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Tanzania has emerged the biggest beneficiary of the African Union’s human rights court in Arusha with the host nation accounting for at least 70 per cent of applications that have been received up to date, it has been revealed.

In Summary

The Arusha-based African Court of Human and People’s Rights has received 120 cases since it started operations a decade ago

Zephania Ubwani @ubwanizg3 news@tz.nationmedia.com

Arusha. Tanzania has emerged the biggest beneficiary of the African Union’s human rights court in Arusha with the host nation accounting for at least 70 per cent of applications that have been received up to date, it has been revealed.

The Arusha-based African Court of Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR) has received 120 cases since it started operations a decade ago, according to deputy registrar Nouhou Diallo.

“Over 120 cases have been received up to now. Most of them are from Tanzania,” he told a delegation of parliamentarians from Germany who visited the Court on Thursday.

Mr Diallo said the court appreciated the cooperation it was getting from Tanzania and Germany.

Tanzania ratified the protocol that established the Court on February 10, 2006 and signed a declaration that allowed individuals and NGOs to access it directly on March 10th the same year.

The Court, a judicial organ of the African Union, was established in 1998 and operationalised in 2006 to determine cases pertaining to violation of human and people’s rights in Africa.

Mr Diallo said 32 of the applications received have been disposed of, 32 others finalised and a few others pending or transferred to the Banjul-based African Commission on People’s and Human Rights.

“One of our challenges is that the judges are not residents in Arusha not like in the European Court. They come for the cases only,” he said.

Only 30 out of the 55 AU states have ratified the protocol which established it.

“At the Court we are doing what we can do,” he said, noting that AfCHPR appreciated the firm support it was getting from Germany as well as Tanzania.

The leader of the seven-person parliamentarians from Germany Saxony State Heinz Lehmann emphasised that his country was keen to see a politically stable Africa.

The delegation from the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) stressed the maintenance of human rights cannot be taken for granted in both Africa and Europe.

“There is a huge amount of interest from our side to learn more about Tanzania as a supporter of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights,” he said.

The team is currently visiting the country, including the GIZ projects and the East African Community. It has also met officials of the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) and the Judiciary.

On Wednesday, the deputy registrar told a visiting delegation from Kenya that that cases are filed at the Court by aggrieved parties from all over the continent after exhausting all local remedies.

Quelle: The Citizen

Industry is vitally important for Europe's regions and cities providing 50 million jobs as well as the means for exports and innovation. Heinz Lehmann (DE/EPP), Member of the Saxony regional parliament, has therefore proposed that the EU's industrial policy strategy fully responds to current and future challenges, channels the opportunities stemming from global competitiveness and underlines the centrality of regional ecosystems in industrial modernisation.

Outlining his opinion at the European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Economic Policy yesterday, Heinz Lehmann called for 20% of GDP to be allocated to industry by 2020 and for a particular emphasis to be placed on innovation, key enabling technologies, important projects of common European interest, digitalisation and SMEs, due to their "cross-cutting significance". He also called for a place-based approach to European industrial policy, which is supported by an appropriate budget for research and innovation.

"European industry should be enshrined as a goal in the ninth Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. By raising the target from spending 3% of GDP on R&D to 3.5% by 2020 at the latest, we would be able to strengthen industry's capacity for change and innovation" Mr Lehmann said.

Looking at the competition for a range of Europe's traditional and emerging industries, the rapporteur insisted on a level playing field and highlighted that "a well-functioning single market in goods and services can facilitate the integration of companies in global value chains and is therefore essential for the success of Europe's industry." However, he also called for more flexible public procurement in order to boost innovation. According to Mr Lehmann, Europe's regions and cities should strive to support an environment that is conducive to innovation in order to improve the acceptance of industrial activities at all ages. He also places a great value on vocational training and ensuring people have the right skills and competences for modern, environmental and digitally-friendly industries.

Following an exchange with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, the draft opinion was supported by the vast majority of the Commission for Economic Policy today and is due for adoption at the March 2018 Plenary Session.