Human rights are moral principles, or norms, for certain standards of human behaviour and are regularly protected as substantive rights in substantive law, municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable, fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being" and which are "inherent in all human beings", regardless of their age, ethnic origin, location, language, religion, ethnicity, or any other status. They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They are regarded as requiring empathy and the rule of law, and imposing an obligation on persons to respect the human rights of others; it is generally considered that they should not be taken away except as a result of due process based on specific circumstances.
The Organisation of African Unity was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's establishment was Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. It was disbanded on 9 July 2002 by its last chairman, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and replaced by the African Union (AU). Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and economic integration among member states, and to eradicate colonialism and neo-colonialism from the African continent.
The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is an economic development program of the African Union (AU). NEPAD was adopted by the AU at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia. NEPAD aims to provide an overarching vision and policy framework for accelerating economic co-operation and integration among African countries.
International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, agreements between sovereign states intended to have binding legal effect between the parties that have agreed to them; and customary international law. Other international human rights instruments, while not legally binding, contribute to the implementation, understanding and development of international human rights law and have been recognized as a source of political obligation.
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, having lasting for the first five years. Initially the seat of the Pan-African Parliament was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but was later moved to Midrand, South Africa. The goal in establishing the parliament was creating a space where people from all states of Africa could meet, deliberate, and pass some policy on issues that affect the entire continent of Africa.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples') rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and considering individual complaints of violations of the Charter. This includes investigating human rights violations, creating and approving programs of action towards encouraging human rights, and set up effect communication between them and states to get first hand information on violations of human rights. Although the ACHPR is under a regional government facility, they don't have any actual power and enforcement over laws. This ends up in them drafting up proposals to send up the chain of command to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government and they will act accordingly.
The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent.
The Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the organ of the African Union in charge of enforcing union decisions. It is patterned somewhat after the United Nations Security Council. The PSC is also the main pillar of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), and works with other pillars of the APSA in order to promote "peace, security and stability in Africa". The specific goal of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the "prevention, management and resolution of conflicts". To achieve these goals, it involves subsidiary organizations such as the Military Staff Committee and the Committee of Experts.
The Constitutive Act of the African Union sets out the codified framework under which the African Union is to conduct itself. It was signed on 11 July 2000 at Lomé, Togo. It entered into force after two thirds of the 53 signatory states ratified the convention on 26 May 2001. When a state ratifies the Constitutive Act, it formally becomes a member of the AU. All 55 signatory states have ratified the document, with South Sudan and Morocco ratifying as the last African states.
The Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) is an advisory body of the African Union designed to give civil society organizations (CSOs) a voice within the AU institutions and decision-making processes. ECOSOCC is made up of civil society organizations from a wide range of sectors including labour, business and professional groups, service providers and policy think tanks, both from within Africa and the African diaspora.
The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by the member states of the African Union (AU) as a self-monitoring mechanism. It was founded in 2003.
Contributing to the establishment of human rights system in Africa are the United Nations, international law and the African Union which have positively influenced the betterment the human rights situation in the continent. However, extensive human rights abuses still occur in many sections of the continent. Most of the violations can be attributed to political instability, racial discrimination, corruption, post-colonialism, economic scarcity, ignorance, illness, religious bigotry, debt and bad financial management, monopoly of power, lack/absence of judicial and press autonomy, and border conflicts. Many of the provisions contained in regional, national, continental, and global agreements remained unaccomplished.
Human rights education (HRE) is the learning process that seeks to build up knowledge, values, and proficiency in the rights that each person is entitled to. This education teaches students to examine their own experiences from a point of view that enables them to integrate these concepts into their values, decision-making, and daily situations. According to Amnesty International, HRE is a way to empower people, training them so their skills and behaviors will promote dignity and equality within their communities, societies, and throughout the world.
The Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) is an independent regional union federation aimed at unifying trade union centres in Africa. This organisation was founded in April, 1973 as a successor to two previously competing labour union organisations in Africa: the All-African Trade Union Federation (AATUF) and the African Trade Union Confederation (ATUC). The process to unify a Pan-African labour union organisation also involved international labour organisations as decision-making stakeholders like the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). Finally, also with the help of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the AATUF and the ATUC merged to form the OATUU. The driving factors for this unification and the creation of the OATUU was to advance Pan-Africanism, economic justice, and social justice throughout African workplaces.
The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa. The intention of the AU was to replace the Organization of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments; the OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states.
The African Union is a geo-political entity covering the entirety of the African continent. Its origin dates back to the First Congress of Independent African States, held in Accra, Ghana, from 15 to 22 April 1958. The conference aimed at forming the Africa Day to mark the liberation movement of the African people each year, such as to free themselves from foreign dictatorship and to unite Africa. The Organisation of African Unity (OAU), was subsequently established on 25 May 1963 followed by the African Economic Community in 1981. Critics argued that the OAU in particular did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, often dubbing it the "Dictators' Club".
The African Energy Commission (AFREC) is a specialized agency of the African Union (AU), under the Commission for Infrastructure and Energy, in charge of coordinating, harmonizing, protecting, conserving, developing, rational exploitation, commercializing and integrating energy resources on the African continent.
Fahamu is a not-for-profit organization supporting organizations and social movements championing progressive social change and human rights. With branches in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Senegal, and Kenya, Fahamu primarily engages with civil and human rights organizations through Pambazuka News, an online platform focusing on social justice. Additionally, they offer online courses on human rights and social justice and employ new technologies, including SMS, for information dissemination, lobbying, and interactions.
The Panel of the Wise (PoW) is a consultative body of the African Union, composed of five appointed members who each serve three year terms. Its mandate is to provide opinions to the Peace and Security Council on issues relevant to conflict prevention, management, and resolution. Representatives are chosen for the North, East, South, West, and Central regions of the continent.
Regional human rights regimes are relatively independently coherent human rights sub-regimes that are nested within the larger frame work of International human rights practice. Three principal regional human rights instruments can be identified, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.
