EX.CL/717 (XX) Page 155 59. The Commission thus holds that the Communication establishes a prima facie violation of rights and freedoms in the Charter and thus complies with Article 56(2) of the Charter. 60. Article 56(3) provides that communications should not be written in disparaging or insulting language directed against the State concerned and its institutions or to the African Union. The Complainant claims that the Communication is not written in disparaging or insulting language, which the Respondent State has not challenged. So, the Commission holds that the Communication fulfils the requirement under Article 56(3) of the Charter. 61. Article 56(4) provides that communications should not be based exclusively on news disseminated through the mass media. The Complainant submits that the Communication is based on courts and council records, not on news disseminated by the mass media. The Respondent State does not deny the Complainant’s assertion. Accordingly, the Commission is of the view that the Communication complies with Article 56(4) of the Charter. 62. Article 56(5) of the Charter stipulates that communications should be ‘sent after exhausting local remedies, if any, unless it is obvious that this procedure is unduly prolonged’. 63. In human rights law it is important for a person whose rights have been violated to make use of domestic remedies to right the wrong, rather than address the issue to an international body.50 64. “The rule is founded on the premise that the full and effective implementation of international obligations in the field of human rights is designed to enhance the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national level ”and this is supplemented by the fact that “local remedies are normally quicker, cheaper, and more effective than international ones”.51 65. The rationale behind the exhaustion of local remedies is that states should be given the opportunity to address the issue before the matter is brought before international treaty bodies. In the African human rights system, the Commission has confirmed and reconfirmed this position in its decisions. In Free Legal Assistance Group and Others v Zaire52 and Recontre Africaine pour la 50 Nsongurua J. Udombana So Far, So Fair: The Local Remedies Rule in the Jurisprudence of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (2003) 97 The American Journal of International Law (2003) 9. 51 n 4 above, 9. 52 Communication 25/89, 47/90, 56/91, 100/93 – Free Legal Assistance Group and Others v Zaire (1995) para 36