ACH PR
African Commission on
Human Rights our
Human and Peoples' Bights
Collective Responsibility
40. In such instances, the Commission has consistently held that when a
substantive response from the Respondent State is absent, it must make a
determination based on the facts presented by the Complainant. This approach
aligns with the Commission's established practice, as exemplified in cases such
as the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa v. Republic of
Angola, the Social and Economic Rights Action Center for Economic and
Social Rights v. Federal Republic of Nigeria, and numerous other
communications. In these cases, the Commission reaffirmed its position by
stating that 11 • • • it would proceed to consider Communications based on the
submission of the Complainants and information at its disposal, even if the
Respondent State fails to submit. 11 Consequently, the Commission shall conduct
the following analysis on admissibility, relying on the available arguments and
facts presented in the Complainant's submission on admissibility.
Analysis of the Commission on Admissibility
41. The Commission reiterates that Article 56 of the African Charter governs the
admissibility of Communications and outlines seven (7) requirements that
collectively determine the admissibility of Communications submitted to the
Commission. A Communication must fulfill all seven (7) requirements to be
considered admissible.
42. Regarding the requirement stated in Article 56(1) of the African Charter, which
stipulates that " Communications should indicate their authors even if the latter
requests anonymity," the Commission acknowledges that the Communication in
question identifies the author and address of the Complainant. Therefore, the
Commission concludes that the Communication satisfies the provisions of
Article 56(1) of the African Charter.
43. Pursuant to Article 56(2) of the African Charter, a Communication must align
with either the Charter of the Organization of African Unity or the African
Charter. Regarding the compatibility of the Communication with the
Constitutive Act of the African Union, the Commission acknowledges that the
Complainant has claimed violations of human rights guaranteed by the African
Charter, which explicitly includes the protection of these rights as one of its
objectives under Article 3 (h) of the Act. Furthermore, the Commission
concludes that no aspect of the Communication can
contradictory to the objectives or principles of the Act.
AJ, Organ or the
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Afriqan
Union ,,,.,,;l
8
African Com
31 Bijilo
10n, The Gambia
West
Phone: (220) 230 4361 Fax: (220) 441 05 04
Email: au-banjul@africa-union.org