Dodoma — TANZANIA has been mentioned as one of countries effectively utilising services of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR), with more than 50 per cent of cases decided being from the country.

President of the AfCHPR, Justice Iman Daud Aboud, a Tanzanian who has been re-elected for the second and final term to head the Court, said on Wednesday shortly after opening the second retreat of the Court members.

She said that of the 150 judgments decided by the Court from various African countries, 50 of them are from Tanzania.

The AfCHPR is the continental court established by African countries to ensure the protection of human and peoples' rights in Africa .

Justice Aboud said to date, 34 member states have ratified the Protocol Establishing the African Court, out of these, but only eight countries have accepted the competence of the Court.

She said the court judges convene a three-day retreat to enhance the Court's effectiveness and improve the protection of human rights across the continent.

"The retreat will facilitate better coordination and the development of improved working methods and contribute to the smooth functioning of the African Court in particular and the African human rights protection system in general," said Justice Aboud.

Earlier, Dr Robert Eno, Registrar of the court, asked the judges to use the retreat to explore ways and means in which they can build on success to improve the work of the court.

"It is important for the Judges to have such a retreat whereby they can have a heart-to-heart, face-to-face conversation on the state of affairs of the Court," said Dr Eno.