Professional Writing Service http://StudyHub.vip/AN-ASSESSMENT-OF-THE-STRENGTHS-AND-WEAK 👈

1. 1
ASSESSMENT OF THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE AFRICAN
HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM IN DEALING WITH MASSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS
Ifeoma Akpotue
Abstract
The fight against the violation of human rights in Africa is far from its end. The continent is
inundated by massive violations of human rights to a point where the process to create and maintain
workable instrumental, institutional, and structural mechanisms to help in consolidating and
protecting the hard-earned gains of the freedom struggles of the past has become a struggle in its
own rights. The creation of a regional human rights system under the auspices of the African Union
(AU) is part of the struggle to maintain and protect these rights. This system consisting of the
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), African Court on Human and
Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), and African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the
Child (ACERWC) was created with the collective responsibility to protect and promote human
and peoples’ right while addressing issues on the interpretation of the African Charter. These
institutional mechanisms have continued to strive at ensuring the implementation of human right
in Africa. This part evaluates the African human rights system and its structural composition and
assesses the strength and weaknesses of this system in dealing with reported cases of human rights
violation. It avers that although there are laudable moves in the promotion and protection of human
rights in Africa, some challenges have been identified in the operationalization and enforcement
of these rights under the regional integrated system.

2. 2
1. Introduction
Ranked the second world’s largest continent with a size of 30 million square kilometers and an
estimated population of 1.3 billion,1
Africa has traditionally been a region with widespread of
massive human rights violation visible in various forms including apartheid, extreme poverty,
slavery, and neo-colonialism. During the era of the colonial masters the African continent
experienced many human and material resources exploitation which left them in abject poverty,
this led to the adoption of the Organization of African Charter in 1963 to completely eliminate
colonialism in Africa.
African Human rights system being the youngest and most recent regional human right system is
a set of principles, rules, institutions, and norms that protect and ensure the implementation of
human rights in Africa. The system is based on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
(Banjul Charter)2
entered into force on 21st
October 1986, for the protection and promotion of
peoples’ rights in the continent.
This essay has been much enriched by the extensive work of scholars of the African human rights
system, such as Makau Mutua,3
Malcolm & Rachel Murray,4
Manisuli Ssenyonjo,5
Gina Bekker,6
Richard Gittleman,7
Josiah Cobbah,8
Amnesty International9
and others. The work of these scholars
on the African regional system has helped developed the positions offered in this essay. Although
the focus here differs from all these writings, without the many insights from them, this essay
could not have been written.
1
Thoughtco, ‘The 7 Continents Ranked by Size and Population’ www.thoughtco.com/continents-ranked-by-size-and-
population-4163436#citation-1 accessed 1 July 2021.
2
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, June 27, 1981, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3/Rev.5 (1981),
reprinted in 21 I.L.M. 59 (1982).
3
Makau Mutua, ‘The African Human Rights System: A Critical Evaluation’ (2001) UNDP, 12.
4
Malcolm Evans & Rachel Murray, (eds) The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights: The System in Practice,
1986–2000 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2002).
5
Manisuli Ssenyonjo, ‘Responding to Human Rights Violations in Africa: Assessing the Role of the African
Commission and Court on the Human and Peoples’ Rights (1987 – 2018)’ (2018) 7 International Human Rights Law
Review 1-42.
6
Gina Bekker, 'Recent Developments in the African Human Rights System 2011/12' (2012) 1 International Human
Rights Law Review 158.
7
Richard Gittleman, ‘The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights: A Legal Analysis’ (1982) 22(4) Virginia
Journal of International Law 667.
8
Josiah Cobbah, "African Values and the Human Rights Debate: An African Perspective," 9 Hum. Rts. Q. 309 (1987).
9
Amnesty International, ‘Nigeria Human Rights’ (2021), available at: www.amnestyusa.org/countries/nigeria/
accessed 19 July 2021.

