Activity Report of the African Union Commission on International Law (AUCIL) for the period May 2015 to June 2016
Published: 10/Jul/2016
Source: AU Commission on International Law
AU Executive Council 29th Ordinary Session, 10 – 18 July 2016, Kigali, Rwanda, Document EX.CL/978(XXIX)
Including:
Informal Consultative Session with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Specific Aspects of the Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa
24. The Ag. Chairperson introduced this agenda item by welcoming the delegation of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) led by the Commissioner Maya Sahli, the Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons & Migrants in Africa.
25. In her remarks, Commissioner Sahli expressed gratitude to the AUCIL for the warm welcome and the opportunity extended to the ACHPR delegation to exchange views informally on the draft Protocol prior to its consideration by the Specialized Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs scheduled to take place in November 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
26. After a brief introduction of all participants, Commissioner Sahli and a representative of the AfCHPR delegation presented the draft Protocol by highlighting the historical context behind the study that led to the elaboration of the draft Protocol, the method or process by which the study and draft Protocol was considered and the background and principles behind the provisions in the draft Protocol.
27. After the presentations, the members of AUCIL provided comments, observations and inputs to enrich the draft text. In addition to the substantive input that was made, some members provided comments to ensure proper alignment of the linguistic texts, to streamline a number of inconsistencies.
28. The informal consultations and exchange of views between the AUCIL Members and the AfCHPR delegation ended with the understanding that being an informal consultative meeting, the AfCHPR should take the comments as individual views of the AUCIL members and not an endorsement of the draft Protocol as this would be inconsistent with the relevant provisions of their Statutes, Rules and Practice. However, the AUCIL members advised the AfCHPR to reflect the comments made to ensure that the draft Protocol when presenting its report on the draft Protocol to AU Member States for their consideration and possible adoption.
29. The meeting ended with the Ag. Chairperson and Commissioner Sahli thanking the participants for the very instructive comments and advised both sides to use this as an opportunity for future collaboration between the two Organs.
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