Conclusion: Towards an Effective African Regional Human Rights System Tentative Reflections on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Abstract

The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Charter) which is the central instrument for regional human rights protection in Africa, throws up numerous questions. This chapter examines these questions by evaluating the effect of nearly a quarter century's practice under the African Charter. It considers some key weaknesses in the African Charter and observes that nearly a quarter century's practice on the African Charter has shown the Charter to be substantively feeble and procedurally inadequate to ensure effective human rights protection on the continent. It is also argued that because of the inherent weaknesses in the African Charter, drawing inspiration from the international human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) would strengthen standard setting in Africa. Keywords:African Charter; African Regional Human; ICCPR; ICESCR; System Tentative Reflections; UDHR