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The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Does this mechanism apply to the country in which you are interested? Who can apply to the Commission? What can this mechanism do to assist you? How the Commission examines a complaint Does this mechanism apply to the country in which you are interested? This section deals with the individual complaints procedure of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. This procedure only applies to states which are a party to (in other words are members of ) the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. To find out if the individual complaints procedure applies to the country you are interested in click here
Note on how to use this link This link will bring you to a list of countries which are a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The individual complaints procedure applies only to those countries included in this list. Use your browser's "back" button to return to this page. About the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights was set up in 1987 under an international treaty called the African Charter on Human and People's Rights. The African Charter sets out the fundamental rights of persons which states are obliged to respect. For a copy of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights click here The role of the African Commission on Human Rights is to ensure that state parties (countries which are a party to the African Charter) respect the rights as set out in the Charter. The Commission is a treaty body and it has treaty powers. These powers enable the Commission to examine individual complaints and check whether countries are meeting their legal obligations to protect the human rights set out in the African Charter. The Commission is based in Banjul, The Gambia. It has eleven members who serve in their personal capacity and it meets twice a year. The Mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights can examine allegations of violations of the human rights set out in the African Charter which are brought to its attention. The rights set out in the African Charter include all of the fundamental human rights such as the right to life and the right to freedom from torture. All of the rights protected by the African Charter are set out in Articles 2 to 26 of the Charter. An Article is a paragraph in which a specific right and the manner in which the state must protect that right are described. To read Articles 2 to 26 view the full text of the Charter by clicking on the link contained in the section About the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. Who can apply to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights? A victim of a violation of any of the human rights set out in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights or a person representing a victim can submit a complaint to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. An individual or organisation alleging a serious or massive case of a violation of rights set out in the African Charter may also submit a complaint to the Commission. Remember, you should make sure that this mechanism applies to the country you are interested in (see the link at the top of this page). What can this mechanism do to assist you? The Commission may decide to examine your complaint and, if it thinks that in your case the state concerned may be in violation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights it can take action. Recently, the Commission examined a case and found that there had been a violation of the Charter within 10 months of first receiving the complaint (the case of Amnesty International / Zambia 212/98). However, it is important to note that, in the past, the Commission has taken up to 4 to 5 years to take a decision on a case. The range of action that the Commission can take is described below: Request Provisional measures Provisional or interim measures are immediate steps that a state can take to stop or prevent a human rights violation. These measures are called 'provisional' because the state is requested to take them before a final decision is taken in the case concerned. In cases of emergency, that is, when a human rights violation is about to take place, the Commission can request that a state take provisional measures to prevent the violation. For example, the Commission can ask a state not to carry out the death penalty on a person or not to send a person to a country where that person's life may be at risk. Friendly Settlement The Commission can try and reach a friendly settlement between the individual or NGO making a complaint and the state concered. However the Commission will only try and reach a friendly settlement if that is what both parties (that is, the person making the complaint and the state concerned) both want. Recommendation (or decision) of the Commission When it has finished its examination of a complaint, the Commission makes a final decision. If the Commission finds that there has been a violation of the African Charter, it declares that there has been a violation and sets out the action the state concerned should take to remedy the violation. The final recommendations of the Commission are not of themselves legally binding on the states concerned. This means that the state does not have to comply with the Commissions recommendations. However, it should be noted that if a final recommendation of the Commission is included in the Commission's Annual Activity Report it may become legally binding on the state concerned. Special Cases If the Commission decides that one or more communications relate to special cases which reveal the existence of a series of serious or massive violations of human and peoples' rights, the Commission can bring these special cases to the attention of the Head of State and Government of the countries which are a party to the African Charter. The Commission may then be requested to carry out an in-depth study of those special cases and to draw up a report and recommendations. How the Commission examines a complaint (the formal procedure) Step 1 Seizure When the Commission receives a written complaint, the first thing to does is decide whether or not 'to be seized' of the complaint. If the Commission decides 'to be seized' of a complaint this means that it will consider the complaint. However, if the Commission decides not 'to be seized' of the complaint then it will not consider the complaint at all. The Commission may only consider (or be 'seized of') complaints which contain the basic information required (see the section how to submit a complaint). Once the Commission has decided to be seized of a complaint, it informs both parties (that is, the person submitting the complaint and the state concerned) that it will decided on admissibility at its next session in 6 months time. The Commission also requests both parties to send any comments they may have to the Commission within a time limit of 3 months. Step 2 Admissibility A complaint which the Commission decides to examine is called 'admissible'. If the Commission decides that a complaint is not admissible, then it rejects the complaint and it will not consider it any further. As with 'Seizure' above, the Commission may only consider complaints which contain the basic information required (see the section how to submit a complaint). In addition, the written complaint must comply with the following points (which are called admissibility criteria): The complaint should be compatible with the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights; The complaint should not contain insulting language (for example, the Commission declared a complaint inadmissible for using words such as 'regime of tortures' and a 'government of barbarism' in communication 65/92); The complaint should not be based totally on information from the media; The complaint should be sent to the Commission shortly after exhausting domestic remedies. The complaint must not be one which has already been, or is being settled through another international body like the UN Human Rights Committee. Before taking a decision on admissibility, the Commission sends the text of the complaint to the state concerned and requests it to send any comments it may have on the complaint. The name of the person submitting the complaint can be witheld from the state if that person declares in their written complaint that they wish to remain anonymous. When the Commission has made its decision it writes to both parties to inform them that the complaint has been declared admissible or inadmissable. If the complaint is declared admissible, both parties are requested to send any further information concerning the complaint to the Commission. Step 3 Consideration on the merits Once a compliant has been declared admissible the Commission will consider the merits of the case. This means that the Commission will examine three elements; the allegations made by the person making the complaint, the reponse of the state concerned and the human rights guarantees set out in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. When the Commission meets to consider the merits of a complaint, the person making the complaint and the state concerned can make oral or written presentations to the Commision. NGOs and other individuals can also make oral presentations to the Commission. After listening to all sides, the Commision decides whether or not there has been a violation of the Charter or not. If it finds a violation, it makes a recommendation to the state concerned. Complaints should be sent in writing to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights at the address / Email / Fax number set out below. At the top of the page you should state the following: "This complaint is submitted under Article 55 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and Article 103 (G) (3) of the Rules of Procedure of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights". You should then set out the following information: 1 Name of the author (person submitting the complaint) 2 State if the author wishes to remain anonymous 3 State whether the author is the alleged victim, a relative of an alleged victim, an NGO or an individual 4 Name of the country referred to in the complaint 5 Description of the facts of the alleged violation of human rights 6 Articles of the African Charter which you consider have been violated by the state concerned 7 Measures taken by the author to exhaust local remedies. For example you should include any details of any court proceedings taken or investigations undertaken by the authorities. If you consider that the local courts are not effective, you should state why you believe this to be so. 8 State if the issue is being considered by another African or international body. Complaints should be sent to:
Website: http://www.achpr.org (under construction) Before submitting a complaint you should click on the following two links which contain important general information: Click here for information on the exhaustion of domestic remedies |
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