. . ,.�CHP�. : . · ACHPR Human Rights our Collective Responsibility )·. African Commission on <r.n.w.d � Human and Peoples' Rights evidence was not the basis for the conviction. 53 Arguably, the Commission would have reached a different conclusion if the evidence presented had been strong enough to warrant the reopening of the trial or to call into question the evidence on which the conviction had been based. 152. In Communication 323/06 Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and INTERIGHTS v Egypt, the Commission further observed that in addressing the concerns, needs and interests of victims in judicial proceedings, the primary concern should be to ensure that victims of human rights violations obtain redress by giving them an opportunity to appeal decisions from other judicial bodies and that failure to allow victims to appeal decisions is contrary to the guiding principles and spirit of the African Charter and other international and regional instruments. 54 f In the present communication, given the fact that the Complainant was refused the opportunity to present his evidence before the Supreme Court and the Judicial Committee without recourse to an attorney, leads to the conclusion the right to appeal to a competent national organ, which is a key component of the right to have his cause heard was denied, hence violating article 7(1)(a) of the Charter. 153. Over the years, the Commission has clarified the content of the right to defence, notably through the adoption of the Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa which enshrines the principle of an individual's right to defend themselves in person alongside the right to legal representation: "The accused has the right to defend him or herself in person or through legal assistance of his or her own choosing." 55 154. 155. In doing so, the Commission has espoused the approach of the travaux preparatoires,56 and adopted a characterization very much akin to the right to defence under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in its article 14(1)(d), as reaffirmed by the UN Human Rights Committee in Michael and Brian 53 Communication 277/03, Spilg and Mack & DTTSHWANELO (on behalf of Lehlohonolo Bernard Kobedi) v Botswana, 12 October 2013, ACHPR, para. 187-190. 54 Communication 323/06, n24 above, para. 219-220. 55 n46 above, Principle N(2)(a) Right to counsel. 56 The Commission hereby echoes the earlier version of the Charter found in the travaux preparatoires, notably Article 21(2)(d) of the so-called M'Baye draft, which provided: "During the proceedings every person is entitled, with full equality, to the following minimum guarantees: [ . . . ] (d) the right of the accused to defend · r��-:­ personally or to be assisted by legal counsel of his own choosing, and to communicate freely and pr· ...,, efy: '¢th 1 I q,i,0 :;, hi• s counsel.11 ,.., . -------.. '°('0 0 .., · v Page 36 of45 �·t .qi' African Commission on Human and P �les' igh�\ 31 Bijilo Annex Layout, Kombo stric� � � � ) .... � (I) r-, , West Coast R ibn i b� ·UA ,§ � / Q' Phone: (220) 230 4361 Fax: ( 2 '!,4if-<W // _,'>Q Email: au-banjul @ africa · 1filgc111,;; .,· . �tB ,'?,,.I/ '� ._ 0[� , a•·;:.'- . , --·-=-=:=::.-::,.. •·