Central African non-governmental organisations are urging states within their region to ratify the protocol on the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights to bolster the fight against impunity and corruption.
"It is time civil-society organisations in central Africa mobilised together to get our states really engaged in the establishment of the African Court," Loamba Moké, the central Africa coordinator and focal point for the coalition advocating the establishment of the court, said.
The appeal was made at the end of the coalition's meeting on Friday in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo. The request was made after a poor response to the document by the region's nine states: Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial-Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda and the Republic of Congo. Only Burundi and Gabon have ratified the protocol.
The document creating the court was adopted at the 33rd African Union summit in 1998, in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso. To increase pressure on states to ratify the document, the coalition suggested that other sectors of society - such as business and the media - get involved in the effort. The coalition also called for the merger of the African Union Court of Justice and the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights.
The aim of civil society is to restore human rights to citizens of the sub-region where the concept is often ridiculed and impunity reigns.
"With the creation of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights we can bring pressure to bear on the states to reduce their influence on courts which they use to violate human rights in the whole of the area," Moké said.
The vice-president of the Voice of the Voiceless NGO, Dolly Ibofé-Mbunga, said central African states lagged behind their West African counterparts in the ratification of the protocol.
"The Democratic Republic of Congo is one country in the sub-region with the most violations of human rights. In this country impunity has become the rule," he said.
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"It is time civil-society organisations in central Africa mobilised together to get our states really engaged in the establishment of the African Court," Loamba Moké, the central Africa coordinator and focal point for the coalition advocating the establishment of the court, said.
The appeal was made at the end of the coalition's meeting on Friday in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo. The request was made after a poor response to the document by the region's nine states: Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial-Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda and the Republic of Congo. Only Burundi and Gabon have ratified the protocol.
The document creating the court was adopted at the 33rd African Union summit in 1998, in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso. To increase pressure on states to ratify the document, the coalition suggested that other sectors of society - such as business and the media - get involved in the effort. The coalition also called for the merger of the African Union Court of Justice and the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights.
The aim of civil society is to restore human rights to citizens of the sub-region where the concept is often ridiculed and impunity reigns.
"With the creation of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights we can bring pressure to bear on the states to reduce their influence on courts which they use to violate human rights in the whole of the area," Moké said.
The vice-president of the Voice of the Voiceless NGO, Dolly Ibofé-Mbunga, said central African states lagged behind their West African counterparts in the ratification of the protocol.
"The Democratic Republic of Congo is one country in the sub-region with the most violations of human rights. In this country impunity has become the rule," he said.
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