3. 3
The analysis in this section will proceed as follows: first, a review of the literature; next, an
overview of the regional human rights structural mechanisms created in Africa, with a particular
focus on the African Charter as the foundational legal instrument of these rights, as well as the
African Commission and Court as institutional enforcement mechanisms. This will be followed
by an examination of human rights violations in Africa, which reveals that the African system,
designed to cater to the region's cultures, norms, and political history, has been riddled with
massive violations and challenges in its enforcement. The strengths and weaknesses of the system
will be discussed, and recommendations will be made to create a safety net for grave human rights
violations that were ineffectively addressed at the national level, up to and including the highest
court of the country in question.
2. Literature Review
The protection and promotion of human rights in Africa, and by extension the development of the
African regional human rights system, has remained a critical focus of plethora academic,
reporting articles and texts. Human rights in Africa have progressively advanced since the
beginning of the post-colonial regime which technically led to the drafting of the Charter, creating
a Commission and an African Court. Accordingly, there has been a substantial amount of
literature on the issue of human rights in Africa during this period, as the landmark developments
in the system.
These literatures are predominant reports from media agents and NGOs like Amnesty
International, Organization of the United Nations and the likes, on the current state of human
rights in Africa and the world at large. The essence of these reports is to create global awareness
on the predominance of human rights violation. On the other hand, there are academic literature
with considerable opinions, critiques, suggestions, and recommendations for improving human
right system in Africa. Some of these literatures focuses on the African human rights system as a
regional human rights protection instrument. In view of these, broad opinion ranging from the
historical evolution, institutional composition, legal analysis, theory and practice, comparative
analysis,10
response to violations,11
critical evaluation etc.
10
B Obinna Okere, 'The Protection of Human Rights in Africa and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights:
A Comparative Analysis with the European and American Systems' (1984) 6 Hum Rts Q 141.
11
Ssenyonjo (n5).

4. 4
Due to the inability of the system to improve the situation of human right violation in the
continent, it has received series of backlash and criticisms from various literature. According to
Heyns, ‘Africa has often been criticized on account of its human rights record, and the African
Charter system in particular has been subjected to stringent criticism due to its apparent inability
to improve the situation’.12
To him, the key players in the violation of these rights are the
authorities and this has crippled the effectiveness of the system in dealing with violation. In his
opinion,
Legal mechanisms for the protection of human rights in Africa operate in the context of
the practices and attitudes of those in Africa who deal with human rights issues on a daily
basis: government officials, lawyers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academics
and civil society. The legal and extra-legal aspects of human rights protection in Africa
form part of the same organic whole, and as such they are interdependent. The ultimate test
for any legal system that purports to deal with human rights is the difference it makes to
the lives of people.13
Since the inception, the system has suffered a lot of setbacks and critique from concerned African
scholars that hope for a better turn in the continent. In a different article Heyns re-echoed this
vulnerable weakness of the system as follows,
African regional human rights system is faced with almost insurmountable challenges:
massive violations on a continent of immense diversity, where a tradition of domestic
compliance with human rights norms is still to be established. The trade and
communication links that are necessary to exercise influence over member states in many
cases do not exist.14
The above quotes reveal the normative and structural weaknesses of the mechanisms set up to
promote and protect human rights in Africa.
12
Christof Heyns, 'The African Regional Human Rights System: In Need of Reform' (2001) 1 Afr Hum Rts LJ 155,
156.
13
ibid.
14
Chrisof Heyns, 'The African Regional Human Rights System: The African Charter' (2004) 108(3) Penn St L Rev
679, 700, 701.

5. 5
It has been argued that the mere creation of the African court is not enough to resolve the inherent
issue in the system and no matter the number of institutions established to complement the
commission, if these foundational issues are not dealt with majorly at the National level the
system would fail. According to Makau, ‘the mere addition of a court, although a significant
development, is unlikely by itself to address sufficiently the normative and structural weaknesses
that have plagued the African human rights system since its inception.’15
Gawanas in his book added that, even though the significance in establishment of these courts is
still debatable, the African human right system lacks strong support from the government and
other institution. This he captures thus:
Although all these instruments and mechanisms exist to promote and protect human rights,
many lack resources and political backing. In the absence of the political will and financial
and logistical support to operationalize the institutions with a human rights remit, they will
be ineffective in their tasks. Thus, the enforcement and implementation of obligations and
commitments remain a challenge.16
In view of the preceding backdrop, this essay takes a trajectory step towards the assessment of the
strengths and weaknesses of the system with particular focus on its impacts in dealing with massive
human rights violations in Africa.
3. An Overview of the African Human Right System
The African Human Rights System are the regional systems consisting of the norms and
institutional mechanisms for the promotion, protection, and enforcement of the rights of the
African people. This regional system consists of both the legal and political mechanisms on
human rights in African like the African Union together with its organs and rules on the one hand,
and the African charter, institutions for enforcement, and its Protocols on the other hand.
15
Makau Mutua, ‘The Construction of the African Human Rights System: Prospects and Pitfalls’ in S. Power et al.
(eds.), Realizing Human Rights (Samantha Power and Graham Allison 2000)143, 144.
16
Bience Gawanas, ‘The African Union: Concepts and Implementation Mechanisms Relating to Human Rights’, 158
available at: https://www.kas.de/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=6e7446b1-0662-d706-50c6-
53879e22f65f&groupId=252038.

