v. That the present communication provides the Commission with the opportunity to a. clarify
the meaning and scope of the « positive actions » that the States are required to carry out in
order to conform with the conditions of the African Charter, and this, by responding to the
affirmation made by the Cameroonian Authorities and according to which the implementation
of «all the legal, technical, human and material means at their disposal to control the postelectoral events of Bamenda in 1992 frees them from the obligation of means which is
incumbent upon them ».
vi. That the African Charter really and truly imposes an obligation of result and not one of
diligence on the States Parties, of guaranteeing to the victims of the October 1992 events the
enjoyment and effective exercise of the rights which it proclaims and the lack of respect for
which gives rise to a right to compensation for the victims or their dependents and implies, for
the Cameroonian State, the responsibility to compensate and the freedom to act against the
perpetrator or perpetrators of the violation.
vii. That, in effect, where, the Commission has not had numerous opportunities to make
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a ruling on the exact content of Article 1 of the Charter , it has nonetheless pointed out that
this Article is the basis of the rights recognized by the African Charter in so far as it confers on
it « the legally binding nature which is generally attributed to international Treaties of this nature
and that any violation of one of its provisions would automatically represent a violation ofArticle
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1».
Pertaining to the violation ofArticles 2, 4, 7 and 14 of the African Charter
77. Concerning the violation of Articles 2, 4, 7 and 14 the complainants appear to link it to the
importance that Article 1represents in the present case, since according to the complainants, Article
1 is « the only one which defines the scope of the legal obligations contracted by the States Parties to
the Charter, thereby allowing correct interpretation of the obligations contained in the other provisions
of the Continental Treaty ». Thus, the complainants contend that if taken in isolation, Article 1 of the
Charter commits the State Parties to taking all the necessary legislative measures allowing the
effective protection of the rights and liberties contained in the Charter, that is to say, of averting or at
least of minimizing all risks of violating the exercise or enjoyment of these rights, and in combination
with the other relevant provisions of the Charter, the obligation of averting violations imposes on the
States Parties the obligations of:
•
•
•
Taking preventive measures;
Taking measures so that the enjoyment and exercise of the rights are not hindered by measures
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of seizure or of expropriation which are not dictated by the satisfaction of a general interest or
a public necessity or even the looting or the destruction of the property of natural persons or
legal entities;
Putting in place legislation which makes it possible to avert, repress and punish violations to life,
but also « to take preventive measures of a practical nature to protect the individual whose life
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is threatened by the actions of another».
78. Thus, the complainants contend :
1. That the above mentioned articles had been violated by the State of Cameroon since the latter
had failed in its obligation to take adequate preventive measures if not to avert or prevent the
events in question, at least to reduce them to zero. To support this reasoning, the complainants
emphasize that the Cameroonian authorities knew that the Bamenda events were going to take