89.
The Complainants submit that, this was also confirmed by the CEDAW
Committee‟s decision in A.T v Hungary,22 while the Committee was citing
a report presented by the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against
women, its causes and consequences on due diligence and the standards
expected of State Parties. In the Report, the Special Rapporteur specified
that “the concept of due diligence provides a yardstick to determine
whether a State has met or failed to meet its obligations in combating
90.
AC
HP
R
violence against women.”
According to the Complainants, the sexual abuse endured by the
Victims is gender-specific and amounts to discrimination on the grounds
of sex, which is a violation of Article 18(3) of the African Charter.
The Respondent State’s Submissions on the Merits
91.
The Respondent State submits that the subject matter of the Complaint
does not satisfy the condition of exhaustion of local remedies stipulated in
Article 56 of the African Charter.
92.
The Respondent State argues that there has been no violation of any of
the provisions of the African Charter. It states that the national measures
undertaken and stated in the Complaint are not in violation of the African
Charter and the rights of the Victims were neither prejudiced nor violated.
93.
The Respondent State further provides that investigations carried out by
PPO concluded the existence of the crime of sexual molestation. They
argue however, that the element of criminal intention was not established
22
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women,
Communication No.: 2/2003 (2005).
24
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