separately. However, in describing the African organizations empowered to bring requests for Advisory Opinion before the Court, the same Protocol in the same provision makes reference only to organizations recognized by the African Union and says nothing about those recognized by any organ of the African Union. Had the authors of the Protocol wanted to also target African organizations recognized by any organ of the African Union, they would certainly not have hesitated to make this clear. In particular, had they wanted to target recognition by the Commission through the granting of observer status, they would have explicitly made mention of this as they did in Article 5 in which reference to observer status before the Commission is indicated expressis verbis, with respect to seizure of the Court in contentious matters. 55. Given the fact that the Member States of the African Union did not do so, one IS obliged to conclude that they deliberately did not wish to include African organizations recognized by any organ of the African Union other than those mandated to engage directly with the continental organization. 16 56. In the instant case, the term "recognized by the African Union" cannot be understood as meaning "recognized by the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights". 57. It is established that in the system of the continental organization, the granting of observer status to an NGO constitutes one of the forms of recognition of the latter. 58. With respect to the Commission, its Rules of Procedure of August 2010 provides in its Article 68 that observer status may be granted to an NGO operating in the field of human rights in Africa, enjoying the rights and discharging the duties as stipulated in a separate resolution. In effect, Resolution No. 33 on the Review of the Criteria for Granting and Enjoying Observer Status to Human Rights NGOs before 16 This inlerpretation of the term "recognized by the African Union" as per Article 4 (1) of the Protocol is founded on Article 31 (1) of the Vienna Convention of 1969 on the Law of Treaties which stales that "A treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose". Page 16 of 19