The President of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), Hon. Justice Sylvian Ore’ has paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Alie Kabba at his Tower Hill office, Freetown. The purpose of his visit is to update the Minister on the status of the African Court as part of the on-going efforts of the Court to interact with different stakeholders in order to deepen their understanding of the Court’s mission and to encourage member States to ratify the Protocol establishing the AfCHPR and to deposit the declaration under Article 34(6) of the protocol, which allows direct access to the Court by NGOs and individuals. The President of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), Justice Sylvian Ore’ on behalf of the court expressed gratitude for the warm reception accorded him and the delegation, underscoring the need for Sierra Leone to ratify the Protocol and deposit its declaration. Dr, Alie Kabba on behalf of the government and people of Sierra Leone welcomed the President of the African Court and delegation to the Republic of Sierra Leone. Dr. Kabba also stated that the New Direction agenda which is President Julius Maada Bio’s flagship programme is committed to making every citizen of Sierra Leone feel and believe they are an integral part of an inseparable and indivisible country. “Our government promotes inclusive politics, inclusive governance and inclusive development as the only guarantor for enduring peace and security”, he added. The Foreign Minister assured the African Court envoys of his ministry’s commitment to the ratification of the Protocol. “The New Direction agenda is committed to promoting and protecting fundamental human rights of our compatriots”, Dr. Alie Kabba concluded. It could be recalled that so far, 30 out of 55 African Union (AU) Member States have ratified the Protocol and only 8 of them have deposited their declarations. These 8 States are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Tanzania and Tunisia. Sierra Leone is yet to ratify the Protocol establishing the Court. The delegation will also pay courtesy calls on the His Excellency the President, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the Speaker of Parliament, the Chief Justice, Human Rights Commissions and Bar Association, among others. A seminar for human rights stakeholders in Sierra Leone will be held on Friday 3rd August 2018 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Conference hall. Present were: the Director General and Ambassador-At-Large, Paul A.S. Minah, the Director for Compliance and Human Rights, Hassan Morlai Koroma; the former President of the African Court, Hon. Justice Gerard Niyungeko; and the Legal Officer of the African Court, Meredith Deborah Lwanga.