The withdrawal from the court is a setback to democracy
Photo by Guillaume Colin and Pauline Penot of the 47th session of the African Court of Human and People's Rights on Flickr via CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
In a further rebuff to the African Court on Human and Peoplesโ Rights, after Benin's partial withdrawal, Cรดte d'Ivoire has decided to also withdraw its recognition. It is highly likely that this decision is linked to a court judgment in favor of an opponent of the Ivorian government.
The court was created under Article 1 of the associated Protocol of the African Charter on Human and Peoplesโ Rights (AfCHPR) which allows a citizen or organization direct access to the court.
he AfCHPR is part of an African continental convention under the aegis of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), with headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The Guillaume Kigbafori Soro affair
On April 29, Ivorian government spokesperson, Sidi Tourรฉ, announced Cรดte d'Ivoire's decision to withdraw its June 9, 2013, Declaration of Competence from the AfCHPR.
This decision follows a judgment by the court against Cรดte dโIvoire and in favor of its opponent in the case, Guillaume Kigbafori Soro, a former member of the government who is now critical of his country.
Former prime minister Soro had complained to the AfCHPR about a 20-year prison sentence and a fine of 4.5 billion West African CFA francs (about $7.5 million US dollars) for โcovering up the misuse of public fundsโ and โmoney laundering.โ
This sentence also required him to pay 2 billion CFA francs (about $3.3โฏmillion USD) in damages to the Public Treasury of Cรดte dโIvoire. He was also to suffer five yearsโ suspension of his civil rights and the confiscation of his house. The Yamoussoukro (capital city) judiciary also issued an international arrest warrant against Kigbafori, who currently lives in France.
On April 22, the AfCHPR ordered the state defendant to suspend the arrest warrant it had issued against Soro. It also required Cรดte dโIvoire to produce a report on the implementation of the provisional measures mandated in the verdict within 30 days of the date it was received.
Since the announcement of Cรดte d'Ivoire's withdrawal from the AfCHPR Protocol, human rights defense organizations have issued a stream of press releases and statements of protest against this decision.
Some of them see in the refusal of the authorities to comply with the AfCHPR's judgment a bid to stop Soro from standing in the presidential elections, set to take place in October 2020. The lawyersโ collective engaged with Soro's defense published a message on Facebook on April 30, saying:
Cette dรฉcision de retrait confirme, sโil en รฉtait encore besoin, que le jugement correctionnel du 28 avril 2020 rendu par le Tribunal de Premiรจre Instance dโAbidjan contre M. Guillaume Kigbafori Soro, en violation de la dรฉcision de la CADHP du 22 avril 2020, sโinscrit dans une sรฉrie de manลuvres politiques afin dโรฉcarter sa candidature ร lโรฉlection prรฉsidentielle, au prix dโune grave instrumentalisation de lโinstitution judiciaire.
This withdrawal decision confirms, were it still necessary to do so, that the criminal conviction of 28 April 2020 returned by the Abidjan Lower Court against Monsieur Guillaume Kigbafori Soro, in violation of the AfCHPR's decision of 22 April 2020, joins a series of political manoeuvres aimed at removing his candidature from the Presidential election, at the cost of a serious politicisation of the judiciary.
It seems the current Ivorian government is determined to put pressure on Guillaume Soro. Cรดte d'Ivoire journalist Djakaria Tourรฉ notes Soro's younger brother, an American national, was arrested in the context of another case:
Cรดte d'Ivoire
: violation des droits humains.
SORO SIMON, prisonnier Politique et d'opinions, Incarcรฉrรฉ ร la Prison civile d'Abengourou
Trรจs malade, empรชchement de ses mรฉdecins de lui fournir des soins.
le pouvoir l'utilise comme moyen de chantage sur son aรฎnรฉ Guillaume Soro.pic.twitter.com/ve1B9fJiruโ djakaria Toure (@2bd0b186acb2424) May 3, 2020
Cรดte d'Ivoire: human rights violation.
SORO SIMON, political prisoner and prisoner of conscience, incarcerated in the Civil Prison of Abengourou.
Very sick, and his doctors prevented from attending to him.
Regime using him to blackmail his elder brother Guillaume Soro.
The president of Cรดte d'Ivoire, Alhassane Ouattara, has announced that at the end of his current term, which expires on October 31, he will follow the constitution, which limits the number of terms to two, and will give way to the winning candidate.
Alarming setback to democracy
In a press release issued on May 1, the Ivorian Human Rights Observatory (OIDH) expressed grave concern at this withdrawal months away from the presidential elections:
Cette dรฉcision de retrait, ร quelques mois des รฉchรฉances รฉlectorales de 2020, et au regard de la crispation du contexte socio-politique actuel, pourrait priver les citoyens de recours pourtant essentiels ร la reconnaissance de leur droit.
