The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights as part of its efforts to raise public awareness of its existence will undertake a sensitization visit to the Republic of Djibouti to hold discussions with various stakeholders.

In a press statement signed by Dr Robert Eno, African Court Registrar and copied the Ghana News Agency, said the sensitisation visit will also aim at encouraging the ratification of the Protocol and deposit of the Declaration that will allow individuals and Non-Governmental Organisations direct access to the Court.

It further stated that it will also sensitize would-be applicants on how to access the Court and the procedures before the Court, encourage the public to utilize the Court in settling human rights disputes and encourage the utilization of the Court for advisory opinions.

“The sensitization visit will help to raise awareness of the Court’s existence and encourage more AU Member States to ratify the Protocol and also make the Declaration to allow individuals and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to have direct access to the Court”.

The statement said despite a number of countries signing the protocol that established the court in November, 2005, they were yet to ratify it and make a decision.

“For the Court to discharge its mandate and further strengthen the African human rights system, a greater number of countries must ratify the Protocol and make the declaration under Article 34(6)”, it noted.

The statement said the African Court was established by virtue of Article 1 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, to complement the protective mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, with a view to enhancing the protection of human rights on the continent.

It said since the adoption of the Protocol in June 1998, 30 out of 55 African Union Member States had ratified it and only nine State Parties to the Protocol had made the declaration under Article 34(6).

The statement mentioned the nine countries as Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana, Gambia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Malawi, Tanzania and Tunisia.

It further noted that as at March 2019, the Court had received 202 applications of which 52 had been finalised.