Toward an Effective African Human Rights System: The Nature and Implications of the Relationship Between the African Union Policy Organs and Human Rights Bodies

Zewudie, Tilahun Adamu

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-27049-0_2

Tilahun Adamu Zewudie⁴

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Abstract

Functioning within the framework of the African Union (AU), the effectiveness and even survival of the African human rights system is to a large extent dependent on the AU as a collective of States. This Chapter analyzes the relationship between the policymaking organs of the AU and the human rights bodies, with a focus on the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (Commission) and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights (Court), in order to identify its implications for the African human rights system. It is argued that the working relationship between these bodies is poor and largely unconstructive. The major gaps have been identified and their implications analyzed. The Chapter delivers into the human rights discourse in Africa and provides workable recommendations towards strengthening the African human rights system.

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Notes

1.
Nsongurua Udombana, “The Institutional Structure of the African Union: A Legal Analysis,” California Western International Law Journal 33, no. 1 (2002): 133.
2.
Morris Mbondenyi, International Human Rights and Their Enforcement in Africa (Nairobi: LawAfrica Publishing, 2011), 131.
3.
Udombana, “The Institutional Structure of the African Union,” 133.
4.
African Union, Executive Council, Decision on the Thirty-Seventh Activity Report of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights—Doc.EX.CL/887(XXVI), EX.CL/Dec.864(XXVI) (January 2015), para. 7; Decision on the Thirty-Eighth Activity Report of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights—Doc.EX.CL/921(XXVII), EX.CL/Dec.887(XXVII) (June 2015), paras. 7, 12, accessed October 16, 2016, https://au.int/en/decisions/council).
5.
Konstantinos Magliveras and Gino Naldi, “The African Union—A New Dawn for Africa?” International and Comparative Law Quarterly 51, no. 2 (2002): 419–420.
6.
Ibid., 420.
7.
Constitutive Act of the African Union (Constitutive Act), July 11, 2000, art 13, accessed March 9, 2018, https://au.int/en/constitutive-act.
8.
Ben Chigara, “Tentative Reflection on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” in The African Regional Human Rights System: 30 Years After the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ed. Manisuli Ssenyonjo (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2012), 404.
9.
Centre for Human Rights, Statement at the 57th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (2015), accessed November 30, 2016, http://www.chr.up.ac.za/index.php/centre-news-a-events-2015/1551-statement-by-the-centre-for-human-rights-at-the-57th-session-of-the-african-commission-on-human-and-peoples-rights-.html.
10.
Constitutive Act, arts 9, 13, 21.
11.
Ibid., arts 3(h), 4(m).
12.
Mbondenyi, International Human Rights and Their Enforcement in Africa, 131.
13.
Constitutive Act, art 4(h).
14.
Ibid., art 23.
15.
Ibid., art 5.
16.
Udombana, “The Institutional Structure of the African Union,” 86.
17.
Ibid.
18.
Constitutive Act, Preamble, para. 10.
19.
Ibid., arts 5(1)(a), 6(1).
20.
Ibid., art 9(1).
21.
African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (African Charter), June 27, 1981, art 23, accessed March 6, 2018, http://www.achpr.org/files/instruments/achpr/banjul_charter.pdf.
22.
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Court Protocol), June 10, 1998, arts 14, 19, accessed March 5, 2018, https://au.int/en/treaties.
23.
Constitutive Act, art 14(2).
24.
Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the African Union (Assembly Rules of Procedure), July 10 2002), r 4, accessed March 6, 2018, https://www3.nd.edu/~ggoertz/rei/rei040/rei040.13tt1.pdf.
25.
Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Pan-African Parliament, March 2, 2001, art 2, accessed March 6, 2018, https://au.int/en/treaties.
26.
Constitutive Act, art 9.
27.
Mbondenyi, International Human Rights and Their Enforcement in Africa, 282.
28.
African Union, “Decisions and Declarations of the Assembly,” accessed March 6, 2018, https://au.int/en/decisions/assembly.
29.
African Union, Assembly, Decision on Streamlining of the AU Summits and the Working Methods of the African Union—Doc. Assembly/AU/4(XXV), Assembly/AU/Dec.582 (XXV) (June 2015), accessed March 6, 2018, https://au.int/en/decisions/assembly.
30.
Ibid.
31.
Ibid., art 13(2).
32.
Ibid., art 13(1).
33.
Ibid., art 13(2).
34.
Rules of Procedure of the Executive Council of the African Union, r 5(1)(f).
