Rwanda rejects calls to endorse African rights court

Kigali. Rwanda has rejected the call by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) to reconsider its decision to deny individuals and NGOs direct access to the Arusha-based continental court.

Speaking at the ongoing African Union Summit in Kigali on Monday, the ACHPR chairperson, Ms Faith Pansy Tlakula, said the decision was a setback for a country that had set an example with regard to human rights protection.

“We accept that the ratification of the instruments (establishing the African court) is voluntary and the withdrawal should be a voluntary act. However, we raise these concerns because only seven countries are the ones which now allow individuals and NGOs to have access to the court,” she said in reaction to Rwandan ambassador’s query over the commission’s report presented earlier on Sunday.

Alongside seven other African Union member countries, Rwanda had submitted declarations allowing individual complaints to the court.

However, Rwanda pulled out of ACHPR in March on the grounds that the country has competent courts to try all local human-rights cases.

It also said it was concerned about a clause in the African Court Protocol that guaranteed rights of access and hearing to any individual or NGOs, which according to Kigali, could pave the way for genocide fugitives to sue the government.

The withdrawal request was undertaken at a time the Arusha-based ACHPR had summoned the government to a case on March 3 filed by Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire.

Ms Ingabire, 47, who heads the unregistered FDU Inkingi party, had dragged the government to the African Court, accusing it of violating her rights and freedoms provided under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Ms Tlakula encouraged countries to ratify all the instruments and particularly make the declaration under Article 34 (6) of the protocol establishing the African court.

However, Rwanda’s AU ambassador Hope Tumukunde, said Kigali would not approve the ACHPR report, insisting that the country had compelling reasons to pull out of the court protocol.

“We quickly realised that it is being abused by the judges on absence of a clear position of the court vis-à-vis genocide convicts and fugitives, and that is why we withdrew,” Ms Tumukunde said.

She added that the commission should be concerned about the behaviour of the court rather than the member states.

If we are running away from the ICC (International Criminal Court) with all the issues that you know, we cannot approve this report with a statement that ‘we are concerned about Rwanda’s withdrawal’, she said.

The Rwandan envoy, however maintained that the country was still fully committed to the court and remained a strong supporter despite its decision.

ACHPR refuted Rwanda’s manipulation accusations with its President, Mr Augustino L. Ramadhani, emphasising that its ‘judges have never and will never ever be manipulated’.(NMG)