Public Prosecutor but no ruling on any of them had been made by the end
of 2014.°
25.This shows that seeking a criminal conviction of one's slave master
and obtaining compensation for one's deprivation of liberty, which exists
in theory, is not effective in practice. In defining “effective remedy”, the
Commission
emphasized
that
the
remedy
should
be
practical,
current,
actual, real and valid to be considered as effective remedy.® According
to the Commission, the remedy, which exists in theory but not in practice,
cannot be considered to be effective. Moreover,
as the Council of Europe
in its practical guide on admissibility criteria underscored, "the existence of
remedies must be sufficiently certain not only in theory but also in
practice.”"°
26. Dealing
on similar issues,
the ACERWC,
in the Center for Human
Right
and other on behalf of Talibes v. Senegal case, held the view that: ‘while it
was apparent that penal laws were in existence proscribing the practice of
forcing children to beg, Senegal had made little effort to enforce such
provisions: as of 2011, only 10 cases had been brought resulting in 9
convictions but with the duration of imprisonment being minimal. In such
circumstances,
this
Committee
was
of
the
view
that
concurs
with
the
pursuing a criminal complaint was inefficient’.’ Similarly,
communication,
the
Committee
the
avenue
of
in the present
Complainants
submission that ‘any remedies that may be available in theory under the
2007 Act, under which there has only been one conviction to date with a
sentence not meeting the minimum prescribed by law, are neither effective
nor sufficient in practice.’
27.\n their submission, the Complainants argued that it is not the obligation
of victims
but that of the
Respondent
State’s
to move
criminal
process
forward. According to the Complainants,
victims of human_ rights
violations (where are considered as criminal offences under a State's
domestic laws) have little control over the criminal process. In this
regard, the ACHPR has consistently ruled that: ‘Whenever there is a crime
that can be investigated and prosecuted by the State on its own initiative,
the State has the obligation to move the criminal process forward to its
ultimate conclusion.
In such cases, one cannot demand that the
complainants or the victims or their family members assume the task of
exhausting domestic remedies when it is up to the State to investigate the
facts
and
domestic
bring
and
the
accused
persons
to court in accordance
international fair trial standards.’"?
Instead,
with
both
by failing
to
8 Amnesty International (n 7 above).
° See Anuak Justice Council v. Ethiopia (n 4 above).
1° Council of Europe/European
Court of Human Right (2014) Practical Guide on Admissibility
Criteria para 72.
" Centre for Human Right and other on behalf of Talibes v Senegal Communication No.
Com/001/2012, para 38
"2 African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Article 19 v Eritrea, Application No
275/2003, para 72. See also African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Dr Farouk
Mohamed Ibrahim v Sudan, Communication No.386/10, 19-25 February 2013.