clear choice to prosecute former Dergue officials who committed
serious offences and this decision has been widely supported by the
international community.
84. The State avers that the Complainants claim the right to pardon and
amnesty under international law have been infringed. According to the
State, there are no such rights under international law, adding that, the
Ethiopian constitution precludes any blanket amnesty.
85. According to the State, the Complainants‟ requests are not directly
related to any human right guaranteed in the African Charter and thus
the Communication is not compatible with the provisions of the
Charter.
86. The State went on to state that the Communication does not refer to the
Charter and fails to indicate the provisions of the Charter that have
been violated, noting that the African Commission has indicated that
Communications must illustrate a prima facie violation of the Charter
by invoking specific provisions of the Charter alleged to have been
violated. It also notes that the African Commission has rejected
Communications which failed to make reference to the provisions of
the Charter, that even though they cited provisions under UN texts,
made only general allegations of human rights violations without
making any specific breaches of the Charter.
87. The State also argues that the Communication has been settled by
another international organ. The State indicates that in its report
E/CN.4/1994/27, Decision Nos 45/1992 and 33/1993, the UN
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued decisions regarding the
detention and prosecution process involving the victims. The State
argues that following this decision, the government took the necessary
measures in order to comply. The State argues that the Communication
should therefore be declared inadmissible as it has been settled by the
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
88. The state also argues that the Communication does not conform with
the procedures in the African Charter and the Commission‟s rules of
procedures. The State notes that the present Communication does not
meet the requirements of a Communication, as it is simply a letter of
appeal sent to the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of
Detention in Africa. The State argues that the Special Rapporteur was
engaging the Commission on issues which “it is already addressing
and is adequately seized of through its promotional mandate”. The
State concludes that the present Communication was not addressed to
the Secretariat as a Communication but rather as a feed back from
alleged victims of human rights to the Special Rapporteur during her
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