Next week the Court will conduct its latest ‘sensitization visit’, going to Ethiopia from 19 to 20 November.
As the Court’s press release explains, on the 19th the Court will hold meetings with Ethiopian government officials, as well as senior judicial figures. On the 20th the Court will hold a half-day seminar with NGOs, the Ethiopian Bar Council and other civil society organizations.
According the press release the objective of the visit is to raise public awareness of the Court and encourage the ratification of the Protocol and the deposit of the Special Declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol which allows individuals and NGOs direct access to the Court.
Its first worth noting, as stated in the Court’s press release, that Ethiopia has yet to ratify the Protocol, effectively barring the Court from handling any cases involving Ethiopia let alone allowing its citizens and NGOs to make direct applications to the Court. (Just to remind everyone, only seven countries currently allow their citizens and NGOs with observer status to make direct applications to the Court- to find out more please visit The ACtHPR Monitor Country Tracker).
Could this visit have something to do with the potentially embarrassing situation of Addis Ababa being the African Union’s administrative center while Ethiopia itself has failed to ratify the African Union’s flagship human rights court? It is also worth noting that as a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, under Article 25 of the Charter Ethiopia has a duty to promote and educate on the human rights, which must logically extend to the promotion and education of the Court which protects these rights.
These sensitization visits should not be confused with the Court’s annual sitting outside of its base in Arusha, Tanzania pursuant to Article 25 of the Protocol. On the occasions where the Court sits outside Arusha under Article 25 of the Protocol it is considering applications as it would in a session in Arusha. On this visit the Court will not be in session; this is strictly meetings for the promotion of the Court.
How this visit progresses and what will come of it will be fascinating. Hopefully NGOs, human rights organizations and other interested parties can make full use of the half-day seminar on 20th November to push for Ethiopia’s ratification of both the Protocol and Special Declaration.
The ACtHPR Monitor would love to hear from participants of the visit. If you plan on attending either day of the Court’s visit and would like to give feedback on this website please contact us via Twitter @acthpr_monitor.