At the request of local NGOs, Africa Legal Aid has already submitted cases of serious human rights violations to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. Because the Maastricht office is situated away from the countries where the violations might occur, it is able to submit cases without fear of interference from local authorities. In addition, the office in Maastricht secures the independence and effectiveness of the work to be done at the local level. The office in Ghana will work in close collaboration with the Maastricht office in carrying out the mandate of Africa Legal Aid. The activities of Africa Legal Aid are supervised by a Governing Council which consists of a President, a Treasurer, a Secretary and four other members.
Consideration is given to gender balance.
For example, the President of the organization, a Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa is female. The Executive Director, responsible for the operation of the organization is also female. The complete list of Africa Legal Aid Council members can be found on the back cover page of this report. In the year 1997, AFLA's activities were mainly implemented by a small staff consisting of the Executive Director, a Legal Researcher and a Secretary. Africa Legal Aid will also work with visiting researchers, interns and volunteers.