to life, the right to humane treatment and the right to security of person for every individual under its
jurisdiction. It also has an obligation under Articles 7 of the African Charter, which requires that every
individual has a right to a fair determination of his human rights as protected in the Charter.
123. The Complainant draws the attention of the African Commission to Articles 60 of the Charter, to draw
inspiration from the UN Convention on Refugees of 195123 and the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the
Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, instruments which the Respondent State has signed and
ratified24 when determining the meaning of the above articles in the Charter in relation to those instruments.
124. The Complainant argues that since the African Charter is a treaty that is later in time, than either the
UN Refugees Convention, or the African refugees convention, the general principle of international law to
be applied to resolve any conflict between treaties is that the latter treaty prevails over the former treaty that
are not compatible. The Complainant relies on Article 30(3)
× When all the parties to the earlier treaty are parties also to the later treaty but the earlier treaty is not
terminated or suspended in operation under article 59, the earlier treaty applies only to the extent that its
provisions are compatible with those of the later treaty.
of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 25 which states that "the earlier treaty applies only to the
extent that its provisions are compatible with those of the latter treaty." He argues that by applying this
principle, any provisions of the UN refugees convention that are incompatible with either the African
refugee convention or the Charter must be deemed to be overridden by these latter two instruments.
125. The Commission wishes to state that it does not find any conflict or incompatibility between the African
Charter and the two refugees' convention, or between the UN and the OAU refugees conventions. The
1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa 1969 OAU
Convention stipulates that it is a complement to the 1951 UN Refugees Convention. Paragraph 9 of its
preamble recognises the 1951 UN Convention and the 1967 Protocol as the basic and universal
instruments relating to the status of refugees. Article VIII of the OAU Convention enjoins Member States to
cooperate with the UNHCR, and states further that the OAU Convention is a regional complement to the
1951 UN Convention.
126. In that respect the Commission shall read the provisions of the three instruments as complementing
each other. The Complainant's argument that the provisions of the latter convention prevail over the former
do not in any way affect the interpretation the Commission will give to the applicable provisions, should it be
necessary to do so under this communication. This is because the provisions are at most complementary to
each other and not mutually exclusive.
127. Concerning the said violations, the Complainant submits that the Respondent State did not deny the
facts as presented; rather it has merely alleged that the problem is the responsibility of the UNHCR. He
states that both the Government of Sudan and the UNHCR recognised all of the refugees in the 1990s. The
Complainant states that while the Respondent State claims that the refugees no longer need protection, the
refugees, nevertheless, refute this claim. He argues that the refugees still deserve protection and, at the
very least, they deserve a fair process to determine this question in each of their individual cases. He
argues that since the Respondent State has denied the refugees protection, and a fair determination
process, it is necessary to examine the de jure status individually.
128. The Complainant argues that both customary international law and the African Charter provide special
protection to individuals who are unable to seek the protection of their own country. These persons refugees and asylum seekers - are recognised as being in particularly vulnerable positions. States are
under a legal obligation to consider refugees' claims to protection through a fair procedure and to provide
them protection if their claims are found to be well-founded.
129. Referring the Commission to Articles 12 of the African Charter, the Complainant argues that the
Charter specifically recognises the need to protect such individuals, notwithstanding that it does not define
in detail who qualifies as a refugee, except to describe them as any person who is persecuted. He goes on
to state that the second preambular paragraph
× Considering that the African Charter, while guaranteeing the freedom of movement and freedom of
residence of every individual within a state subject to being law abiding, recognises that when persecuted,
every individual shall have the right to seek and obtain asylum in other countries in accordance with the
respective laws of the said countries, and international law,
of Resolution No. 72/(XXXVI)/04, creating the Commission's Special Rapporteur, reiterates this protection,
while also drawing States' attention to their obligations under relevant international instruments. 26
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