Addis Ababa – Angola formally deposited Friday in the African Union (AU) the Letter of Ratification on the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights, in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the continental organization.
The document signed by the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, on January 30, 2024, was delivered by the Permanent Representative to the AU, Miguel Bembe, to the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Chadian Moussa Faki Mahamat.
On the occasion, Ambassador Miguel Bembe stressed that by depositing the Letter of Accession, Angola becomes the first AU Member State to complete such a procedure.
He considered the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights as one of the main pillars for the promotion of peace, security, stability, good governance and respect for democratic principles in Africa.
'This ceremony represents the firm commitment of President João Lourenço, as Angolan Head of State and Champion of the African Union for Peace and Reconciliation, to the promotion and protection of Human Rights, to improving the organization of the courts for access to justice, as well as to combating unconstitutional changes of government on the continent,' the diplomat pointed out.
He clarified that the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights aims to improve the organization of that judicial body assigned to the AU.
It also aims to define the extension of the Section of International Criminal Law on crimes against unconstitutional changes of government, piracy, terrorism, corruption and money laundering.
He expressed Angola's concern about the low rate of ratification of the African Union's legal instruments, especially those stemming from the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which conditions their application in the States Parties.
In this context, the diplomat called for the engagement of the other Member States in the ratification of the legal instruments of the African Union and reiterated Angola's commitment to continue to include in its legal system the Treaties to which it is a State Party.
For his part, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat congratulated the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, on the ratification of the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights.
He stressed that the gesture reinforces Angola's important position on the African continent, at a time when President João Lourenço assumes the first vice-presidency of the AU Conference Bureau and is preparing to preside over the continental organization for the period 2025-2026.
It concluded that the ratification of the document is an encouraging message to the other Member States of the AU, at a time when the political situation is marked by some unconstitutional changes of government, at the continental level, and by the serious and prolonged conflict in the Palestinian region of Gaza, in the international context. ART/DOJ
