084/2002 of 2 August 2002 is not likely to resolve the alleged violation by the Complainants. Indeed, the Complainants allege that minors are presumed to have been tried and sentenced as a last resort by an institution under the competence of which they did not fall. 45. Rwanda for its part submits that the victims had their sentences commuted to lesser penalties thanks to the above-mentioned Executive Order and therefore the complaints referred to in the Communication lose their prospect and relevance. According to the Respondent State, the implementation of the Order in question should have provided an avenue for the settlement of the complaints lodged in the Communication and the Commission should have drawn conclusions from it by declaring the Communication inadmissible. 46. In this regard, the Commission is rather of the opinion that as the death penalties imposed unjustly on the victims as a measure of last resort had been commuted to various terms of imprisonment, it does not in any way settle the violation perpetrated against the child soldiers, even though it reduces the effects. In this instance, the principle governing the effectiveness of human rights remedies is that the violations must be remedied, and the Respondent State cannot be absolved from this obligation by adopting mitigating measures or alternative measures. The Commission adopts this principle in Civil Liberties Organisation v. Nigeria by deciding that measures on acquittal or repeal of legislation do not in any way affect the violations perpetrated, neither does it absolve governments of their obligations for the said violations . 8 Though the presidential Decree was unable to resolve the violations perpetrated before its enforcement, the remedy offered by the said Decree could not constitute an effective and sufficient remedy under Article 56(5) of the Charter. The Commission concludes that the Communication complied with the requirement for exhaustion of local remedies. 47. The Commission notes that the Communication is not based exclusively on news disseminated through the mass media. The Commission also notes that the victims were sentenced to life imprisonment by a court whose decisions cannot be appealed before any other national court. The Commission further notes that as the subsequent measures taken to mitigate the sentences imposed could not resolve the alleged violations, they could not be considered effective and sufficient remedies likely to be exhausted by the Complainants. As such, the Commission concludes that the Communication meets the conditions under Article 56 of the African Charter. Decision of the Commission on Admissibility 48. In view of the foregoing, the Commission declares the Communication admissible. The Merits The submissions of the Complainants on the Merits 49. The Complainants allege that Articles 1 , 3 , 4 and 7 of the African Charter have been violated. However, it must be noted that the submissions transmitted by the Complainants on the merits of the Communication do not directly address the provisions of the Charter. The Complainants rather attempt to demonstrate that the facts presented constitute violations of international legal instruments and the Congolese national legislation. 50. On international legal instruments, the Complainants allege the violation of childrens rights to special judicial treatment guaranteed by Article 40(3) × States Parties shall seek to promote the establishment of laws, procedures, authorities and institutions specifically applicable to children alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law, and, in particular: The establishment of a minimum age below which children shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law; Whenever appropriate and desirable, measures for dealing with such 7