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request the government to adopt and implement such measures as may be indicated by the
[African] Commission to prevent recurrence of the violations complained of in this
communication; and
request the government to report periodically to the [African] Commission on steps taken by it
to comply with the finding and remedies indicated by the [African] Commission.
Procedure
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9. The complaint, dated April 2002, was sent on 4 April 2002, and received at the Secretariat on
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5 April 2002.
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10. At its 31st Ordinary Session held from 2 to 16 May 2002 in Pretoria, South Africa, the African
Commission considered the complaint and decided to be seized thereof.
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11. On 28 May 2002, the Secretariat wrote to the Complainants and Respondent State to inform
them of this decision and requested them to forward their submissions on admissibility before the
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32 Ordinary Session of the [African] Commission.
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12. At its 32 , 33 and 34 Ordinary Sessions, the communication was deferred to enable the
parties make submissions on admissibility.
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13. At its 35 Ordinary Session held from 21st May to 4 June 2004 in Banjul, The Gambia, the
African Commission considered this communication and declared it inadmissible.
Law
Admissibility
14. 56(5) of the African Charter requires that “a communication be introduced subsequent to
exhaustion of local remedies, if they exist, unless it is obvious to the Commission that the procedure
for such recourse is unduly prolonged”.
15. The Complainants’ claim that theirs is a special case in which they assert that, by the
jurisprudence of the African Commission, the epidemiology of the violations described precluded the
requirement to exhaust domestic remedies. Despite this, however, the African Commission had
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decided, at its 32 , 33 and 34 Ordinary Sessions, that both parties should forward their written
submissions on admissibility.
16. Despite several reminders, the Complainants, in particular, have not furnished their written
submissions on admissibility. Consequently, the African Commission holds that the Complainants
have not shown if they have exhausted local remedies as required by the African Charter.
Holding
For these reasons, and in accordance with Article 56.5 of the African Charter, the African
Commission, Declares this communication inadmissible due to non-exhaustion of local remedies.
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Done at the 35 Ordinary Session held in Banjul, The Gambia from 21st May to 4 June 2004.