AU calls on states to ratify protocol

Arusha. With slightly more than a half of the African Union (AU) member states having ratified its protocol, the African Court on Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR) has embarked on another sensitisation mission.

This time the Arusha-based judicial organ of the continental body will send its team to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) to seek support. The mission will be there from today to Sunday.

“The sensitisation mission is part of the on-going efforts of the court to interact with different stakeholders in order to deepen their understanding of the court’s mission and importance, and to encourage states to ratify the protocol establishing the AfCHPR,” communication officer Sukhdev Chhatbar said in a statement on Thursday.

The north African country, commonly known as Western Sahara, will also be required to deposit the declaration under Article 34(6), which allows direct access to the court by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals.

He added: “The main objective of the visit is to encourage SADR, which has already ratified the protocol, to deposit the declaration required under Article 34(6) of the Protocol.” So far, 30 out of the 55 African Union (AU) Member States have ratified the protocol and only eight of them have deposited the declaration recognising the competence of the court to receive cases from NGOs and individuals. The eight states are Tanzania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Mali and Tunisia.