PART C: Protection against Torture: Procedures before the African Commission and African Human Rights Court Commission then invites the parties to attend and present their arguments at a hearing, alone or through counsel, if they so choose.303 The Commission would normally issue a decision at the end of this process, which is made public after it has been transmitted to and adopted by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government as part of the Commission’s Activity Report. An author may supplement the communication at any time during the process, including during its oral presentation at the hearing. However, the Commission is obliged to bring each supplementary submission to the attention of the State against which the complaint is brought; the State will be entitled to a period of three months to respond to the contents. Supplementary submissions inordinately prolong the consideration of communications. They are, therefore, to be avoided unless absolutely essential to the success of the case. 2. Choice of Forum As many State parties to the African Commission are also subject to other international human rights mechanisms, such as the UN Human Rights Committee304 and, less extensively in Africa, the UN Committee against Torture305, a complainant must choose an appropriate forum. Victims of human rights violations have a number of potential forum choices. While the decisions of the African Commission are not binding, those of the African Court are. Cases can be referred from, and therefore the referral procedure of the Commission to the Court, as described in further detail in Section 3 below, as well as in Part A, Section IV of this Handbook. Additionally, Article 34(6) of the Court Protocol allows NGOs enjoying observer status to submit complaints directly to the Court; however, at the time of writing, only a handful of States had issued the necessary declaration to allow for individual complaints to be submitted directly to the Court. The Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, established under the African Children’s Rights Charter, offers another potential forum when the torture or ill-treatment of a child is alleged.306 In addition, the sub-regional courts of justice, namely the ECOWAS Court of Justice, the EAC Court of Justice and the SADC Tribunal, may also be considered as viable fora for victims of human rights violations in Africa, in particular as the decisions of these bodies are considered binding on States parties, 303 Ibid., Rule 99. 304 Under the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, supra note 94. Approximately 32 African States have accepted the competence of the Human Rights Committee. 305 Convention against Torture, supra note 91, Article 22. 306 See Part A, Section VIII(1) above for more detailed information on the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. 77