NGOs often play a role in bringing cases to the Commission (under the complaints procedure), proposing agenda items for Commission sessions, and providing logistical and other support to the special rapporteurs, working groups and missions, as well as developing resolutions and new protocols to the African Charter.

How Does the Complaints System Work?
The Commission is authorised to consider both inter-State and individual communications about breaches of human rights. In fact, the Charter binds all State parties to accept the Commission’s power to supervise and monitor all rights. The Commission is a quasi-judicial body so its decisions do not carry the binding force of a court of law.
The Commission has special investigative powers to monitor emergency situations; that is, cases which reveal a pattern of serious or massive violations. It can do this through appointing experts, requesting States to adopt interim measures to protect victims, receiving testimonies, etc.

For the Commission to consider a complaint, it must meet certain ‘admissibility’ criteria. These include, that the complainant has taken their case to the highest court in their own country without success or the prospect of success, and, that the communication is not written in ‘disparaging or insulting language directed against the State concerned and its institutions’.
Read more about the complaints procedure to the ACHPR, including official guidelines for submitting a complaint.

Procedure
Applicants initiate a case through a letter of introduction. The Commission may decide to seize itself of the case, at which point the applicant is invited to provide submissions on admissibility, the State is given an opportunity to respond, and the applicant may file a reply. The Commission will then issue a decision on admissibility, and if the case is held to be admissible, the parties provide similar submissions and responses on the merits of the case.
Decisions on admissibility are usually made based solely on the written submissions, although the Commission may schedule an oral hearing. Oral hearings are more common at the merits stage, when they may be called by the Commission or requested by a party, although cases may be decided based solely on the written submissions.

Remedies
The African Charter does not specify the remedies which the Commission may recommend; rather, it empowers the Commission to make any recommendations it considers “useful” in a particular case. The Commission has made a wide range of recommendations, including publishing the Commission’s decision locally, the return of expelled from their country, the protection of natural resources, urging the withdrawal of troops, urging changes in a State Party’s law, and urging the release of detainee. The Commission has also recommended provision of compensation to the victims of the violations; however, when it does so it does not specify the sum to be paid, but rather recommends that the State provide “adequate compensation.”

Enforcement
The African Charter does not contain any provision for enforcement of the Commission’s findings and recommendations, which are not formally binding on AU Member States. However, the Chairman publishes a record of the Commission’s activities, including its Views, which is then submitted to the Assembly (Activity Reports). Special Rapporteurs may also instigate a dialogue with the relevant governments, approach the press, and collaborate with their UN counterparts to help implement the Commission’s recommendations. Finally, the Commission can refer cases to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.