Resolution on the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights

We, the participants of the NGO Forum preceding the 41st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the 15th African Human Rights Book Fair, held at the Coconut Grove Hotel, Accra, from 12 – 14 May 2007,

We call on the African Commission to:

I. Impress upon states parties that have not made a declaration under Article 34(6) of the protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to do so;

II. Be proactive in creating an institutional framework for the co-operation between the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights;

III. Take steps at the speedy recruitment of legal staff at the Secretariat in preparation for taking cases to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights; and

IV. Consider the inclusion of the interpretation of the Protocol under the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa in its jurisdiction.

We call upon African states to:

I. Commit funds to the Human Rights Fund;

II. Commit themselves to direct access by NGOs and individuals to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the new court;

III. Take measures to ensure enforcement of decisions of the African Commission and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights; and

IV. Respect the independence of the African Commission and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Done at Accra, 14 May, 2007