(~CH'f) ACHPR ..' " ' . African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Human Rights our Collective Responsibility (xiii) Alleged violation of the right to equal protection of the law (Article 3(2) of the Charter) 99. The Complainants submitted that the Respondent State's failure to guarantee a fair and just treatment of individuals and ensure the equal protection of the law amounts to a violation of Article 3(2) of the African Charter. (xiv) Alleged violation of Articles 1 of the African Charter 100. The Complainants submitted that the Respondent State's failure to take reasonable and necessary steps to prevent and adequately respond to the violations alleged in the complaint and the failure to implement the African Commission's request for provisional measures amount to a violation of Article 1 of the African Charter. 101. On the basis of these submissions, the Complainants urged the Commission to find that the Respondent State has violated the provisions of the African Charter and grant the remedies sought. B. Respondent State's submissions 102. As indicated above, the Respondent State did not submit its observations on the merits, despite ample reminders by theSecretariatof the African Commission. In the absence of any submissions by the Respondent and the time for the Respondent State to enter its submissions having elapsed, the Commission is entitled to proceed to enter a default decision on the merits in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Commission's 2010 Rules of Procedure. The Commission's Analysis on the Merits 103. Having considered the submissions of the Complainants on the merits, the Commission will analyse the arguments and evidence furnished by the Complainants. Alleged violation of Article 4 of the African Charter 104. The Complainants alleged that the Respondent State violated the provisions of Article 4 of the African Charter, through the extrajudicial killings of a large number of persons in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The killings, the Complainants claimed, were perpetrated by the SAF, the PDF and other forces of the Respondent State. 105. Article 4 of the African Charter provides that: An Organ of the African ~')' Union "if,,,(7 Email: au-banju/@africa-unionorg https:lachpr.au.inVO () D