35.
African Union Assembly, Decision on the 16th Annual Activity Report of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Assembly/AU/Dec.11 (II) (2003), accessed March 22, 2018, https://au.int/en/decisions/assembly-african-union-second-ordinary-session.
36.
Executive Council, EX.CL/Dec.864 (XXVI), para. 7.
37.
Constitutive Act, art 5(f).
38.
Ibid., art 21(1).
39.
Ibid., art 21(2).
40.
Rules of Procedure of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC Rules of Procedure), July 10, 2002, r 5(1), accessed March 6, 2018, https://issuu.com/85991/docs/perm-reps-ctte.
41.
Ibid., r 1(1).
42.
Ibid., r 4.
43.
Ibid., r 26.
44.
African Union, Draft Report of the Twenty-Ninth Ordinary Session Permanent Representatives Committee PRC/Rpt (XXIX), January 2015; Draft Report of the Thirty-First Ordinary Session Permanent Representatives CommitteePRC/Draft/Rpt (XXXI), January 2016, accessed March 5, 2018, https://portal.africa-union.org/DVD/Documents/DOC-AU-WD/PRC%20Rpt%20(XXIX)%20_E.pdf; http://archive.au.int/collect/oaucounc/import/English/PRC%20Rpt%20(XXXI)%20_E.pdf.
45.
Jacob Lisakafu, “Exploring the Role and Place of the Permanent Representative Committee within the African Union,” South African Journal of International Affairs 23 (2016): 225.
46.
PRC Rules of Procedure, r 4(e).
47.
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, April 18, 1961, arts 3(1), 5(3).
https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=III-3&article=3.
48.
Lisakafu, “Exploring the Role and Place of the Permanent Representative Committee within the African Union,” 225.
49.
African Charter, art 30.
50.
African Charter, arts 30, 45.
51.
Udeme Essien, “The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights: Eleven Years After,” Buffalo Human Rights Law Review 97, no. 6 (2000): 95–102.
52.
Ibid.
53.
Badawi Ibrahim, “The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights: Prospects and Problems,” Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 7, no. 3 (1989): 280, 279.
54.
Jawara v The Gambia (2000) AHRLR 107 (ACHPR 2000) 42.
55.
Communication 341/2007, Equality Now and Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) v Ethiopia, Thirty Ninth Activity Report (ACHPR) 160(c) & (e).
56.
Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) and Another v Nigeria (2001) AHRLR 60 (ACHPR 2001) 47, 116, 229.
57.
African Court Protocol, arts 1, 27.
58.
Ibid., arts 5(3), 34(6).
59.
Ibid., art 5.
60.
Ibid., art 3.
61.
African Union, Assembly, Decision on Streamlining of the African Union Summits and the Working Methods of the African Union Assembly/AU/Dec.597(XXVI) (January 2016), para. 2, accessed March 5, 2018, https://au.int/en/decisions/assembly.
62.
Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, accessed September 19, 2016, http://www.au.int/en/treaties.
63.
As above.
64.
F. Viljoen, “AU Assembly Should Consider Human Rights Implications Before Adopting the Amending Merged African Court Protocol,” accessed September 19, 2016, https://africlaw.com/2012/05/23/au-assembly-should-consider-human-rights-implications-before-adopting-the-amending-merged-african-court-protocol/.
65.
As above.
66.
Assembly, Assembly/AU/Dec.11 (II).
67.
Makua Mutua, “The African Human Rights System: A Critical Evaluation,” DOCPA-2000-15, United Nations Development Program, 30, accessed October 8, 2016, http://hdr.undp.org.sites/default.files.mutua.pdf.
68.
African Charter, art 58(2).
69.
Rachel Murray, The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and International Law (Oxford and Portland, OR: Hart Publishing, 2000), 20.
70.
African Charter, art 58.
71.
Mbondenyi, International Human Rights and Their Enforcement in Africa, 132.
72.
Frans Viljoen, International Human Rights Law in Africa (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 183.
73.
Executive Council, EX.CL/Dec.887 (XXVII), para. 7.
74.
Constitutive Act, art 23.
75.
Bience Gawanas, “The African Union: Concepts and Implementation Mechanisms Relating to Human Rights,” in Human Rights in Africa: Legal Perspectives on Their Protection and Promotion, ed. Anton Bösl and Joseph Diescho (Windhoek: Macmillan Education Namibia 2009), 140.
76.
Interim report of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights notifying the Assembly of the noncompliance of Libya, accessed September 19, 2016, http://en.Africancourt.org/images/Other%20Reports/AFCHPR_Interim_Report__Non_compliance_by_a_State__-_Libya.pdf.
77.
A. Ibrahim, “Evaluating a Decade of the African Union’s Protection of Human Rights and Democracy: A Post-Tahrir Assessment,” African Human Rights Law Journal 57 (2012): 1.
78.
Viljoen, International Human Rights Law in Africa, 182.
79.
African Charter, art 59; African Court Protocol, art 57.
