(2017) 1 African Human Rights Yearbook
159
require’.27 It has been suggested that ‘reporting’ should be considered
as separate from ‘monitoring’ and ‘enforcement’.28 ‘Reporting’ includes
those reports on non-compliance submitted by the African Court to the
Executive Council through article 31 of the Protocol. ‘Monitoring’
should be undertaken by the Executive Council in accordance with
article 29; and include the ability of the Executive Council, through
working groups or a group specifically for ‘ongoing supervision of the
state of execution of judicial decisions of the Court’, to issue regulations
or directions or appropriate action.29 ‘Enforcement’ will then be carried
out by the AU Assembly, with information on the measures taken by the
State being maintained by a register at the AU Commission.30
The practice of the African Commission and the African Court
reveals that they employ a range of different tasks to monitor
implementation. With respect to information gathering, the African
Commission has received information from one or both parties to the
communication,31 and on occasion others,32 on the extent to which its
recommendations have been implemented. It has also been more active
in gathering evidence of implementation, for example, by sending notes
verbales and letters to the States and parties requesting information,
although the responses are not always provided.33 Despite it not being
expressly mentioned in Rule 112, it has also held hearings on
27
AU Executive Council, Decision on the 2013 Activity Report of the African Court on
Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted January 2014 para 9.
28
African Court Coalition (n 13 above) para 2.2. See also GW Kakai ‘Compliance with
supranational human rights judgements and decisions in Sub-Saharan Africa: successes,
challenges and opportunities. African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights experience’,
Presentation, Raoul Wallenberg Institute, Closing The Implementation Gap –
Strengthening Compliance with Regional Human Rights Decisions Regional
Symposium, 27-28 September 2016, Hotel Intercontinental, Nairobi, Kenya, on file with
authors.
29
African Court Coalition (n 13 above). See also Kakai (n 11 above).
30
As above.
31 ‘In Communication 365/08, the Complainant informed the Commission that the
decision of the Commission has been partially implemented, and the Commission has
requested the State to implement the outstanding part of the decision. In
Communication 323/06, the Respondent State indicated that efforts have been made to
protect the rights of women in the country in general, and the Commission has
requested the State for information regarding the concrete measures (being) taken to
implement the specific decision of the Commission in the Communication in identified
areas’, African Commission, Thirty-Sixth Activity Report, November 2013-May 2014
paras 24-27.
32
Malawi Africa Association et al v Mauritania, Communications 54/91-61/91, 9893-164/97, 196/97, 210/98, ImplementationDossier. For presentation to the African
Commission on the occasion of the 50th Ordinary Session, October 2011. IHRDA were
not the original complainants. See also statements made during sessions of the African
Commission, eg IHRDA, Statement of IHRDA on implementation of the African
Commission’s decision in Communication 292/04, IHRDA v Angola, 58th Ordinary
Session, 12 April 2016.
33
Eg African Commission, Thirty-Seventh Activity Report, June – December 2014
para 50: ‘The Commission did not receive any information on this during the reporting
period’.
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