Workers' right to freedom of association under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and in three selected African Union member states

Abstract

When the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) was adopted in June 1981, it was hailed as one of the most progressive regional human rights instruments that could help Africa progress from a continent of ‘human wrongs’ it used to be, to the one of ‘human rights’. The right to freedom of association is one of the rights entrenched in the ACHPR. This article examines workers’ right to freedom of association under the ACHPR with illustrations from three African countries that are parties to this regional instrument; namely, Ghana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. These countries provide three different but complementary scenarios which may help in assessing the protection of human rights in Africa in general and workers’ right to freedom of association in particular. This article concludes with recommendations for the promotion of workers’ right to freedom of association which is critical to socio-economic development in Africa.