80.
Solomon Dersso, email message to author, September 29, 2016. Dersso is a member of the African Commission.
81.
Executive Council, EX.CL/Dec.887(XXVII).
82.
Ibid.
83.
Ibid.
84.
Viljoen, International Human Rights Law in Africa, 187.
85.
Ibid.
86.
Executive Council,EX.CL/Dec.887(XXVII), paras. 7, 11, 12.
87.
AU Executive Council, “Decision on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights—Doc. EX.CL/1058(XXXII),” EX.CL/995(XXXII), para. 5.
88.
Executive Council, EX.CL/Dec.887(XXVII), para. 7.
89.
African Commission, 43rd Activity Report, para. 53. http://www.achpr.org/activity-reports/43/ (accessed March 8, 2018).
90.
African Union, Executive Council, Decision on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights—Doc. EX.CL/1058(XXXII), para. 3, accessed March 8, 2018, https://au.int/sites/default/files/decisions/33909-ex_cl_decisions_986-1007_e.pdf.
91.
International Justice Resource Centre, “African Commission Bows to Political Pressure, Withdraws NGOs Observer Status,” accessed December 19, 2018, https://ijrcenter.org/2018/08/28/achpr-strips-the-coalition-of-african-lesbians-of-its-observer-status/.
92.
See particularly, the 7th Activity Report of the Commission, Annex I–XI, accessed March 8, 2018, http://www.achpr.org/activity-reports/43/.
93.
Viljoen, International Human Rights Law in Africa, 188.
94.
Ibid., 187.
95.
Christof Heyns, “The African Regional Human Rights System: In Need of Reform?” African Human Rights Law Journal 155, no. 2 (2002): 164.
96.
Executive Council, EX.CL/Dec.864 (XXVI), para. 7.
97.
See generally, 37th–40th Activity Reports of the African Commission.
98.
Executive Council, EX.CL/Dec.887(XXVII), paras. 9–12.
99.
Viljoen, International Human Rights Law in Africa, 384.
100.
Solomon Dersso, email message to author, September 29, 2016.
101.
Ibid.
102.
Mbondenyi, International Human Rights and Their Enforcement in Africa, 430.
103.
Ibrahim, “The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” 275.
104.
Mbondenyi, International Human Rights and Their Enforcement in Africa, 126.
105.
Chigara, “Tentative Reflection on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” 404.
106.
Executive Council, EX.CL/Dec.864(XXVI), para. 7; EX.CL/Dec.887(XXVII), para. 12.
107.
Solomon Dersso, email message to author, September 29, 2016.
108.
Ibid.
109.
African Union, accessed October 20, 2016, http://www.au.int/en/treaties.
110.
African Union, Executive Council, decisions on the Activity Reports of the Court from January 2013–2016, accessed October 2, 2016, http://www.au.int/en/decisions/council.
111.
Activity Report of the African Court, June 2014, para. 77(ii).
112.
Permanent Representatives Committee, PRC/Rpt (XXIX), para. 124(iv).
113.
Ratification Table: African Court Protocol, accessed December 19, 2018, http://www.achpr.org/instruments/court-establishment/ratification/.
114.
Lisakafu, “Exploring the Role and Place of the Permanent Representative Committee Within the African Union,” 225–226.
115.
Ibid.
116.
African Union, “Permanent Representative Committee Consultation on the African Governance Architecture and the State Reporting Processes Under the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance,” Arusha, September 2–4, 2015. (On file with the author.)
117.
Ibid., 3.
118.
Ibid., 7.
119.
Ibid., 8.
120.
Executive Council, EX.CL/Dec.864 (XXVI); EX.CL/Dec.887 (XXVII), para. 7.
121.
Permanent Representatives Committee, PRC/Draft/Rpt (XXXI), para. 98.
122.
Solomon Dersso, email message to author, September 29, 2016.
123.
Ibid.
124.
Ibid.
125.
Executive Council, EX.CL/Dec.864 (XXVI), para. 7.
126.
Solomon Dersso, email message to author, September 29, 2016.
127.
African Union, “AU Reforms,” accessed December 25, 2018, https://au.int/en/AUReforms.

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Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington, D.C., USA
Tilahun Adamu Zewudie

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Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Michael Addaney
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Michael Gyan Nyarko
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Banjul, The Gambia
Elsabé Boshoff

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Zewudie, T.A. (2020). Toward an Effective African Human Rights System: The Nature and Implications of the Relationship Between the African Union Policy Organs and Human Rights Bodies. In: Addaney, M., Nyarko, M.G., Boshoff, E. (eds) Governance, Human Rights, and Political Transformation in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27049-0_2

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27049-0_2
Published: 20 November 2019
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