AN EXAMINATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION IN AFRICA: WHAT ROLE FOR THE AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS?

Abstract

The journey towards the effective realisation of human rights through a judicial institution was marred by resistance as well as negotiations, thus leaving several questions relating to the enjoyment of the regional normative rights enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The agitation for a regional human rights system on a par with those established in Europe and the Americas, which started in the 1960s, has over time resulted in the establishment of two courts, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1998 and the African Court of Justice and Human Rights in 2008. Whereas, with the establishment of these courts, the dream of a regional human rights court for Africa has become a reality, yet it cannot be said that African human protection through the court is able to consider a greater variety of human rights cases to reflect the gross human rights abuses visible on the continent. This paper examines the role of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the advancement of human and peoples’ rights by looking at its structural architecture and jurisprudence to ascertain its structural and normative deficiencies. This paper concludes that based on the institutional and procedural deficiencies that impact the effectiveness of the court, much improvement is necessary for the court to become effective in advancing individual enjoyment of human and peoples’ rights.