75. The Court recalls that under Article 36(1) of the VCCR, consular assistance is facilitated in two ways. First, the host State must inform the Applicant of this right and second, the Applicant should be able to request for consular assistance at the time of arrest. In the instant case, the Court will determine the Second Applicant’s claim in light of the two aforementioned aspects. 76. On the first aspect, as to whether the Respondent State informed the Applicants of their right to consular assistance, the Court notes from the record of the proceedings, that both Applicants were not notified of their right to consular assistance, although the Respondent State was aware of their foreign status. Records on file illustrate that during the preliminary hearing, the prosecution informed the trial court that both Applicants “were refugees from Burundi, living at the Lukole Refugee Camp in Ngara District”.27 77. On the second aspect, the Court notes that the records on file do not reveal that the Applicants made any request for consular assistance that was considered or denied by the Respondent State. In this regard, the Court recalls its jurisprudence that an applicant’s failure to request for consular assistance does not absolve the Respondent State from its duty of informing them of their right as prescribed by Article 36(1) of the VCCR.28 78. In light of the above, the Court finds that the Respondent State violated the Applicants’ rights to access consular assistance by failing to inform them of their right to access the said services thereby violating Article 7(1)(c) of the Charter as read together with Article 36(1) of the VCCR. ii. On the failure to provide interpretation services 79. The Applicants submit that the right to an interpreter is implicit in Article 7 of the Charter on the right to have one’s cause heard. This right cannot be exercised without the ability to understand the utterances of the prosecution, 27 Record of Proceedings: Preliminary Hearing page 3. Niyonzima Augustine v. United Republic of Tanzania, ACtHPR, Application No. 058/2016, Judgment of 13 June 2023 (merits and reparations), § 84. 28 23