this procedure is unduly prolonged or ineffective. The rule of exhaustion of local remedies reinforces the subsidiary and complementary relationship of the international system to domestic system. In principle a tribunal like the ACERWC should not assume the place of first instance court or appealate court. It should come in to the picture only as a last resort after the domestic remedies have been exhausted and failed. In the case of Mouvement des Réfugiés Mauritaniens au Sénégal v Senegal, the African Commission stated that failure to provide a proof of attempting to exhaust local remedies available to complainant can render a communication inadmissible. 6 24. Furthermore, in the case of Anuak Justice V Ethiopia, the African Commission held that ‘’Applicants must indicate that they have had recourse to all domestic remedies to no avail and must supply evidence to that effect. If they were unable to use such remedies, they must explain why.’’ 7 In the case at hand, the complainants have stated that they have taken unsuccessful action at the High Court of Wouri in Duala. Moreover, aside from stating the failure of this one action at the high court, the Complainants did not indicate all the available remedies and the steps taken to exhaust them, nor did they explain why or adduce evidence to that effect. iv. Decision on Admissibility 25. On the basis of the aforementioned arguments and analysis, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child notes and concludes that the Communication submitted by the author has not fulfilled the admissibility conditions as laid down in the Charter and the Committee’s Guidelines on Consideration of Communication. The content of the Communication is outside the mandate of the Committee and beyond the scope of protection given in the Charter. Furthermore the Complainants failed to establish a prima facie violation of the Charter and to exhaust local remedies. The Communication is accordingly declared inadmissible. Done in Prof. Benyam Dawit Mezmur 6 7 Mouvement des Réfugiés Mauritaniens au Sénégal v Senegal (2003) AHRLR 131 (ACHPR 2003) See Anuak Justice V Ethiopia (n 2 above) para 50. 7