African Human Rights System Research Guide
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ARTHUR W. DIAMOND LAW LIBRARY RESEARCH GUIDES African Human Rights System Research Guide Written by Alice Izumo Last Updated July 1, 2015 What This Guide Covers The purpose of this guide is to facilitate research on the African human rights system, in particular, the main sources of African regional human rights lawtreaties and nontreaty human rights instruments and their interpretation and application by regional and subregional bodies. The African Union (AU) is an intergovernmental organization whose 54 member states comprise all countries in Africa except Morocco. (The AU succeeded the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in July 2002.) The three primary AU institutions dedicated to human rights are the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (“African Children’s Rights Committee”). In addition to the African Uniona regional intergovernmental organizationthere are also a number of subregional intergovernmental organizations created to promote economic integration, of which eight are recognized by the AU Assembly as Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the building blocks (or “pillars”) of a future African Economic Community (AEC). The most significant REC bodies from a human rights law perspective are: the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, an institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); the East African Court of Justice, of the East African Community (EAC); and the SADC Tribunal, of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This guide focuses on resources that are readily available to the Columbia University community, including: books and journals in our libraries (in print and digital format); subscriptionbased databases available through our libraries; and free resources on the web. What This Guide Does Not Cover If your goal is to identify all sources of human rights law applicable in a particular African country, remember to look at not only the regional human rights law discussed in this guide, but also international human rights law (see Diamond Law Library’s Human Rights Research Guide) and national (domestic) law (see How Can I Find Laws Related to Human Rights in a Specific Country? in the Human Rights Research Guide and An Introduction to African Legal Sources). If you are searching for reports on human rights violations in a particular African country, see How Can I Find Information About the Human Rights Situation in a Specific Country? in the Human Rights Research Guide. This guide does not cover international criminal tribunals or truth commissions in Africa. For suggestions on where to find resources on the International Criminal Court or the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda within Diamond Law Library, see the library's International Criminal Law Research Guide. Contents [hide] 1 Background Sources 2 Treaties and Other Human Rights Instruments 2.1 African Regional Treaties 2.2 African Regional NonTreaty Human Rights Instruments 2.3 African SubRegional Treaties & Human Rights Instruments 2.4 Treaty Sources and Bluebook Citation 2.5 Treaty Status 2.6 Compilations of African Regional Treaties & Human Rights Instruments 3 Decisions/Cases and Other Sources Interpreting and Applying Treaties 3.1 Regional Bodies 3.1.1 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights 3.1.1.1 Activity Reports 3.1.1.2 General Comments 3.1.1.3 Periodic State Reporting 3.1.1.4 Recommendations and Resolutions 3.1.1.5 Communications (Decisions/Cases) 3.1.1.6 Missions 3.1.2 Rapporteurs, Working Groups, and Other Special Mechanisms of the African Commission 3.1.3 African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights 3.1.4 African Children’s Rights Committee 3.1.5 Other African Union Institutions 3.2 SubRegional Bodies 3.2.1 ECOWAS Community Court of Justice 3.2.2 East African Court of Justice 3.2.3 SADC Tribunal 3.3 Online Databases and Compilations of Decisions/Cases 3.4 Bluebook Citation of Decisions/Cases and Other AU/OAU Documents 4 Books 5 Journals 6 Bibliographies and Research Guides Background Sources The following sources provide an overview of the African human rights system. The online sources are helpful as a quick introduction. The books are much more comprehensive and rich with citations. Background Sources Online Celebrating the African Charter at 30: A Guide to the African Human Rights System, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Pretoria University Law Press, 2011) Main Mechanisms, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) African Human Rights System, International Justice Resource Center Background Books The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights : the System in Practice, 19862006, 2nd edition, edited by Malcolm Evans & Rachel Murray (Cambridge University Press, 2008) Human Rights Law in Africa, edited by Christof Heyns (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2004) (2 volumes) Human Rights in Africa : Enhancing Human Rights Through the African Regional Human Rights System, by George William Mugwanya (Transnational Publishers, 2003) Human Rights in Africa : from the OAU to the African Union, by Rachel Murray (Cambridge University Press, 2004) The African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights : a Comprehensive Agenda for Human Dignity and Sustainable Democracy in Africa, by Fatsah Ouguergouz (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2003) Expanded and updated English translation of: La Charte Africaine des Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples : une approche juridique des droits de l'homme entre tradition et modernité (Presses Universitaires de France, 1993). The African Regional Human Rights System : 30 Years After the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, edited by Manisuli Ssenyonjo (Martinus Nijhoff, 2012) Human Rights Manual and Sourcebook for Africa, by Keir Starmer & Theodora A. Christou (British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 2005) International Human Rights Law in Africa, 2nd edition, by Frans Viljoen (Oxford University Press, 2012) Also available online through the Columbia University Libraries This is a small selection of background books published since 2002. To find more books on human rights law and Africa, see this guide’s section on Books and consult a reference librarian. Treaties and Other Human Rights Instruments For advice on treaty research in general, see Diamond Law Library's Guide to Treaty Research. African Regional Treaties A treaty is a written agreement between two or more states or international organizations. Treaties have many different names, including convention, covenant, protocol, charter, pact, accord, and agreement. They impose binding obligations on states that become parties to them, and are a fundamental source of international law. For explanation of where treaties are published and how to cite to them, see this guide's section on Treaty Sources and Bluebook Citation. To find information on which states have become parties to a treaty, see this guide's section on Treaty Status. To see many treaties and human rights instruments gathered together in one place, see this guide's section on Compilations of African Regional Treaties & Human Rights Instruments. The central human rights treaty in the African region is: African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ("Banjul Charter") adopted June 27, 1981; entered into force Oct. 21, 1986 sources: 1520 U.N.T.S. 217; 21 I.L.M. 58 Other core regional human rights treaties are: African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child adopted July 1, 1990; entered into force Nov. 29, 1999 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights adopted June 10, 1998; entered into force Jan. 25, 2004 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa ("Maputo Protocol") adopted Nov. 7, 2003; entered into force Nov. 25, 2005 Other regional treaties related to human rights include the following (for more complete lists, see this guide's section on Compilations of African Regional Treaties & Human Rights Instruments): AU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa adopted Sept. 10, 1969; entered into force June 20, 1974 Cultural Charter for Africa adopted July 5, 1976; entered into force Sept. 19, 1990 Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa adopted July 3, 1977; entered into force Apr. 22, 1985 Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa adopted Jan. 30, 1991; entered into force Apr. 22, 1998 OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism adopted July 1, 1999; entered into force Dec. 6, 2002 Constitutive Act of the African Union adopted Nov. 7, 2000; entered into force May 26, 2001 African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption adopted July 1, 2003; entered into force Aug. 5, 2006 African Union NonAggression and Common Defence Pact adopted Jan. 1, 2005; entered into force Dec. 18, 2009 African Youth Charter adopted July 2, 2006; entered into force Aug. 8, 2009 African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance adopted Jan. 30, 2007; entered into force Feb. 15, 2012 African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa adopted Oct. 23, 2009; entered into force Dec. 6, 2012 African Regional NonTreaty Human Rights Instruments The