4. REGIONAL MECHANISMS 4.1 The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights In accordance with Article 30 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) was established in 1987 to promote human and peoples' rights and ensure their protection in Africa. The reports in the compilation ‘Mass Rape, Rape as Weapon of War and Women in War Zones’ document a range of crimes against women and various forms of violation of women’s rights, both in conflict and post-conflict contexts. Accountability for such crimes within the national systems have been difficult as legal systems in most of these countries have broken down or have only recently been reformed, the functionality of which is yet to be complete. Even with a fractured legal system, States have often investigated and prosecuted crimes like murder, assault, detention and torture but not sexual violence or other forms of violations women experience. Leaving sexual violence out of the accountability process is a form of discrimination against women invoking State’s liability and responsibility towards women. Testimonies of survivors from such contexts clearly indicate violation of a number of articles of the African Charter, particularly Article 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Bringing communications of such violence to a regional body is an option for justice that women survivors and women’s rights activists may want to consider pursuing aggressively. 4.1.1 Key Provisions Relevant to Women’s Rights Articles of the African Charter most relevant to address violation of women’s rights are:             Article 2 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex Article 3 provides equality before law and equal protection of law Article 4 assures right to life Article 5 prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment Article 6 gives right to personal liberty and protection from arbitrary arrest Article 7 concerns the right to fair trial Article 14 concerns the right to property Article 15 concerns the right to work Article 16 concerns the right to health Article 17 concerns the right to education Article 18 concerns the protection of the family and vulnerable groups Article 18(3) provides that the State shall ensure the elimination of every form of discrimination against women and also ensure the protection of the rights of the woman and the child as stipulated in international declarations and conventions. i) Admissibility Communications are subject to all the general admissibility criteria listed in the admissibility section. The additional criteria, specific to the African Commission are:  the complaint must not be based exclusively on news disseminated through the mass media;  the complaint must be submitted within a reasonable period of time from when the local remedies had been exhausted;  the complaint does not deal with cases which have been already settled in accordance with the principles of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) or the provisions of the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights. Although one of the admissibility criteria is that the communication cannot be anonymous, the victim or the survivor herself need not send the communication. It may also be sent by an NGO, on behalf of the victim. Moreover, unique in the human rights system is the 26 REGIONAL MECHANISMS | REDRESS