(~;:;~ACH PR , ~lq) rrrrnr", . African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Human Rights our Collective Responsibility 29. The Complainants claim that incommunicado detention, including that of the Victim, is among some of the most widespread human rights violations in Eritrea which are perpetrated by state agents without any guarantees for accountability. They claim that Eritrea is the only country in Africa without a working constitution and a functioning parliament thereby exacerbating the said climate. The Complainants refer to two reports by the United Nations (UN) Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea (COl) which they argue found that " ... systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed in Eritrea under the authority of the Government">. The Complainants argue that indeed, the African Commission was the first intergovernmental human rights monitoring body to spotlight the "worrying" situation of human rights in the Respondent State. Essentially, the Complainants submit that the Respondent State suffers from a complete breakdown of the rule of law and a climate of impunity. 30. From that assertion, the Complainants argue that. this climate oHear and impunity makes it impossible to exhaust domestic remedies. The Complainants refer once again to the COl Reports which they claim found that" ... without substantial institutional and legal reform ... there is no genuine prospect of the domestic judicial system [in Eritrea] holding perpetrators to account in a fair and transparent manner">, They note that the African Commission has found functional and structural shortcomings as regards the operation of domestic remedies in three Communications against Eritrea, namely, Liesbeth Zegveld and Mussie Ephrem v. Eritrea', Article 19 v. Eriireai and Dauiti'lsaak v. Eritrea». 31. Additionally, the Complainants submit that the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 4ra~tf v. Nevs~n.:Resources Ltd? confirmed that domestic remedies in Eritrea are ineff~ctive. The Complainants state that the case involved a lawsuit initiated by Eritreans who alleged that they suffered from human rights violations in Eritrea involving a Canadian mining company (Nevsun). The Complainants state further that the applicants, in that case, claimed that they were unable to go 2 3 4 6 7 Complaint Addendum, para 13 citing COl, First Report, A/HRC/29/42 (2015) para 23 & COl, Second Report Summary, A/HRC/32/47 (2016), paras 59-95. Complaint Addendum, para 25 citing Second COl Report, supra note 2, para 107. Communication 250/02 (2003) ACHPR. Communication 275/03 (2007) ACHPR. Communication 428/12 (2016) ACHPR. 2016 BCSC 1856. An Organ of the AfriGan 6.'~ Union ,,,",#.