African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
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The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (also known as the Banjul Charter) is an
It emerged under the aegis of the Organisation of African Unity (since replaced by the African Union) which, at its 1979 Assembly of Heads of State and Government, adopted a resolution calling for the creation of a committee of experts to draft a continent-wide human rights instrument, similar to those that already existed in Europe (European Convention on Human Rights) and the Americas (American Convention on Human Rights). This committee was duly set up, and it produced a draft that was unanimously approved at the OAU's 18th Assembly held in June 1981, in Nairobi, Kenya.[1] Pursuant to its Article 63 (whereby it was to "come into force three months after the reception by the Secretary General of the instruments of ratification or adherence of a simple majority" of the OAU's member states[1]), the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights came into effect on 21 October 1986– in honour of which 21 October was declared "African Human Rights Day".[2]
Oversight and interpretation of the Charter is the task of the
In July 2004, the AU Assembly decided that the ACHP would be incorporated into the
As of 2019, 53 states have ratified the Charter.[4]
Content
The African Charter on Human and People's Rights includes preamble, 3 parts, 4 chapters, and 63 articles.[1] The Charter established a regional human rights system for Africa. The Charter shares many features with other regional instruments, but also has notable unique characteristics concerning the norms it recognizes and also its supervisory mechanism.[5]
The preamble commits to the elimination of Zionism, which it compares with colonialism and apartheid,[6] causing South Africa to qualify its 1996 accession with the reservation that the Charter fall in line with the UN's resolutions "regarding the characterization of Zionism."[7]
Norms contained in the Charter
Civil and political rights
The Charter recognizes most of what are regarded universally accepted civil and political rights. The civil and political rights recognized in the Charter include the right to
Some human rights scholars however consider the Charter's coverage of other civil and political rights to be inadequate. For example, the right to privacy or a right against forced or compulsory labour are not explicitly recognised. The provisions concerning fair trial and political participation are considered incomplete by international standards.[5]
Economic, social and cultural rights
The Charter also recognises certain economic, social and cultural rights, and overall the Charter is considered to place considerable emphasis on these rights. The Charter recognises right to work (Article 15), the right to health (Article 16), and the right to education (Article 17). Through a decision by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, SERAC v Nigeria (2001), the Charter is also understood to include a right to housing and a right to food as "implicit" in the Charter, particularly in light of its provisions on the right to life (Art. 4), right to health (Art. 16) and to development (Art. 22).[8]
Peoples' rights and group rights
In addition to recognising the individual rights mentioned above the Charter also recognises collective or
Duties
The Charter not only awards rights to individuals and peoples, but also includes
- The duty to preserve the harmonious development of the family.
- To serve the national community by placing both physical and intellectual abilities at its service.
- Not to compromise the security of the State.
- To preserve and strengthen social and national solidarity.
- To preserve and strengthen national independence and the territorial integrity of one's country and to contribute to its defence.
- To work to the best of one's abilities and competence and to pay taxes in the interest of society.
- To preserve and strengthen positive African cultural values and in general to contribute to the promotion of the moral well-being of society.
- To contribute to the best of one's abilities to the promotion and achievement of African unity.
See also
- African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
- African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
- African Union
- International human rights law
- Maputo Protocol
- List of Linguistic Rights in Constitutions (Africa)
- Linguistic rights
- United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379
References
- ^ a b c "African Charter on Human and People's Rights" (PDF). Organisation of African Unity. 1981. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- ^ "1: Resolution on the Celebration of an African Day of Human Rights / Resolutions / 5th Ordinary Session / ACHPR". www.achpr.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
- ^ "About ACHPR / ACHPR". www.achpr.org. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
- ^ "Ambf CMS". Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- ^ a b Christof Heyns, the essentials of...Human Rights, 2005
- ^ African Charter on Human and Peoples's Rights, Preamble [1] Archived May 24, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights". African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
- ^ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2008) "The Right to Food and Access to Natural Resources". Rome. Archived May 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
External links
- African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
- African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
- Decisions of the Sixth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council