Killander, Magnus --- "African Human Rights Law in Theory and Practice" [2010] ELECD 204; in Joseph, Sarah; McBeth, Adam (eds), "Research Handbook on International Human Rights Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Research Handbook on International Human Rights Law

Editor(s): Joseph, Sarah; McBeth, Adam

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847203687

Section: Chapter 15

Section Title: African Human Rights Law in Theory and Practice

Author(s): Killander, Magnus

Number of pages: 26

Extract:

15. African human rights law in theory and
practice
Magnus Killander



1 Introduction
Human rights law is developed through the findings of national and interna-
tional institutions and courts. National courts, human rights commissions,
regional and global treaty bodies and courts make reference to each other in
reports and judgments in the continuous development of the law of human
rights. The African perspective, as developed by African courts, national
human rights institutions, the African Commission on Human and Peoples'
Rights (`African Commission') and so forth, is often forgotten in this
exchange of ideas.1
It is sometimes argued that human rights have been imposed on the rest of
the world by Western countries. To rebut this argument, the first part of this
chapter considers the history of human rights discourse in Africa and its role
in the struggle against colonialism. Since independence many regional human
rights instruments have been adopted, often as a response to developments in
the global arena. The second part of the chapter examines this regionalization
of universal human rights norms and also takes note of unique features of the
African normative human rights framework and areas where Africa has taken
the lead in developing an international framework. The section explores to
what extent the African Union (`AU') and its predecessor the Organization of
African Unity (`OAU') have responded to African challenges in devising the
African regional human rights system and how the often vague provisions of
the main regional human rights treaty, the African Charter on ...