Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - REPORT_NO329, November 2002

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 28. The Committee last examined this case at its meeting in March 2002 [see 327th Report, paras. 204-213]. On that occasion, the Committee recalled that the complaint had originally been set out in a communication sent in October 1998, and urged the Government to take all the necessary measures to ensure that Mr. Olongo, formerly a staff delegate at SONEL dismissed in 1988, receive full compensation, given that the 14 years that had elapsed since his dismissal made reinstatement difficult. The Committee requested the Government to keep it informed in this respect.
2. 29. In a communication dated 4 July 2002, the Government states that there has been no progress in the judicial procedures concerning Mr. Olongo’s case, and that a letter of reminder has been sent to the Minister of Justice asking him to instruct the Supreme Court to give a definitive ruling.
3. 30. The Committee notes this information. It once again regrets that, more than two years after the first examination of the case and 14 years after the dismissal of Mr. Olongo, he has still not been reinstated or received compensation. The Committee recalls that justice delayed is justice denied, and expresses the strong hope that the Government will in the near future be able to report a positive outcome of proceedings currently under way before the Supreme Court. The Committee requests the Government to inform it of the Supreme Court’s decision once it has been handed down, and to keep it informed of developments in the matter of compensation for Mr. Olongo.