POINT DE VUE : Centre for Human Rights expresses concern about the withdrawal of direct individual access to the African Court by Benin and Côte d’Ivoire

Frans VIJLOEN, Michael NYARKO

The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, is deeply concerned about the recent decisions by the Governments of the Republic of Benin and Côte d’Ivoire to no longer allow individuals and NGOs to take cases directly to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Almost all cases decided by the African Court so far have been submitted by individuals. Reducing this form of access to the African Court, impedes the establishment of the Court as a legitimate continental institution that entrenches the principles of accountability based on the rule of law. Our concern is exacerbated by the fact that these decisions have been taken in a context of increased hostility towards the human rights bodies established under the African Union and decreasing support for their mandates.