6. 6
Arguably, this regional system created under the auspices of the African Union consists of
regulatory instruments such as: the African Union Constitutive Act;17
the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights;18
the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;19
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African
Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights;20
the Convention on the elimination of Mercenaries in
Africa;21
the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa;22
the Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in
Africa;23
the Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism;24
and the Cultural Charter
for Africa.25
The institutional mechanism of this system includes the African Commission on Human and
Peoples’ Right;26
African Courts on Human and Peoples’ Right; African Committee of Experts on
the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC); African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM); and
the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). But for the purposes of academic
limitation, only the African Charter, the African Commission, and the African Court is discussed
below.
3.1.African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right (The Banjul Charter)
The African charter is a creation of the Organization of African Union (OAU) which came at the
period when countries were closely concerned for the practices of their human rights and the
dominance of human rights as an important and useful issue for discussion both at the international
and local levels. Makau wa Mutua noted that:
17
The Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted at the 36th
ordinary session of the Assembly on 11th
July
2000 at Lome, Togo. The mandate of the AU includes promoting and protecting human and peoples’ rights in
accordance with the African Charter and other international documents.
18
The Charter was adopted on 27 June 1981, OAU DOC CAB/LEG/67/3, rev 5.
19
Adopted in July 1990, entered into force on 29 November 1999, OAU Doc CAB/ LEG 153/REV 2. The Children’s
Charter is reprinted in C Heyns (ed) Human rights law in Africa 1997 (1999) 38.
20
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human
and Peoples’ Rights, OAU Doc OAU/LEG/EXP/ AFCHPR/PROT (III), available at www.achpr.org accessed 16 July
2021.
21
Adopted June 1977, entered into force 1985, OAU Doc CM/433/Rev L Annex I (1972).
22
Adopted by the Second Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union in Maputo, July 11, 2003.
23
Adopted on 10 September 1969, entered into force on 20 June 1974, OAU Doc CAB/LEG 24.3.
24
It was adopted by the 35th
ordinary session of the Assembly, at Algiers, Algeria 14 Jul 1999.
25
Cultural Charter for Africa of 1976 [1990].
26
Established pursuant to Art. 31 of the African Charter.

7. 7
For African states, the rhetoric of human rights had a special resonance for several reasons.
First, post-colonial African states were born out of the anti-colonial human rights struggle,
a fight for political and economic self-determination. Second, black-ruled African states
deployed human rights arguments to demonize and delegitimize the colonial and minority
white-ruled states of Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and
Apartheid South Africa. Finally, the atrocities of some of the most brutal dictatorships the
African continent has ever known heightened the urgency for a regional human rights
system.27
The Charter is a groundbreaking human rights instruments being that it took a different path from
other regional human right instruments, by introducing unification of the three important group of
rights, civil and political rights; economic, social, and cultural rights; and group and peoples’ rights
(collective rights) and this has been applauded by several scholars.28
It consists of 68 articles and is divided into four chapters: Human and Peoples’ Rights; Duties;
Procedure of the Commission; and Applicable Principles.
3.2.African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).
The African Commission is a regulatory body established in 1987 pursuant to Article 30 of the
African Charter to promote and protect human rights in the African Region. This Commission is
made up of 11 members serving in their personal capacity.29
According to the Charter, the
candidates for nomination, election, and appointment ‘are supposed to be African personalities of
the highest reputation, known for their high morality, integrity, impartiality and competence in
matters of human and peoples’ rights.’30
In considering persons for the appointment in this
position, candidates with legal knowledge and experiences are given preference. Following the
election of its members by the 23rd
Assembly of Head of State and Government in July 1987, the
African Commission was inaugurated on 2nd
November 1987 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.31
The
mandate of the Commission as enumerated in Article 45 of the Charter includes the promotion of
27
Mutua (n 3) 5.
28
Josiah Cobbah, ‘African Values and the Human Rights Debate: An African Perspective’ (1987) 9 Hum. Rts. Q. 309;
B. Obinna Okere, ‘The Protection of Human Rights in Africa and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights:
A Comparative Analysis with the European and American Systems’ (1984) 6 Hum. Rts. Q. 141.
29
Art. 31 ACHPR, Rule 4 of the Rules of Procedure of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights of
2020.
30
Ibid.
31
www.achpr.org/history, accessed 20 July 2021.

