Rwanda is impressed with the competence of the Arusha-based, Pan-African Court to receive cases from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) with observer status before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“The Republic of Rwanda has deposited the declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the Court to receive applications from individuals and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) with observer status before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, also known as the Banjul Commission, as required under Article 5 (3) and Article 34 (6) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
By depositing the declaration, Rwanda has authorised individuals and NGOs to directly take their petitions involving Rwanda before the African Court on Human and People’s Rights in Arusha, subject to the reservation that all local remedies would have been exhausted before the competent organs and jurisdictions of the Republic of Rwanda.
But according to the court’s information officer, Mr Jean-Pierre Uwanone, Rwanda had actually ratified the Protocol 10 years ago, but until recently Rwandan citizens could not directly file cases before the Court, because of the lack of the said declaration.
“In fact, when a State has ratified the Protocol, but has not made the declaration, it can bring cases before the Court as a State and not as individual citizens and can appear before the Court only to respond to matters brought to the Court by other States or the Banjul Commission,” explained Mr Uwanone.
The declaration from Rwanda was signed on January 22, 2013. Rwanda is the sixth country to deposit the declaration after Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, Mali and Tanzania.
With its seat based in Arusha, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights is the only continental judicial organ established by African Union Member States to ensure the protection of human and peoples’ rights in Africa.
The Protocol establishing the Court was adopted in 1998 and the Court officially started its operations in November 2006.
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