th
105. Moreover, in the judgement pronounced on January 19 , 2009 in the case relating to the
st
request for interpretation of the judgement of March 31 , 2004, in the Avena case and other Mexican
28
citizens (Mexico vs the United States of America , the International Court of Justice which had been
seized by Mexico for the interpretation of paragraph 153 of the aforementioned judgement as
imposing on the United States of America an obligation of result, maintained that “ It is true that the
obligation enunciated in this paragraph is an obligation of result which should manifestly be enforced
29
unconditionally .
106. Thus, the question that arises generally is to appreciate, on the one hand, the ultimate purpose
or objective of the rights prescribed by the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and on the
other hand, whether yes or no the obligation prescribed in Article 1 of the Charter seeks to attain a
purpose, an objective or to achieve a result through the provisions contained therein.
107. In the view of the Commission, the distinction between the obligation of diligence and that of
result should not make one lose sight of the fact that , all obligations contained in a Treaty, Convention
or a Charter seek to attain an objective, a purpose or a result. The Governments of the States Parties
are linked to the people living on their territory by a social contract consisting of ensuring the security
and guaranteeing the fundamental rights, including the right to life and respect for the physical and
material integrity of the citizens. Where the rights, responsibilities and freedoms recognized by the
States Parties to the Charter can hardly pose major problems, since these regulations are outlined in
the Articles 2 to 29 of the Charter and their recognition emanates from the will of the States
themselves to ratify the Charter, nonetheless this recognition ensues from the commitment made by
these States to take tangible measures capable of implementing the provisions prescribed by the
Charter.
108. It is also important to clarify that the signature, acceptance and ratification by the States of the
provisions contained in the Charter, the preparation or the adoption of legal human rights instruments
only constitute, in themselves, the beginning of the indispensable exercise of promotion, protection
and the reparation of human and peoples’ rights. The practical implementation of these legal
instruments through the State Institutions endowed with creditor, material and human resources, is
also of considerable importance. It is not enough to make do with taking measures, these measures
should also be accompanied with institutions that produce tangible results. Furthermore, the Periodic
Report imposed on the States Parties in the context of Article 62 of the African Charter is part of the
procedure placed at the disposal of the African Commission to verify the results obtained by the States
regarding their commitment as outlined in Article 1 of the said Charter.
109. Where it is true that the laws guaranteeing the rights and freedoms, those criminalizing the
given facts and providing for penalties against the perpetrators of the said facts, as well as the State
institutions which implement these instruments use the resources at the disposal of the citizens, it is
also true that the decisions of the Courts and Tribunals made in relation to the violations of these
rights and the results of the execution of the said decisions, contribute to restoring the rights of the
victims.
110. It follows from the above that Article 1 of the African Charter imposes on the States Parties the
obligation of using the necessary diligence to implement the provisions prescribed by the Charter
since the said diligence has to evolve in relation to the time, space and circumstances, and has to be
followed by practical action on the ground in order to produce concrete results. Thus, in its decision
on Communication 74/92, the Commission said that the Governments have the responsibility of
protecting their citizens not only through appropriate legislation and its effective enforcement but also
by protecting them against injurious acts which can be perpetrated by third parties.
111. In fact, in the Commission’s view, it is an obligation of RESULT that Article 1 of the African
Charter imposes on the States Parties. In effect, each State has the obligation of guaranteeing the
protection of the human rights written in the Charter by adopting not only the means that the Charter
itself prescribes, in particular “all the necessary legislative measures for this purpose but in addition
measures of their choice that the Charter called for by Article 1 and it therefore defined as one of
result.
112. In accordance with its traditional commitment to protect the rights guaranteed by the Charter,
the State Party is obliged to ensure the effective protection of human rights through out its territory. If