24 Apr 2007: ISS Seminar, Pretoria: The Protection of Human Rights on the African Continent

ISS Seminar: the Protection of Human Rights on the African Continent
Pretoria, 24 April 2007

The African (Banjul) Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 27 June 1981 recognised the importance of the observance and respect for human and peoples’ rights on the African continent. The Charter came into operation on 12 October 1986. On 22 January 2006 at the Eight Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the AU, the eleven judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights were appointed. The establishment of the Court signifies the desire and the need for the protection of the human and peoples’ rights. The first meeting of the Court was held on 2-5 July 2006. The Crime and Justice Programme of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) is presenting a seminar on some salient issues relating to the Court and its purpose, how it functions and how it relates to other institutions of the African Union.

Speakers:

1. Judge B.M. Ngoepe, the Judge-President of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court of South Africa and a Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He will deal with the rationale behind the establishment of the Court, how it is constituted, how it functions and the nature of cases the Court is entitled to handle.

2. Ms Lee Stone, a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, who has done extensive research on the subject. She, in addition to complementing Judge Ngoepe, will address the issues of judicial enforcement mechanisms by specifically referring to (a) complementarities between the African Commission and the African Court; (b) locus standi and implications thereof; (c) the jurisdiction of the Court and (d) prospects for the Court.

Date: Tuesday 24 April 2007

Time: 10h00 – 12h00

Venue: ISS, Block C, Brooklyn Court, Veale Street East, Pretoria

RSVP: Ms Busiswa Nyume, email: [email protected]

Tel: 012 346 9500

Fax: 012 460 0998

PARKING IS AVAILABLE AT THE BROOKLYN MALL AND ABSA PARKADES AT OWN COSTS