OSINBAJO TO ATTEND AFRICAN COURT OF JUSTICE ANNUAL OPENING SESSION IN ARUSHA….. Will also hold bilateral talks with his counterpart, Dr. Philip Isdor Mpango.

Foreign Desk

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo today departs Abuja for Arusha, Tanzania today, to attend the formal opening of the 2022 Judicial Year of the African Court for Human and Peoples’ Rights which holds on 28/02/2022.

Last year, at its 15th Anniversary, the court resolved that “as a means of enhancing its visibility and engaging as many stakeholders as possible, it will convene a solemn ceremony at the commencement of the first of its four sessions of each year to mark the official opening of the judicial year.”

The Vice President has been designated as the Guest Speaker at this inaugural event to be attended by leaders from across the continent and beyond. He will speak on the theme: “The African Court and the Africa we want.”

The overall objective of the ceremony, according to the Court, is to provide a forum for interaction with Member States, key judicial authorities, inter-governmental, semi-governmental and non-state actors; exchange of ideas; and reflection on the work of the Court for the year.

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights was established pursuant to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 9th June 1998.

The Mission of the Court is to enhance the protective mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights by strengthening the human rights protection system in Africa and ensuring respect for and compliance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, as well as other international human rights instruments, through judicial decisions.

While in Tanzania, the Vice President will also hold bilateral talks with his counterpart, Dr. Philip Isdor Mpango.

The Vice President is expected back in Abuja on Tuesday, 1st March, 2022.