8. 8
human and peoples’ rights by disseminating human rights information, carrying out research,
studies, organizing seminars, encouraging and assisting national human rights commissions;32
the
protection of human and peoples’ rights by entertaining inter-state and private complaints33
and
receiving states reports;34
and ‘any other task assigned to it by the African Union Assembly.’35
Notwithstanding the mandates and functions of this commission, they are faced with serious
defects particularly the confidentiality requirement of its decisions/recommendation until the AU
Assembly decide otherwise36
which according to Gina Bekker only protects illegitimate and
unnecessary interests of those states that seeks to censor information in respect to their human
rights records and ‘would therefore warrant interference with the right’,37
and the lack of mandates
to enforce its own decisions.
3.3.African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACtHPR)
For the purposes of effectively implementing and supporting the protective mandate of the
Commission, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights was established in 2006 pursuant
to Article 1 of the Protocol.38
The Court is the Judicial arms of the African Union established to protect individuals’ rights
through the delivery of judgements on cases brought before it. It entertains cases submitted either
by individual and Non-Governmental Organizations or through the African commission. Where a
case is decided and the court finds that an individual human right has been, is being or is likely to
be violated, it may make appropriate orders to remedy the violation. One of the strengths of the
court is the binding nature of its judgements and the possibilities of the execution of the
judgements.
32
Nsongurua J. Udombana, ‘Toward the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights: Better Than Late’ (2000) 3
YALE HUM. RTS. & DEV. L. J 45,65.
33
Udombana (n.13) 66
34
Art. 62 of the Banjul Charter.
35
ibid.
36
Art. 59(1) of the Banjul Charter.
37
Gina Bekker, ‘Recent Developments in the African Human Rights System 2011/12’ (2012) 1 International Human
Rights Law Review 158, 162.
38
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right on the Establishment of an African Court on Human
and Peoples’ Rights (The Protocol).

9. 9
4. Human Right Violation in Africa
The states bear the primary responsibility of protecting and encouraging human rights in any parts
of the continent. The obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights is vested in the
government or state actor upon the ratification of a treaty, convention, or statutes. In the same vein,
the government or state actors are charged with the mandates to intervene in cases of violation of
these human rights and prosecute the violator where possible.
The issue of conflicts, insecurity, and other forms of communal violence are currently predominant
in the African region especially in countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Niger, Mauritania, Darfur,
Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Mali, Somali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Central
African Republic etc.
According to Amnesty, human rights violations in the African region are predominantly committed
by the government authorities who should ordinarily be its staunchest defenders. The unlawful
killings, torture and other ill or degrading treatments committed by members of the armed forces,
incessant conflict in the Niger-delta which has continuously posed an imminent danger on the lives
and property of residents, intimidation and harassment faced by journalists and human right
defenders/activists and the predominant violence against women has gradually reduced the country
into a lawless nation.39
Again, in Darfur, the government of Sudan and the Militias embarked in
massive unlawful killings, sexual violence against women and children, and other forms of
unlawful and immoral acts. At least 45 villages were destroyed and as rightly highlighted by
Amnesty, “over 10, 000 people had been forced to flee.”40
5. Assessment of the Strength and Weaknesses of the African Human Right System
5.1.Strength of the African Human Rights System
1) Non-discrimination:
One obvious reason for the establishment of the System is to completely eliminate colonialism
from Africa and to embrace the norms, culture, and ideology of the African people thereby
recognising the uniqueness of our system. For the purposes of achieving these objectives, the
39
Amnesty International, ‘Nigeria Human Rights’ (2021), available at: www.amnestyusa.org/countries/nigeria/
accessed on 19 July 2021.
40
Amnesty, ‘Human Rights in Africa: Review of 2019’ https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/human-rights-africa-
review-2019 accessed 19 July 2021.

