The majority of contributions to this issue of the African Human Rights Law Journal are devoted to the to-be-established African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. The Protocol providing for the creation of this Court was adopted in 1998. It is reprinted in C Heyns (ed) Human rights law in Africa 1999 (2002) 279. Still, it has not received the required 15 ratifications to ensure its entry into force. Indeed, at the moment only six states (Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Mali, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda) have ratified the Protocol. (South Africa ratified the Protocol after the 31st session of the Commission had taken place.) As a contribution to the campaign to speed up the process of ratification, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, organised a conference on aspects of the Protocol on the African Court during the NGO workshop preceding the African Commission's 31st session, held in Pretoria in May 2002. A number of articles in this issue were presented as papers at this conference.
When the Commission met, it adopted the following resolution on the African Court:
Resolution on the ratification of the protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the establishment of an African court on human and peoples' rights
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, meeting at its 31st ordinary session in Pretoria, South Africa, from 2 to 16 May 2002:
RECALLING that the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) adopted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights at its 19th ordinary session on 9 July1998 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso;
NOTING with satisfaction that 26 states have signed the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
CONSIDERING that only five states have up to now ratified the said Protocol: Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Mali, Senegal and Uganda;
RECALLING that 15 ratifications or accessions are necessary for the entry into force of the Protocol on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples Rights;
URGES all the OAU member states to ratify or accede as soon as possible to the Protocol on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples Rights.
The concept of human rights currently enjoys unprecedented acceptance on the African continent. The challenge remains turning this potential into reality.