Elle sโapparente ainsi ร un recul dรฉmocratique pour notre pays qui se veut un parangon en matiรจre de respect des droits humains et de lโรฉtat de droit en Afrique. Pour preuve, la Cรดte dโIvoire a รฉtรฉ membre du conseil des droits de lโhomme de lโONU de 2012 ร 2016, membre du conseil de sรฉcuritรฉ de lโONU, puis postule encore ร cette fonction au conseil des droits de lโhomme.
This withdrawal decision, coming months away from the 2020 electoral deadline, and in the light of the ratcheting up of tension in the current socio-political context, could deprive citizens of opportunities which remain essential to the recognition of their rights.
It thus amounts to a democratic setback for our country which claims itself a paragon of respect for human rights and the state of law in Africa. As proof, Cรดte dโIvoire was a member of the UN Human Rights Council from 2012 to 2016, has been a member of the UN Security Council, and is once more seeking the Human Rights Council role.
The Convention of Ivorian Civil Society (CSCI) judged:
โฆpar ce retrait, le citoyen ivoirien et les Organisations de la sociรฉtรฉ civile (OSC) se trouvent fortement fragilisรฉes en matiรจre de promotion et de protection des droits de lโhomme dans notre pays. Dโautant que cet instrument juridique chรจrement acquis de haute lutte est le fruit dโun engagement collectif.
โฆby this withdrawal, the Ivorian citizen and civil society organisations (CSOs) find themselves greatly weakened in promoting and protecting human rights in our country. After all, this legal instrument, dearly won by hard struggle, is a fruit of collective endeavour.
Numerous Twitter users have published comments:
โ Konรฉ Katina Edmond (@edmond_katina)
Aprรจs le Bรฉnin, c'est maintenant la Cรดte d'Ivoire qui retire la possibilitรฉ ร ses citoyens de saisir la Cour Africaine des Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples. Quel recul pour les DH et la justice ?!?
Les effets enivrants du pouvoir mรชlรฉs ร une domestication honteuse de la justice! pic.twitter.com/Cfwaz2WzWaApril 29, 2020
After Benin, now it's Cรดte d'Ivoire removing its citizensโ access to the African Court on Human and Peoplesโ Rights. What a setback for human rights and justice ?!?
The intoxications of power mixed in with a shameful curbing of justice!
Stรฉphane Kiprรฉ, president of the political party Union of the New Generations, writes:
Renoncer ร son engagement auprรจs de la #CADHP parce qu'une dรฉcision nous est dรฉfavorable est indigne d'un homme d'รtat. C'est humiliant pour notre pays surtout qu'on a soutenu les dรฉcisions antรฉrieures. Vivement que la Cรดte d'Ivoire se dรฉbarrasse de ce type de dirigeants. PSK
โ Stรฉphane Kiprรฉ (@stephane_kipre) April 29, 2020
To renege on our commitment to the #AfCHPR because a ruling went against us is unworthy of a statesman. It's humiliating for our country, particularly when we've supported previous rulings. Cรดte d'Ivoire, get rid of this type of leader!
As user Cedric Emmanuel notes online:
IMPORTANT COMMUNIQUE DU GOUVERNEMENT-Cour Africaine: โLa Cote d'Ivoire a retirรฉ sa Dรฉclaration de compรฉtence. La dรฉcision relative ร l'affaire Soro viole la souverainetรฉ de l'Etatโ. Le compte-rendu du Conseil des Ministres, de ce mercredi 29 avril 2020. https://ift.tt/36HHtjT
La dรฉcision du retrait s'est fait aprรจs que la #CADHP ait dรฉcidรฉ de la suspension des poursuite ร l'encontre de @SOROKGUILLAUME donc au moins, faudrait que l'รtat de
โ Ced-Emma (@CedricEmmanuel) April 30, 2020
IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASE โ African Court: โCote d'Ivoire has withdrawn its Declaration of Competence. The ruling in the Soro case violates the sovereignty of the Stateโ. Briefing to the Council of Ministers, this Wednesday 29 April 2020.
The withdrawal decision was taken after the #AfCHPR ordered the suspension of the prosecution of @SOROKGUILLAUME so the State of
Pape Ibrahima Kane, a human rights activist working for the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), draws an important conclusion:
โฆ il faut savoir que cette dรฉcision-lร ne prend effet que dans un an. Et donc que dโici lโannรฉe prochaine, il peut toujours y avoir des plaintes contre la Cรดte dโIvoireโฆ
Parce que, cette dรฉcision nโexclut pas la possibilitรฉ de toujours porter plainte contre la Cรดte dโIvoire. Mais maintenant, quand on porte plainte contre la Cรดte dโIvoire, ce sera devant la commission africaine et cโest la commission africaine qui portera lโaffaire devant la cour.
โฆyou have to realise that this decision only takes effect in a year's time. And therefore that between now and next year, there can still be complaints against Cรดte dโIvoireโฆ
Because this decision doesn't preclude people making complaints against Cรดte dโIvoire. Only now, when someone does make a complaint against Cรดte dโIvoire, it will be to the African Commission [on Human and Peoplesโ Rights] and it will be the African Commission which will bring the case to court.
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