SADC leaders clamp down on human rights court
By Tererai Karimakwenda
20 August 2012
SADC heads of state who met in Maputo for the annual summit over the weekend
have been accused of “shutting the doors” to the SADC Tribunal to the region’s
citizens, following a decision to limit the court’s Protocol to dealing only
with conflicts between member states.
A final communique issued at the summit on Saturday said SADC leaders had
“resolved that a new Protocol on the Tribunal should be negotiated and its
mandate confined to interpretation of the SADC Treaty and Protocols relating
to disputes between Member States.”
The Tribunal’s original mandate allowed the court to hear and decide on
cases brought by individual citizens, who felt they had been denied justice
in their home countries. The weekend decision essentially leaves no legal
recourse for individuals seeking justice, therefore undermining the rule of
law.
The SADC Tribunal was suspended in 2010, after the Mugabe regime dismissed a
ruling by the court which said his chaotic land grab exercise was illegal
and racist. But Mugabe dismissed the ruling and challenged the legality of
the Tribunal. Rather than deal with the issue the SADC leaders suspended the
court’s operations instead.
The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) have strongly criticised the
SADC leaders. They had expected the Summit to adopt the recommendations from
their own Ministers of Justice and Attorneys-General from the region, which
limited the human rights mandate of the Tribunal while a new Protocol was
decided on.
“This weekend’s decision goes far further in narrowing the Tribunal’s
mandate. Individuals won’t have any access to the Tribunal whatsoever, no
matter what type of case is concerned,” the Centre’s director Nicole Fritz
told SW Radio Africa.
She added: “Most of cases that were heard by the Tribunal so far had been
brought by individuals. Member states almost never bring cases against each
other before the courts. They try and resolve their disputes by diplomatic
means. So the SADC tribunal is essentially not going to be worth the
expense.”
Civic society groups that had also lobbied for the revival of the Tribunal
have said they are disappointed with the decision to block individual cases.
Nobel peace prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu was one of the campaigners
fighting for the court’s re-instatement. He had described it as “a place
where crimes could not go unpunished and victims of injustice and human
rights abuses could turn with confidence”, adding: “but that house is now in
grave danger.”
Tutu had warned that “the region will lose a vital ally of its citizens, its
investors and its future” if SADC leaders did not revive the court. “It is
up to all of us to ensure that SADC not only reinstates the Tribunal but
also strengthens it,” Tutu was quoted as saying.