Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Sacko was elected Judge of the African Court in February 2021 for a six-year term.

He was elected as Vice President of the Court in July 2023 for a two-year term.

Chafika was elected judge of the African Court in January 2017 during the 28th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, for a six-year term.

She was re-elected in February 2023 for a second term of six years.

The African Court Coalition congratulated the new Judge President and his Vice and “wished them all the best in leading the African Court in the execution of its mandate for the protection of human rights on the continent.”

Apart from the elections of the new Bureau, the Court also held a joint retreat with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) to discuss complementarity between the two institutions.

On Wednesday, June 4, 2025, the Court will hold a Public Hearing in the matter of African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v Republic of Kenya, (Application No.006/2012) commonly known as the Ogiek case.

On Thursday, June 5, 2025, the Court will deliver seven decisions adopted during its 76th and 77th Ordinary Sessions.

The public hearing and delivery of judgments will be open to members of the general public, either on-site at the seat of the Court in Arusha.

The ACHPR is a continental court established by African countries to ensure the protection of human and peoples’ rights in Africa.

It complements and reinforces the functions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The Court was established pursuant to Article 1 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, (the Protocol) which was adopted by the Member States of the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in June 1998.

The Protocol came into force on January 25, 2004.

The 34 States which have ratified the Protocol are: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Libya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia.