Analysis Of The African Charter On Human And People's Rights

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (hereinafter ‘African Charter’) with a total of 68 articles represents a robust and an innovative human rights document aimed at the promotion and protection of human rights and basic freedoms in the continent of Africa. Known popularly as the “Bangui Charter”, the African Charter substantially departs from the narrow formulations of other regional and universal human rights instruments like the European Convention on Human Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights by fully recognising both civil, political, & economic, social and cultural rights. The 68 articles contained in the Charter and are divided into four chapters: Human and Peoples’ Rights; Duties; Procedure of the Commission;

The protocol came into effect on 25 January 2004. So far, 21 countries have ratified the instrument while 54 African countries are State Parties. The Charter ties the concepts of human rights with peoples’ rights, and duties on individuals. Succinctly, the African Charter is an amalgam of three “generations” of rights: civil and political rights; economic, social, and cultural rights; and group and peoples’ rights.
According to Chowdhury, Shasthri and Bhuiyan,‘the “African Charter” reflects a high degree of specificity due in particular to the African conception of the term “right” and the place it accords to the responsibilities of human beings’. Mutua in this regard bemoans that imposition of duties on individual members of African societies as the most controversial provisions of the African Charter.
Despite the human rights guarantees given by the African Charter, it is bedevilled with draw-backs. Mutua states that ‘perhaps the most serious flaw in the African Charter concerns its “claw-back” clauses. These clauses permeate the African Charter and permit African states to restrict basic human rights to the maximum extent allowed by domestic law’. Mutua further