the conference that their Governments had completed the instruments of ratification and forwarded these to the AU Commission. In addition, the representative of the AU informed the conference that Libya deposited its instrument of ratification on 9 December 2003, making it the 13th state to do so. Conference delegates applauded this important milestone that would bring into effect the Protocol. Lesotho deposited the 14th ratification.
Adoption
of New Protocol to the African Charter on Human The
African Union�s adoption of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa is a
significant step in the efforts to promote and protect the rights of African
women. Adopted on 11 July
2003, at the second summit of the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique, the
Protocol requires African governments to eliminate all forms of discrimination
and violence against women in Africa and to promote equality between the sexes.
In addition, it obligates states to integrate a gender perspective in their
policy decisions, legislation, development plans, and activities, and to ensure
the overall well-being of women. Once fully ratified and implemented, the
Protocol will become an important framework for ending impunity for all attacks
on human rights of women in Africa.
The implementation of the Protocol will be supervised by the African Commission on Human and Peoples� Rights, the body established to monitor compliance of states parties to the African Charter, pending the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples� Rights. States parties to the Protocol will commit themselves to periodically report to the Commission on the legislative and other measures undertaken to ensure the full realisation of the rights recognised in the instrument. As of August 2004, two states - Comoros and Libya - have fully ratified the Protocol, with Mali having adopted it. Read the full text of the Protocol to the African Charter here.
Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa The Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial were coordinated by INTERIGHTS and drafted jointly by its staff and the Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA). They were developed from the Declaration and Recommendations of the Dakar Seminar on Fair Trial in Africa held during 9 to 11 September 1999. It is hoped that states will adopt these guidelines within their national legislation. They were adopted by Heads of State at the second summit of the African Union held in Maputo in July 2003. Read the full text of the Guidelines issued by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights here.
INTERIGHTS Organises Conference for West
African INTERIGHTS collaborated with the Commission Nationale des Droits de l�Homme et des Libert�s Fondamentales (CNDHLF) of Niger and the African Union, under the auspices of the Government of Niger, to organise a Conference for West African States on the Ratification and Implementation of the Protocol Establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (the African Court), held in Niamey between 28 and 29 May 2003. The Protocol was adopted by the then Organisation of African Unity at its 33rd Summit in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in July 1998. It complements the African Charter on Human and Peoples� Rights and establishes the African Court, a court to reinforce the protective work currently done by the African Commission. The Conference heard that the Government of Niger had decided to ratify the Protocol at the highest level. It also heard that the Government of Togo had recently executed an instrument of ratification, that Cape Verde was beginning the process of ratification and that Benin Republic, Guinea Bissau and Niger Republic were in advanced stages of completion. The African Court will be set up after the Protocol has been ratified by 15 African countries. Burkina Faso, Burundi, C�te d�Ivoire, The Gambia, Mali, Mauritius, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda are nine countries that have already done so. Participants endorsed the establishment of a Coalition on the African Court to facilitate full ratification of the Protocol. The Coalition will work to realise the widest possible ratification of the Protocol and ensure an early establishment of the African Court, as well as liaise with the Commission of the African Union and the African Commission to ensure effective participation of African Civil Society in resolving practical issues associated with an effective African Court. Its membership will be National Human Rights Institutions and national and international NGOs, and its ultimate goal is to enlist membership from every African country. In July 2002, The Assembly of Heads of State and Governments of the African Union adopted resolution [AHG/Dec 171 (XXXVIII)], requesting member states, who have not yet done so, to expedite the process of ratification of the Protocol so as to ensure establishment of the Court before the end of 2003. Towards this objective, the African Union, in collaboration with INTERIGHTS is organising a series of regional seminars, the first of which will be in West Africa, to bring the Protocol to the attention of member states with a view to facilitating its ratification. Read the final communiqu� in English and French.
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