The Sensitization Seminar in Addis Ababa: Four Questions to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights

By\ Mekki Elmograbi

The Sensitization Seminar in Addis Ababa: Four Questions to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights

It was really a good opportunity for me to travel to Arusha while I was still staying in Addis Ababa! Actually Arusha came to Addis to conduct “the Sensitization Seminar on the African Court on Human and People’s Rights”.

The Seminar was organized on 20th November 2014 at AU Headquarters in Addis by the African Court based in Arusha, in collaboration with the Government of Ethiopia.

The African Court is the first continental court established by African countries. The court is new and has a low number of ratifications but the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 1982 which is the main African human rights instrument has early created the framework for the Court and all African human rights bodies.

The vision of the Court is an “Africa with a viable human rights culture”; it is clear for and for all people who are interested in human rights that the African culture on human rights is unique with its special attention to two things; “the right to development” and “the concept of peoples’ rights”.

At the Seminar, I met the honorable president of the court Mr. Justice Ramadhani and Dr. Robert Eno the registrar of the court and we had nice discussions with them, but still I have some questions.

Four Questions to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Right:

• What are the programs and the actions that dedicated to assist national judiciary systems in terms of institutional and technical assistance, and also in terms of evaluating national laws, particularly “human rights-related laws”, suggesting some modifications that fill the gaps in national laws?
• Putting in mind that the priority of economic development in underdeveloped countries highlights the necessity of political stability, African political elites and specially peace mediators prefer transitional justice and social reconciliations than judicial verdicts on national, regional, or international levels; do you think that the two tracks are totally different? What are the programs of the court on the issue of transitional justice?
• Currently, there are three tracks related to “the International Criminal Court – ICC” regarding its intervention in Africa; mass pullout from the ICC, reforms on Rome statute, or supporting the ICC without making the reforms as a condition for the full support; what is the stand of the African court?
• Two of the strategic objectives of the Court are “To collaborate with sub-regional and national judicial bodies to enhance the protection of human rights on the continent”, and “To enhance the participation of the African People in the work of the Court”. How you can we link the “Sensitization Seminar on the African Court on Human and People’s Rights” that held on 20th November 2014 at AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa with these two objectives?