10. 10
African Charter expressly prohibits discrimination based on ethnic groups.41
This prohibition
constitutes a landmark step for the continent at large because its realization guarantees larger
economic opportunity for the people.42
2) Enforcement procedure:
Another significant strength of the System is the fact that both the Commission and the Court are
involved in the enforcement procedure. These institutional mechanisms possess similar mandate
to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights and to ensure that reported cases are
expeditiously dealt with.43
3) Consolidation of the three generational rights:
The inclusion of both the civil and political rights and the socio-economic rights in a single
document has been identified as a strength of the system, this creates a connection between both
rights in that, the derogation of one is as detrimental as the derogation of the other.
4) Unlimited Jurisdiction of the Court:
By virtue of Article 3(1) of the Protocol to the ACHPF, the jurisdiction of Court to rely on legal
instrument other than the ACHPR and the Protocol is broadly defined and extended to other
relevant international human rights instruments ratified by the state concerned for the purposes of
enlarging the legal basis of human rights protection within the continent. Vilojen added that the
‘extended jurisdiction of the Court relates to the subject-matter of cases, and not only to the use of
the instruments as interpretative guides.’44
5.2.Weaknesses of the African Human Rights System
1) Proliferation of claw-back clauses:
Various Scholars has identified the weaknesses of the African Human Right System in dealing
with massive violation of human rights, one of which is the proliferation of ‘Claw-back’
clauses/phrases in African Charter such as “provided that he abides by the law”,45
“in accordance
41
Art. 2 of the Banjul Charter.
42
Gittleman (n 7) 683.
43
Wahiu, The African Human Rights System: Towards the Co-Existence of the African Commission on
Human and People and Peoples’ Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (2006) 49, 69.
44
Frans Vilojen, International Human Rights Law in Africa (Oxford University Press. 2007) 444.
45
Art. 10(1), 12(1) Banjul Charter.

11. 11
with the law”46
and “restrictions provided for by law”47
in which case the term “law” refers to the
national law of the state party in other to justify the predominance of national and domestic laws
both at the international level. This has crippled and queried the credibility of the system in
effectively dealing with violation of human rights and has reduced and weakened the jurisdictional
powers of the African human right systems since the state can invoke such clauses without the
need to justify a threat to national security, public health, public safety, or public order. Michello48
added that,
[E]ven more worrying, claw-back clauses constitute a form of a permit for the already
unwilling State to engage in wanton and routine breach of the Charter obligations using the
reasons of public utility or national security, etc. To provide a Charter standard subject to
a claw-back clause is effectively to define and limit it to the standards in the domestic
sphere.49
Moussa argues that the ‘most controversial provision concerns the "claw back" clauses which
require that the States restrict basic human rights to the maximum extent allowed by domestic
law.’50
2) Limitation of access:
Another weakness of the African Human Right System is one which relates to the limited types of
access to the court placed on individuals and Non-Governmental Organizations. Unlike the
Commission, State Parties, and African intergovernmental organizations that possess automatic
access to the court in cases of human right violation, private individuals and NGOs lacks automatic
access to the court and therefore cannot bring or institute a suit against a state unless the court has
discretion to grant or deny such access51
and/or at the time of ratification of the Draft Protocol or
46
Ibid. art. 12(3), (4), 13(1), 14.
47
Ibid. art. 11, 12(2).
48
Michelo Hansungule, ‘Towards A More Effective African System of Human Rights: “Entebbe Proposals”’
https://www.biicl.org/files/2309_hansungule_towards_more_effective.pdf accessed 22 July 2021.
49
ibid.
50
Moussa Samb, ‘Fundamental Issues and Practical Challenges of Human Rights in the Context of the African Union’
(2009) 15(1) Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law 61, 64.
51
Art. 5(3) of The Protocol.

12. 12
thereafter the state must have made a declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the court to hear
such cases.52
3) Lack of priority:
In addition to the above another weakness of the system is the lack of priority in dealing with
urgent and massive violations. Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure53
defines serious or massive
violations as grave human rights violations as distinguished by their scale and importance.
Regardless of the emphasis in the Charter on urgent and massive violations, the commission
has an extremely poor procedural and substantive record when it relates to massive violations.
Pursuant to Article 58 of the Charter,
When it appears after deliberations of the Commission that one or more communications
apparently relate to special cases which reveal the existence of a series of serious or
massive violations of human and peoples' rights, the Commission shall draw the attention
of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government.54
Thereafter, the Commission is requested to conduct in-depth studies of the violations reported.
Although, in the case of African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v Kenya55
where
an objection on the material jurisdiction of the African court was raised by the Respondent as
to whether the provisions of article 58 of the Charter must be duly followed before the court
can assume jurisdiction, it was held that,
With the establishment of the court, and in application of the principle of complementarity
enshrined under Article 2 of the Protocol, the Commission now has the power to refer any
matter to the Court, including matters which reveal a series of serious or massive violations
of human rights.56
52
ibid art. 5(3) and art 34(6).
53
Rules of Procedure of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights of 2020, available at:
www.achpr.org/legalinstruments/detail?id=72 accessed 18 July 2021.
54
Ibid rule 99. Similar provision is stated herein.
55
(merit) (2017) 2 AFCLR 9, 20.
56
Ibid.

