Compendium of Key Human Rights Documents of the African Union
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COMPENDIUM OF KEY HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTS OF THE AFRICAN UNION Fourth Edition Editors: Christof Heyns and Magnus Killander 2010 Compendium of Key Human Rights Documents of the African Union (Fourth Edition) Published by: Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) The Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) is a publisher, based in Africa, launched and managed by the Centre for Human Rights and the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa. PULP endeavours to publish and make available innovative, high-quality scholarly texts on law in Africa that have been peer-reviewed. PULP also publishes a series of collections of legal documents related to public law in Africa, as well as text books from African countries other than South Africa. For more information on PULP, see: www.chr.up.ac.za/pulp To order, contact: Centre for Human Rights Faculty of Law University of Pretoria South Africa 0002 Tel: +27 12 420 4948 Fax: +27 12 362 5125 [email protected] www.chr.up.ac.za/pulp Printed and bound by: ABC Press Cape Town Cover design: Yolanda Booyzen and Lizette Besaans, the Centre for Human Rights Copyright permission: Reproductions from the African Human Rights Law Reports (2000-2004) with permission from JUTA, ISSN 1812-2418 and from Human Rights Law in Africa (2004) Christof Heyns and Morné van der Linde (eds), ISBN 90 04 13881 1, with permission from Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN: 978-0-9869857-1-3 Table of Contents FOREWORD vii INTRODUCTION ix INSTRUMENTS OF THE AFRICAN UNION Charter of the Organization of African Unity (1963/1963) 2 Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (1991/1994) 4 Constitutive Act of the African Union (2000/2001) 4 Protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act (2003/) 12 Protocol on the Pan African Parliament (2001/2003) 14 Protocol on the Peace and Security Council (2002/2003) 17 Statutes of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (2004) 26 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981/1986) 29 Protocol on the African Human Rights Court (1998/2004) 41 Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and 47 Human Rights (2008/) Protocol on the Rights of Women (2003/2005) 61 OAU Refugee Convention (1969/1974) 72 African Children’s Charter (1990/1999) 77 Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism 90 (1999/2002) Protocol on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism (2004/) 92 African Convention on the Conservation of Nature (Revised) (2003/) 95 Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (2003/2006) 98 Non-Aggression and Common Defence Pact (2005/2009) 108 Charter for African Cultural Renaissance (2006/) 109 African Youth Charter (2006/2009) 118 African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007/) 131 AU Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally 143 Displaced Persons (2009/) Grand Bay (Mauritius) Declaration (1999) 155 Declaration on Unconstitutional Changes of Government (2000) 159 Conference on Security, Stability, Development and 163 Co-operation (2000) Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in 166 Africa (2002) Kigali Declaration (2003) 169 Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004) 173 Guidelines for Electoral Observation Missions (2004) 175 Banjul Declaration (2006) 178 AU Organogram 180 AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS Rules of Procedure of the African Commission (1995) 184 iii Guidelines for National Periodic Reports (1998) 205 Guidelines for Reporting on Women’s Protocol (2010) 206 Concluding Observations on a Periodic Report (2009) 209 Selected Decisions of the African Commission 214 List of reprinted decisions by article of the African Charter 214 Achuthan and Another v Malawi (2000) AHRLR 144 (ACHPR 1995) 217 African Institute for Human Rights and Development v Guinea 217 (2004) AHRLR 57 (ACHPR 2004) Amnesty International v Sudan (2000) AHRLR 297 219 (ACHPR 1999) Article 19 v Eritrea (2007) AHRLR 73 (ACHPR 2007) 221 Avocats Sans Frontières v Burundi (2000) AHRLR 48 229 (ACHPR 2000) Bissangou v Republic of Congo (2006) AHRLR 80 (ACHPR 2006) 231 Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority 234 Rights Group International on behalf of Endoris Welfare Council v Kenya communication 276/2003 Civil Liberties Organisation v Nigeria (2000) AHRLR 186 250 (ACHPR 1995) Commission Nationale des Droits de l’Homme et des Libertés 251 v Chad (2000) AHRLR 66 (ACHPR 1995) Constitutional Rights Project and Another v Nigeria (2000) 253 AHRLR 191 (ACHPR 1998) Constitutional Rights Project and Another v Nigeria (2000) 255 AHRLR 235 (ACHPR 1999) Constitutional Rights Project and Others v Nigeria (2000) 256 AHRLR 180 (ACHPR 1995) Constitutional Rights Project and Others v Nigeria (2000) 257 AHRLR 227 (ACHPR 1999) Democratic Republic of the Congo v Burundi, Rwanda and 259 Uganda communication 227/99 Doebbler v Sudan (2003) AHRLR 153 (ACHPR 2003) 266 Forum of Conscience v Sierra Leone (2000) AHRLR 293 268 (ACHPR 2000) Gunme and Others v Cameroon communication 266/2003 268 Huri-Laws v Nigeria (2000) AHRLR 273 (ACHPR 2000) 275 Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa