Blow to African court as nations ditch key clause

Arusha. Two more countries are withdrawing from a key clause allowing individuals and NGOs to file cases directly before the African court.
Benin and Cote d’Ivoire say they are no longer parties to Article 34 (6), joining Tanzania which notified the Court of its withdrawal late last year.
The Declaration allows individuals and non-governmental organizations from countries which ratified protocol that established the Court to file cases directly to it.
But a statement issued by the African Court of Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR) on Tuesday disclosed the two West African states were withdrawing from the provision.
“The Court deeply regretted the action of the two States,” said a statement availed to The Citizen by the judicial organ of the African Union  (AU) based in Arusha.
However, the statement did not say when the withdrawal would be effected. But an official of the court admitted it was yet another blow to the organ’s mandate.
Benin and Cote d’Ivoire had been among nine countries, including Tanzania, which had signed the Declaration which aimed to fight violation of human rights.
With the withdrawal of the two and Tanzania, countries still signatories to the provision are Burkina Faso, Ghana, The Gambia, Mali, Malawi and Tunisia.
An AfCHPR official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tanzania’s withdrawal would be effective from November, this year, a year after its notification.
In 2016, Rwanda withdrew from the same provision, citing its reservations against a case filed before AfCHPR by an opposition leader, Ms Victorie Ingabire.
The Charter that established the Court was very clear that individuals/NGOs intending to file cases to the Court had to get clearance from their home countries.
Tanzania’s notice of withdrawal from the key provision of the Court was sent to the AU Commission in Addis Ababa through the Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation ministry.
The government maintains the decision was reached because provisions in the clause had been implemented “contrary to the reservations it submitted when making this Declaration”.
Tanzania was among the Organization of African Union (OAU) countries which signed the protocol at Ougadougou, Burkina Faso in 1998.
It ratified the protocol on February 10, 2006 shortly before the Court was operationalised and relocated to Arusha from its temporary seat at Addis Ababa.
Human rights activists have repeatedly warned  that the withdrawals of countries from the Declaration has some implications for the mandate of the continental Court.