| AFRICAN UNION | UNION AFRICAINE | |
|---|---|---|
| الاتحاد الأفريقي | UNIÃO AFRICANA | |
| AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS COUR AFRICAINE DES DROITS DE L'HOMME ET DES PEUPLES |
Statement by Hon. Lady Justice Imani D Aboud, President of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights delivered on the occasion of the Opening Ceremony of the 73rd Ordinary Session and the 35th Anniversary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
Banjul, The Gambia
20 October 2022
Hon. Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
Excellency Representatives of the Government of the Gambia
Excellency Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission
Honourable Members of the African Commission and the Committee on the Rights of the Child
Distinguished partners, guests and participants,
All protocol observed
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I feel greatly honoured to be part of this twin ceremonies – the 73rd ordinary session and 35th Anniversary of the operationalisation of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. I would have loved to be with you in person, but unfortunately, due to other prior and equally important commitments, it is not possible. Accept, all the same, warm greetings from all the Judges and staff of your sister institution, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen
It is quite amazing that these two events are taking place on the eve of, 21 October, a very important day in the human rights calendar of our continent. As we all know, 21 October 1986 marks the entry into force of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights – what we consider the human rights constitution of the continent. Hon. Chairperson, we would not have been commemorating 21 October if not of the African Commission. It is the African Commission that has made this day what it is today. It is the Commission that in 1989, just two years after its operationalisation, during its Fifth Ordinary Session in Benghazi, Libya, adopted Resolution ACHPR/Res.1(V)89 on the celebration of an African Day of Human Rights. It is that resolution that you adopted some 33 years ago that continues to galvanise the human rights community each year to reflect on where we come from, where we are, and where we are going to, in the human rights discourse on the continent.
Admittedly, the Resolution called for celebrations, and rightfully so. Africa has the right to celebrate, if we look back to our history on human rights. Africa has the right to celebrate the gains we have made in human rights. Yes, Africa has the right to celebrate even the future of human rights as encapsulated in many of our instruments, including Agenda 2063.
In the Resolution, the African Commission was:
convinced that the celebration of the anniversary of the coming into force of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights would involve the
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