Human rights developments in the African Union during 2009 (original) (raw)
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Human rights developments in the African Union during 2008
African Human Rights Law Journal, 2009
The year 2008 saw significant developments towards harnessing the institutional framework for the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa. More financial resources were allocated to the system. The African Commission and Court adopted interim Rules of Procedure which, by the end of the year, were still not harmonised to enable the Commission to submit its first case to the Court. The slow progress towards making the Court operational impedes the impact of the African human rights system. Another impediment is the inadequate response of AU policy organs to gross human rights violations, undemocratic rule, and the question of impunity. * LLB (Hons) (Moi), Post-grad Dip Law (Kenya School of Law), LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa) (Pretoria)
Human rights developments in the African Union during 2012 and 2013 : recent developments
African Human Rights Law Journal, 2014
Positive developments in 2012 and 2013 included an increased impetus by the African Commission to reach decisions on petitions submitted to it and measures, such as hearings, to promote the implementation of its decisions. Concerns include the lack of publication of numerous decisions on individual cases and the lack of referral of cases from the Commission to the African Court in 2013. Despite the lack of referrals, the African Court now has a substantial docket and can focus on judicial work rather than the promotional work it has been focusing on over the last few years. The African Union political bodies continue to provide inadequate support, in particular to ensure sufficient staffing of the Commission and ensuring peer pressure in relation to the implementation of findings of the monitoring bodies. Projects such as expanding the mandate of the African Court to become a regional alternative to the International Criminal Court should be shelved until such time that a clear commitment to the existing institutions becomes evident.
Recent developments in the African regional human rights system : recent developments
African Human Rights Law Journal, 2004
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Commission) has a dual mandate, in that it aims at promoting and protecting the rights in the African Charter. Under article 59 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Charter), measures taken by the African Commission remain confidential until approved by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government (now the African Union (AU) Assembly). On the basis of this article, the sessions of the African Commission have been divided into public and private (closed) parts. During the public part of a session, the promotional work of the Commission is discussed. This part of the session includes reports by commissioners about their promotional activities, the examination of state reports submitted under article 62 of the Charter, and contributions by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) about their work and oral interventions on burning human rights issues in Africa. ...
Human rights developments in the African Union during 2014
African Human Rights Law Journal, 2015
The year 2014 saw the adoption by the AU Assembly of a protocol providing the African Court with jurisdiction over international crimes, and a revised protocol on the Pan-African Parliament providing it with power to adopt 'model legislation'. With regard to implementation, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa affected the effective functioning of, in particular, the African Commission. However, despite this and other challenges, the African Commission adopted important normative instruments, such as a resolution on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, responded to violations through urgent appeals and press releases, and engaged with states through missions and the state reporting procedure. The Commission also adopted some interesting jurisprudence in the period under review. The African Children's Rights Committee consolidated its position as the main regional body for the protection of children's rights in Africa. The African Court received an increasing number of cases and handed down two judgments on merits and an advisory opinion.
Human rights developments in the African Union (January 2017-September 2018)
African Human Rights Law Journal, 2018
The African Human Rights Decade (2017-2027) did not get off to a good start. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has been facing a backlash from the African Union Executive Council since granting observer status to the Coalition for African Lesbians in 2015, which has escalated to a level where the independence of the Commission is at stake. While the number of cases decided by the Commission has dropped steadily, its other monitoring roles and its role as a norm setter remain important. Many cases are pending before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. However, almost all the contentious cases are against the few states that have made a declaration allowing direct access to the Court. The limited access to the Court is also as a result of its own jurisprudence. Thus, the opportunity of NGOs to submit requests for advisory opinions was severely limited by the Court in the SERAP case. The increased hostility of states towards the African human rights system demonstrates that many states are sensitive to human rights criticism.
During the year 2016 several significant normative developments were recorded in the African human rights system. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa was adopted but is yet to be ratified by any member state. The African Court delivered three merit decisions dealing with the right to fair trial and the right to political participation: a judgment on reparations; one ruling on jurisdiction; and one ruling on a review application. Despite this positive outlook, Rwanda's withdrawal of its article 34(6) declaration allowing direct access by individuals and NGOs posed a real challenge to the Court's legitimacy in cases with sensitive political implications. Both the African Commission and African Children's Committee made progress on the examination of state reports. As far as communications are concerned, the African Commission delivered seven merit decisions, while the African Children's Committee delivered two decisions on the merits and one ruling on admissibility. The African Children's Committee's decision on the age of childhood in Malawi, which was reached through an amicable settlement, led to constitutional amendments increasing the age of adulthood from 16 to 18 years. Finally, the trial and conviction of former Chadian dictator, Hissène Habré, by the Extraordinary African Chambers served as a breath of fresh air in the fight against impunity for human rights violations in Africa.
African Human Rights Law Journal, 2006
This article analyses the impact that recent and current developments on the African continent have had, and continue to have, on the promotion and protection of human rights. Such developments include the establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, the formation of the African Union to replace the Organization of African Unity, democratic change in Africa and the advent of a new constitutionalism that embraces the concept of a bill of rights. An understanding of recent and current trends in the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa has to take into account the historical and international context within which the African system operates. Several challenges still inhibit the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa, including various ongoing regional and internal conflicts, the prevalence of poverty, ignorance and diseases, the predominance of political and social disharmony and the continued existence of unacceptable cultural and custo...