DECISION ON THE 2013 ACTIVITY REPORT OF THE
AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Doc. EX.CL/825(XXIV)
The Executive Council,
1. TAKES NOTE of the Activity Report of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Court) for 2013 and the recommendations therein, including the noncompliance of Libya with the Courts’ Order as well as the reservations and concerns of Libya on paragraphs 26 to 33, 110 and 114;
2. CONGRATULATES the Court for the activities it has undertaken during the period under consideration;
3. URGES all Member States, and parties appearing before the Court, to co-operate fully with the Court in the exercise of its mandate, to assure the proper administration of justice;
4. TAKES NOTE of the adoption of a legal assistance policy and of the proposal to establish a special fund and the institutionalisation of Dialogue among African judicial systems and REQUESTS the Commission in collaboration with the PRC and the African Court to carry out a study on the advisability and feasibility of the fund as well as the financial implications of the said Dialogue;
5. TAKES NOTE that the year 2016 marks a veritable watershed in the continental human rights trajectory: 2016 celebrates the 35th anniversary of the adoption of the African Charter in 1981; 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the entry into force of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1986; the year marks the 29th anniversary of the operationalization of the African Commission in 1987 and; 2016 also marks the 10th anniversary of the operationalization of the Court;
6. WELCOMES FURTHER and ENDORSES the recommendation made by both the Court and the African Commission to declare 2016 as the African Year of Human and Peoples’ Rights particularly Women Rights as indicated in the proposal document submitted by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
7. REQUESTS the Court and the Commission to submit a detailed Concept Note, setting out the rationale and modalities for celebrating the year 2016 as the Africa Year of Human and Peoples Rights, particularly Women Rights and to ensure the involvement of other AU Organs with human rights mandate, and submit a report to the next Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in June, 2014;
8. AUTHORISES the Court to report on its activities at each regular session of the Executive Council in accordance with article 31 of the Protocol relating to the African Court;
9. REQUESTS the Court to propose, for consideration by the PRC, a concrete reporting mechanism that will enable it bring to the attention of relevant policy organs, situations of non-compliance and/or other issues within its mandate, at any time, when the interest of justice so requires;
10. NOTES WITH CONCERN that, fourteen years after its adoption, only twenty six Member States of the African Union have ratified the Protocol establishing the Court and only seven of the twenty six State Parties have made the declaration required under Article 34 (6) of the Protocol, allowing individuals and NGOs to bring cases to the Court;
11. CONGRATULATES the twenty-six State Parties to the Protocol, and the seven State Parties that have made the declaration required under Article 34 (6) of the Protocol;
12. INVITES those Member States that have not already done so, to ratify the Protocol and make the declaration required under Article 34 (6) of the Protocol;
13. CONGRATULATES the Government of the Republic of Tanzania for the physical facilities it has placed at the disposal of the Court to enable it function, and URGES the Government to take urgent steps to ensure the construction of the permanent premises of the Court;
14. CALLS UPON AfCHPR to circulate all the reports to Member States in the respective AU working languages so as to enable them to respond on time;
15. REQUESTS the PRC to report at the next Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in June/July 2014 on the implementation of this Decision.