Taking the Temperature of Rights and Freedoms: Zimbabwean Secondary School Students’ Knowledge about the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights and Their Support for Its Provisions

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The African Banjul Charter is a cornerstone document promoting human rights education in Africa. As Zimbabwe is one of the signatory states to the Charter, a survey was conducted with 265 Zimbabwean secondary students to assess their knowledge of and support for the provisions detailed in the Charter. Fifty-six percent of the participants knew about the Charter and 59% supported the Chart. Knowledge and support were found to be positively correlated. While gender did not influence responses, grade level was a significant predictor of knowledge and support for the Charter). La Charte de Banjul est le document de base pour la promotion de l‘éducation des Droits de l‘Homme. Comme le Zimbabwe a signé cette Charte, une enquête y a été menée auprès de 265 étudiants de l‘école secondaire afin d‘évaluer leurs connaissances et l‘acceptation de la Charte. Cinquante-six pour cent des participants connaissaient la Charte et 59% y adhéraient. Les résultats de l‘enquête montrent une corrélation positive entre connaissance et acceptation. Ils montrent également que bien que le sexe n‘influence pas les réponses, l‘année d‘étude représente un indice important quant à la connaissance et l‘acceptation de cette dernière.