TREC/001/4/16: RECOMMENDATION FOR THE EFFECTIVE FIGHT AGAINST IMPUNITY FOR GRAVE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN AFRICA

TREC/001/4/16: RECOMMENDATION FOR THE EFFECTIVE FIGHT AGAINST IMPUNITY FOR GRAVE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN AFRICA

We, the participants of the Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the 58th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights from 3rd-5th April, 2016 at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Senegambia, The Islamic Republic of The Gambia;

Recalling the provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, mandating the organization to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights, peace, security and stability across the continent, democratic institutions and principles and good governance (articles 3.h and 4.m) and to condemn and reject impunity (article 4.o) ;

Recalling the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ratified by all African Union Member States except South Sudan, and recognizing rights and freedoms enjoyed by individuals on the African continent and including the rights to respect of life, integrity and dignity of all human beings (articles 4 and 5) ;

Deeply concerned by the grave human rights violations committed in different areas of the African continent, including sexual and gender – based violence, that may amount to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and other serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and Deeply concerned by the endemic impunity that continues to benefit their authors ;

Emphasizing the commitment of African countries to fight against impunity for all human rights violations, and in particular the consensus that international crimes that shock the conscience of humankind and endanger the international public order, should be investigated and prosecuted;

Considering that 34 African States are parties to the Rome Statutes of the ICC, and therefore have voluntarily committed to supporting the investigation and prosecution for international crimes and rejected immunity for responsible for such atrocities ;

Considering the Resolutions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights calling on the African Union Member states to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998, 2002) and its Resolution on the end of impunity in Africa and the domestication and implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (2005);

Deeply concerned by the resolution adopted by the African Unit during its January 2016 deciding to develop a comprehensive strategy of collective withdrawal from the Rome Statute, however noting that the African Union is not a Party to the Rome Statute and that ultimately decisions of withdrawal can only be made by States ;

Recalling the importance of developing national authorities’ capacities to address international crimes and violations of the African Charter, and noting that in accordance with the principle of complementarity, regional and international jurisdictions have jurisdiction only when national authorities are unwilling or unable to genuinely investigate and prosecute those international crimes;

Considering that 30 African States are parties to the Protocol to the African Charter establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and that 7 of them have deposited the 34(6) Special Declaration granting individuals and NGOs direct access to the Court ;

Concerned by Rwanda’s withdrawal of its Special Declaration under the Protocol on the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights allowing for individuals and NGOs’ direct access to the Court, as it represents a significant setback for human rights protection in the country and across Africa ;

Mindful of the suffering of thousands of African victims of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law who continue to seek for truth, justice and reparation ;

The NGOs Forum calls upon the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to adopt a resolution:

Urging States to pay particular attention to the rights to justice and reparation for victims of the most serious human rights violations and international crimes, including sexual and gender-based crimes, and the effective implementation of these rights into domestic legislation ;

Recalling that it is the perpetration of international crimes and impunity of their authors that constitute the most serious threat to peace and security, and not the investigation and prosecution of those crimes ;

Recalling that States have the primary obligation to investigate and prosecute grave human rights violations, and that responsible for these crimes should be brought to justice in their domestic courts in accordance with internationally recognized fair trial standards ;

Acknowledging that regional and international judicial mechanisms are crucial last resort courts enabling victims of the most serious crimes to access justice and reparations when States fail to honour their obligations to investigate and prosecute such violations ;

Calling on States to fully support the African and international human rights system ;

Calling on States to ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and to deposit the Special Declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol allowing for individuals and NGOs to submit complaints directly to the Court, if they have not yet done so ;

Calling on States to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in its efforts to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for international crimes, and to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court for those States which have not yet done so.

Done in Banjul, Islamic Republic of The Gambia – 5th April, 2016