It would be an understatement to say that the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCPHR) with its seat in Arusha, Tanzania, broke grounds and may have espoused law jurisprudence the more after it hosted regional, sub-regional and constitutional courts across the continent at CIC Algiers, venue of the 6th Judicial Dialogue in Algeria last year. KEHINDE OSASONA was there.
The Sixth Dialogue
The Sixth Judicial Dialogue is on the theme: “Advancing Justice and Human Rights in Africa: Challenges and opportunities for integrating Regional and International Human Rights Jurisprudence in Domestic Courts.”
The well attended legislative gatherings and dialogue which held from November 20 to 22 provided a platform for lawyers, researchers, human rights institutions, judges and stakeholders to further deliberate comprehensively on the main objectives; challenges and opportunities related to integrating regional and
opportunities related to integrating regional and international human rights jurisprudence into domestic courts in Africa.
Before it, the Fifth African Judicial dialogue took place in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
At the Sixth edition in Algeria, there were discussions and analysis on the trajectory of the Maputo Protocol, the evolving human rights jurisprudence concerning women’s rights within the African human rights system, and the critical importance of creating awareness among Chief Justices of African Union Member States, about the importance of integration of this jurisprudence into their respective domestic legal frameworks.
The dialogue was in collaboration with the African Union (AU), The European Union, GIZ, the United Nations, and the government of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.
The dialogue was officially opened by the Prime Minister of Algeria, Mr Nadir Larbaouni, who represented President Abdelmadjid Tebboune while the Minister of Justice, Abderrachid Tabi gave a welcome speech at the high octane gathering.
Presidential remarks
In her
her opening remarks at the event, President of the African Court, Lady Justice Imani Daoud Aboud explained that only an independent judiciary can enhance socio-economic and political development of any country, adding that the intrinsic relationship between human rights, integration, peace and development, and in particular, the African Court to promote the protection of human rights generally and aid effective administration of justice, through integration of regional and international human rights jurisprudence at domestic level.
While decrying challenges that domestic courts face in integrating regional and international human rights jurisprudence, Aboud added: “We must together as stakeholders explore potential solutions and best practices to overcome these challenges.”
On aspiration 3 of Agenda 2063, she described it as the realisation of the objectives of the African Union and Agenda itself.
“This will require that Member States of the African Union undertake their international human rights obligations, including ratification of international human rights instruments, domestication of these instruments, deposit of the Article 34(6) Declaration, compliance with decisions and recommendations of human rights bodies, and such other support as may be required to ensure the effective functioning of human rights bodies,” Aboud stated.
Addressing the challenges
As envisaged, major parts of the discussion at the dialogue had stakeholders deliberating on contributions and achievements of the protocol to the protection of the rights of women in Africa as well as roles and significance of regional and international human rights jurisprudence in promoting domestic courts.
Dwelling on the Maputo Protocol on the rights of women, the special rapporteur on the rights of women in Africa, Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie urged continued adoption and carrying out of legislation and policy as a way out.
According to her, in the Gambia, provision of women Act has
been litigated all the way to the Supreme Court especially on marriage and properties, saying women can now go to court for equitable distribution of properties.
“In Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Mali, there have been arrays of women rights being upheld which I think must also be domesticated at the international level.
‘Today, women rights in form of gender based violence, forced marriage, rape, adoption, age and consent of marriage are being violated on a large scale but level of prosecution is very low across board,” she added.
Also speaking on rights of women and and specific challenges to enforcing such rights in domestic courts, another speaker from the University of Nigeria, Nssuka, Professor Joy Ngozi Ezeilo cited judicial decisions as a lacuna, saying over the years, lack of gender justice and judicial stereotype has largely impacted court decisions.
Ezeillo, who further cited dominant patriarchy as a setback, advocated that new jurisprudence should emerge from North Africa like it did Sub-Saharan Africa in order to avert the case of the women in Zambia, insisting that there must be a shift from rhetoric to actions.
“Africa must show
leadership to ensure that institutional mechanisms and judiciary interpreting laws conform to international laws,” Ezeilo explained further.
In her own contributions, the first Nigerian elected judge on the bench of African Court, Justice Elsie Nwanwuri Thompson noted that though the protocol seems to take care of all issues on African women viz a vis; economic empowerment, violence, child act etc with strong ratification, she however regretted that countries like Botswana, Burundi, CAR, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Somali and Sudan are yet to come on board.
“Before Maputo Protocol 2003, we were grappling with looking at various instruments, trying to find where to see the rights of women, and it became so cumbersome until the Maputo Protocol came,” Thompson, a former Vice President of the African Court added.
On the way out, she said since the Maputo Protocols already validates women’s rights to social and political equality, she said using strategic litigation methods, there was a need to build on the body of knowledge developed in the implementations of Maputo Protocols.
Thompson further called on women organisations and gender actors to step up their advocacy including using litigation, adding that ECOWAS Court is already showing good directions as regards that, calling on the need for other regional courts like East African Court and SABEC to enjoy same rights jurisdiction in order to aid the advocacy.
Going forward
Speaking exclusively to Blueprint Correspondent at the epoch event, a Nigerian representative on the bench of African Court, Lady Justice Stella Isibhakhomen Anukam, said the court would continue to aspire to surpass past successes. The African Court, according to her, has become a place where people can seek redress and be compensated for violations of their rights.
The dialogue she added has grown from strength to strength with viable inputs from stakeholders’.
On its part, the Registrar of the court, Dr. Robert Eno hinted that the court would continue to work side by side with African human rights bodies to achieve its set objectives.
The court he added would continue to build the capacity of lawyers in line with Article 25.
He
said: “In African Court, despite the fact that we are constrained by resources, we have a training session dedicated to lawyers on how to access and litigate before the African Court and as I speak, over a hundred lawyers have been trained.
“In doing that, I must also let you know that we have a specific criterion in selecting lawyers to be trained.”
On the whole, based on the quality of presentations, brilliant arguments and contributions by resource persons, lawyers, human rights body and Judges at the meeting, it would not be out of place to say that the 6th dialogue by the court was a huge success and the court should be applauded for surpassing the 2021 feats recorded in Tanzania.
