The African Court on Human and People’s Right has launched the African Court Library Week to acknowledge the vital role of librarians in the justice delivery system.

African Court launched the week in Arusha, Tanzania, which was used to congratulate all the librarians on the continent for their determined and persistent work in creating informed societies, vital for the promotion and defence of human rights.

Justice Sylvain Oré, the African Court President in a document made available to the Ghana News Agency in Accra underscored that libraries, as access routes to knowledge and culture, play a decisive opportunity, promote literacy and education, and help shape new ideas role in society.

“Their resources and services provide learning and perspectives at the root of creative and innovative societies” Justice Ore said.

“The African Court aware of this role of the library, which is to guarantee access to knowledge, has placed it directly under the Legal division and thus under the Registry.

He said “as a component of the Continental Court, it started to function in 2009 and was created with the general aim of supporting the judicial activities and legal efforts of the members and staff of the Court, but it also serves external researchers”.

He said, “Our library currently has more than 6,100 volumes, but is expected to grow steadily over the next few years. It has also subscribed to various databases in the fields of human rights and related subjects”.

These resources he said represents a wealth of knowledge waiting to be exploited and applied.

Justice Ore commended the European Union, GIZ, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute and sister libraries in Arusha.

He expressed optimism that the event would mark the beginning of coordinated and targeted activities at national, sub-regional and continental level for libraries that play their vital role in the promotion and protection of human rights.