64. This established position was enunciated in Institute for Human Rights and
Development in Africa (on behalf of Esmaila Connateh & 13 others) v Angola,
where the African Commission stated that in situations where a State Party fails to
address itself to the complaint filed against it, the African Commission "has no
option than to proceed with its consideration of the Communication in accordance
with its Rules of Procedure ... on the basis of the submission of the Complainants
and information at its disposal ... "36
65. Accordingly, the African Commission must give due weight to the Complainant's
allegations insofar as these have been adequately substantiated, and hereby
proceeds to undertake its analysis on Admissibility based on the information
supplied by the Complainant.
66. The African Commission would also like to emphasize that the absence of a
reaction from the Respondent State does not absolve the latter from the decision
that it may arrive at in the consideration of the Admissibility of this Communication,
as the relevant State had, by ratifying the African Charter, indicated its commitment
to cooperate with the African Commission and to abide by all decisions taken by
the latter.37
67. In view of the above-stated rules, principles, and jurisprudence, and given that the
Respondent State has not made any submissions to dispute or accept whether the
Complainant has fulfilled any of the requirements of Article 56 of the African
Charter, the African Commission will analyse the arguments of the Complainant
based on the entire provisions of Article 56 of the African Charter.
68. Article 56( 1) of the African Charter states that "Communications ... received by the
Commission shall be considered if they... indicate their authors even if the latter
requests anonymity." The African Commission notes that the reasons for the
requirement under Article 56(1) of the African Charter are" ... that the Commission
must receive communications with adequate information with a certain degree of
specificity concerning the victims"38 and to ensure that the "Commission must be
in communication with the author, to know his identity and status, to be assured of
his continued interest in the communication and to request supplementary
information if the case requires it".39 In this case, the Communication received by
the African Commission clearly indicates that the Victim is Dr. Bushra Gamar
Hussein Rahama and that the author/representative who filed it on his behalf is the
African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) i.e. the Complainant. The
requirement under Article 56(1 ) of the African Charter is therefore duly satisfied.
69. Article 56(2) of the African Charter states that "Communications ... received by the
Commission shall be considered if they... are compatible with the Charter of the
Organization of African Unity or with the present Charter." The Commission has
expounded that compatibility with the African Charter entails four main aspects,
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36 Communication 292/04 (above), para. 34.
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37 See Communication 227/99 - DRC vs. Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda (2003) ACHPR, paras 51-53.
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38 Communication 104/94-109/94_126/94 - Centre of the Independence of Judges and Lawyers ~~/geri , (1995) AC
7
para 3.
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39 Communication 108/93 - Monja Joana vs. Madagascar(1997) ACHPR para 6.
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