13. 13
It therefore implies that the Commission may boycott the requirements to draw the attention
of the assembly and proceed to court in cases of serious violation of human rights.
6. Recommendation
Although Africa has seen significant improvements through the efforts of the regional system in
protecting, promoting and dealing with human rights violations, the weaknesses and other
challenges of the system need to be confronted in order to further strengthen the mandate of
protecting theses rights. In this regard, it is recommended that the African legal system be
strengthened to provide effective legal remedy for violation of these rights. The system should be
accessible, efficient, and effective. There should be readily available legal aid for indigent
individuals whose rights has been violated by the state actors or authorities.57
In view of this,
African governments and African Union’s human rights institutions are expected to do more in
protecting these rights and ensuring that complainants get justice and offenders are duly punished.
Additionally, the commission should be ‘diligent in its monitoring of implementation of its
decisions by strictly enforcing timelines and allocating sufficient time during ordinary sessions for
reports on implementation to be presented and discussed’.58
It is further recommended that, states should further ensure to domesticate these international laws
into their national laws to ensure enforceability and strict adherence. In support of this view, Heyns
added that,
Working national human rights systems are the building blocks of an effective regional
system. If the level of respect for human rights norms on the domestic level is low, and
domestic courts are not effective in implementing these norms, there can be little hope for
supra-national enforcement.59
7. Conclusion
57
Osai Ojigho, ‘Human Rights Protection in Africa: Special focus on Rights of Women’
https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/31520-doc-
human_rights_protection_in_africa_special_focus_on_rights_of_women_by_osai_ojigho.pdf accessed 25 July 2021.
58
Amnesty International, ‘The State of African Regional Human Rights Bodies and Mechanisms 2019-2020’ (index:
AFR 01/3089/2020) available at:
https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/AFR0130892020ENGLISH.PDF accessed 18 July 2021.
59
Heyns (n 14) 700.

14. 14
In light of preceding developments, it is clear that the African human rights system like all other
regional system has its own strength and weaknesses, most of which has affected its effectiveness
in dealing with massive human right violations in the continent. While there is still much progress
to be made, the regional system has contributed immensely to the protection and promotion of
human rights in Africa. Decisions and communications handed down by the system has helped in
exposing some state authorities in the business of violating these rights.
Even though the African court only plays a supporting role to the commission in fulfilling its
mandates, it has been very effective in dealing with cases of human rights violations through its
judgements which have binding effects on all state parties. The issue that finally come to play is
the attitude of the states against whom these judgements are given in implementing such decision
and orders.
As mentioned earlier in this essay, human rights violations such as extra-judicial killings, unlawful
detention, censorship of the media, forceful evictions, etc. are predominantly committed by the
government of the states and this makes it difficult for victims to seek justice or access the
institutions responsible for the enforcement of these rights.
While the non-discrimination on the ground of ethnicity; consolidation of the three generational
rights; unlimited jurisdiction of the court; and the involvement of both the commission and the
court in the enforcement procedures have been identified in this essay as the strengths of the
systems, the proliferation of the claw back clauses, lack of priority in dealing with serious violation
of human rights, and the limitation of individual and NGOs access to the court are the weaknesses
identified within.
In addition to the recommendations above, there is a dire need for an amendment of the African
Charter to include derogation clauses in cases of emergencies to help in checkmating the unlimited
leverages the claw back clauses guarantee the states. This amendment should further prioritize
cases of massive human rights violation by fast tracking such proceedings through accelerated
hearing to meet up with the fast-growing global trend on human rights.
Finally, just like the European human rights system, individuals and Non- Governmental
Organizations should be given direct access to the African court as opposed to the current

15. 15
dependency on the will of the state parties. This is because they are the main beneficiaries of the
protection the system guarantees and against whom the violation of these rights is committed.