v Angola 278 (2008) AHRLR 43 (ACHPR 2008) Interights and Others v Botswana (2003) AHRLR 55 (ACHPR 2003) 281 Interights et al v Mauritania (2004) AHRLR 87 (ACHPR 2004) 283 International Pen and Others v Nigeria (2000) AHRLR 212 285 (ACHPR 1998) Jawara v The Gambia (2000) AHRLR 107 (ACHPR 2000) 287 Katangese Peoples’ Congress v Zaire (2000) AHRLR 72 294 (ACHPR 1995) Law Office of Ghazi Suleiman v Sudan (I) (2003) AHRLR 134 295 (ACHPR 2003) Law Office of Ghazi Suleiman v Sudan (II) (2003) AHRLR 144 297 (ACHPR 2003) Lawyers for Human Rights v Swaziland (2005) AHRLR 66 299 (ACHPR 2005) iv Legal Resources Foundation v Zambia (2001) AHRLR 84 304 (ACHPR 2001) Ligue Camerounaise des Droits de l’Homme v Cameroon 306 (2000) AHRLR 61 (ACHPR 1997) Majuru v Zimbabwe (2008) AHRLR 146 (ACHPR 2008) 306 Malawi African Association and Others v Mauritania (2000) 307 AHRLR 149 (ACHPR 2000) Media Rights Agenda and Others v Nigeria (2000) AHRLR 200 310 (ACHPR 1998) Ouko v Kenya (2000) AHRLR 135 (ACHPR 2000) 317 Pagnoulle v Cameroon (2000) AHRLR 57 (ACHPR 1997) 319 Prince v South Africa (2004) AHRLR 105 (ACHPR 2004) 319 Purohit and Others v The Gambia (2003) AHRLR 96 (ACHPR 2003) 323 Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) and 330 Another v Nigeria (2001) AHRLR 60 (ACHPR 2001) Zegveld and Another v Eritrea (2003) AHRLR 84 (ACHPR 2003) 341 Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum v Zimbabwe (2005) 343 AHRLR 128 (ACHPR 2005) Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and Another (on behalf of 348 Medrum) v Zimbabwe communication 294/2004 Resolutions of the African Commission Electoral Process and Participatory Governance (1996) 351 Observer Status for National Human Rights Institutions (1998) 351 Criteria for Observer Status for NGOs (1999) 353 Dakar Declaration on the Right to a Fair Trial (1999) 354 Death Penalty (1999) 360 HIV/AIDS (2001) 361 Principles on Freedom of Expression (2002) 361 Robben Island Guidelines on Torture (2002) 366 Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial (2003) 370 Human Rights Defenders (2004) 393 Refugees (2004) 394 Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression (2004) 396 Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Africa (2004) 397 Status of Women in Africa (2005) 404 Impunity (2005) 405 Terrorism (2005) 406 Darfur (2005) 408 Implementation of Recommendations (2006) 411 Women and Girls Victims of Sexual Violence (2007) 412 Re-appointment of Special Rapporteur on Freedom of 414 Expression (2007) Elections in Africa (2008) 415 Human Rights Situation in The Gambia (2008) 416 Maternal Mortality in Africa (2008) 417 Moratorium on the Death Penalty (2008) 420 Access to Health and Needed Medicines in Africa (2008) 421 Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights 423 Violations (2009) Advisory Committee on Budgetary and Staff Matters (2009) 424 Transformation of the Focal Point on Rights of Older Persons (2009) 425 Committee of Experts on Rights and Welfare of the Child (2009) 426 Deteriorating Human Rights Situation in The Gambia (2009) 427 v Protection of Rights of People Living with HIV (2010) 428 Communication Form 430 AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS Interim Rules of Court (2008) 438 Yogogombaye v Senegal Application 1/2008 456 NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT NEPAD Declaration (2001) 460 Memorandum of Understanding on the APRM (2003) 463 Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and 466 Corporate Governance (2002) African Peer Review Mechanism: Base Document (2002) 471 Objectives, Standards, Criteria and Indicators for the APRM (2003) 474 CHART OF RATIFICATIONS: AU HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES 477 USEFUL WEBSITES 483 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 484 vi Foreword (From first edition) There is no subject more important than human rights in the search for peace, security and development in Africa and in the world in general. By definition, human rights encompass and touch on practically every aspect of our lives and must be guaranteed, guarded, defended and respected at all times. Respect for human rights provides the foundation upon which rests the political, economic, social and judicial structure of human freedoms. It is vital for the prevalence of peace, security, stability and development; and is also a pre- requisite for the prevention of conflicts and the promotion of a durable and lasting peace in the world. Human rights, human security and human development are interdependent, inter-related and indivisible and, thus, constitute inseparable ingredients in Africa’s quest for prosperity. It is against this background that the African Union (AU) has sought to build on the important foundation laid by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to strengthen the continental framework to promote the realisation of human rights in Africa. Since its establishment in 1963, the OAU recognised the intrinsic and sacred values of human and peoples’ rights. In addition to its critical role in eradicating colonialism and apartheid on the African continent, the OAU adopted valuable instruments and decisions in the field of human rights and governance, notable among them the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.