PETITION FOR THE RATIFICATION OF THE AFRICAN COURT PROTOCOL AND DEPOSIT OF ARTICLE 34(6) DECLARATION TO ALLOW CITIZENS AND NGOs DIRECT ACCESS TO THE AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Court) was established to complement the protective mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Banjul Commission). However, for the Court to fully realize its potential in safeguarding human rights across the continent, all African Union Member States must ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Court Protocol) and make the necessary declaration under Article 34(6) of the same Protocol to allow direct access to the Court for individuals and NGOs with observer status before the Banjul Commission.
What is the Problem?
54 of the 55 Member States of the African Union (AU), except Morocco, have ratified or acceded to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and have therefore committed themselves to respecting the principles set out therein.
However, only 34 Member States out of the 54 have currently ratified the African Court Protocol. And out of the 34, only 8 State Parties have deposited the Declaration under Article 34 (6) of the Protocol allowing direct access to the African for individuals and NGOs with observer status before the Banjul Commission.
In the absence of Article 34(6) Declaration, applications from individuals and NGOs must be submitted to the Banjul Commission first, which may, after preliminary examination, decide to refer the case to the Court. This method thus denies direct access to the African Court for individuals and NGOs.
34 Countries that have ratified the African Court Protocol (as of August 2024): Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Comoros, Congo, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Libya, Lesotho, Mali, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Nigeria, Niger, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia.
8 Countries that have deposited Article 34(6) Declaration (as of August 2024): Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Malawi, Niger and Tunisia.
Countries that had deposited but have now withdrawn Article 34 (6) Declaration: Rwanda (2016), Tanzania (2019), Benin (2020) and Cote d’Ivoire (2020).
WHERE IS YOUR COUNTRY POSITIONED ON THE ABOVE LIST? IT’S TIME TO TAKE ACTION NOW!
- Empowerment of citizens and NGOs to directly access the African Court.
- Strengthening human rights protection mechanisms across Africa.
- Promotion of good governance and rule of law
- Alignment with Continental and Global Human Rights Frameworks
We urge all AU Member States to take immediate steps to ratify the African Court Protocol and deposit Article 34(6) declaration. By doing so, you will join other forward-thinking nations in strengthening the African human rights system and ensuring that all citizens have access to justice and the protection of their fundamental rights.
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