The Ogoni Case Before The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights

2003 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 749-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fons Coomans
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Dynamic Approach ◽  
Effective Protection ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
African Charter ◽  
First Time ◽  
African Commission

In 2001, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights concluded consideration of a communication under Article 55 of the African Charter on Human Rights and Peoples' Rights which dealt with alleged violations of human rights of the Ogoni people in Nigeria.1 This communication is important and special, because, for the first time, the Commission was able to deal in a substantive and groundbreaking way with alleged violations of economic, social and cultural rights which formed the substance of the complaint. In addition, in dealing with the communication, the Commission took a firm and dynamic approach that may contribute to a better and more effective protection of economic, social and cultural rights in Africa. This article discusses the case before the Commission and tries to characterize the decision of the Commission as an application of recent approaches to strengthen implementation and supervision of economic, social and cultural rights.

scholarly journals A Commentary on the African Commission's General Comment on the Right to Freedom of Movement and Residence under Article 12(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Romola Adeola ◽  
Frans Viljoen ◽  
Trésor Makunya Muhindo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
African Charter ◽  
The Right ◽  
Domestic Level ◽  
African Commission

Abstract In 2019, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted General Comment No 5 on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights: The Right to Freedom of Movement and Residence (Article 12(1)). In this general comment, the commission elaborated on the right to freedom of movement and residence within state borders. This issue, while explicit in international human rights law, is a challenge within various jurisdictions, including in Africa. This article provides a background to and commentary on General Comment No 5, leveraging on the insight of the authors, who participated in its drafting. Unlike the UN Human Rights Committee's earlier general comment, General Comment No 5 provides detailed guidance on the internal dimension of the right to free movement and residence. As “soft law”, its persuasive force depends on a number of factors, including its use at the domestic level, its visibility and its integration into regional human rights jurisprudence.

Human Right to Environment and Its Effective Protection in Catalonia, Spain and Europe

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
Alexandre Peñalver i Cabré
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
First Generation ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Third Generation ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Effective Protection ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Additional Layer ◽  
Civil And Political Rights

Human Right to Environment is one the most relevant Third Generation Human Rights which includes new universal needs arisen from the last third of 20th century. These new human rights add as an additional layer to the First Generation Human Rights (civil and political rights from the end of 18th century) and to the Second Generation Human Rights (economic, social and cultural rights from 19th century).

State Reporting to the African Commission: The Case of Zimbabwe

1994 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-66
Author(s):  
Patrick Tigere
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
African Charter ◽  
African Commission

Under the legal regime established by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, country reports “on the legislative or other measures taken with a view to giving effect to the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed by the present Charter” must be submitted every two years. If a state is serious in its approach to human rights it might be assumed that such reports would be prepared and submitted in a timeous and thorough manner. The case of Zimbabwe indicates that this is not always the case.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Demystification of Second and Third Generation Rights under the African Charter: Social and Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC) and the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) v. Nigeria

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justice C. Nwobike
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Right To Development ◽  
Failure To Protect ◽  
Action Center ◽  
The Right ◽  
African Commission

AbstractThis article argues that the decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in the Ogoni case represents a giant stride towards the protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights of Africans. This is predicated on the African Commission's finding that the Nigerian Government's failure to protect the Ogoni people from the activities of oil companies operating in the Niger Delta is contrary to international human rights law and is in fact a step backwards since Nigeria had earlier adopted legislation to fulfill its obligation towards the progressive realization of these rights. The findings of the African Commission demonstrate that economic, social and cultural rights are not vague or incapable of judicial enforcement. They also illustrate how the Charter can be interpreted generously to ensure the effective enjoyment of rights. Novel and commendable as the decision is, it is not without its shortcomings. These shortcomings lie in the failure of the Commission to pronounce on the right to development, its silence on the desirability of holding transnational corporations accountable for human rights violations, and the institutional weakness of the Commission in enforcing its decisions.

scholarly journals A Proposal for the Effective Implementation of the Protective Mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 178-200
Author(s):  
Allwell Uwazuruike
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
The Core ◽  
Effective Operation ◽  
The Status ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
African Charter ◽  
New System ◽  
African Commission

AbstractThe African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ushered in an era of human rights promotion and protection at the regional level. However, the African Commission, created for this purpose, continues to face challenges especially with regard to the protection of human rights. This article critically examines one of the core obstacles to the effective operation of the Commission’s protective mandate – the binding nature of its recommendations – and formulates a proposal for bypassing that obstacle. It argues for the strengthening of the Commission’s protective mandate through a distinct and unambivalent adoption of the Commission’s rulings as official decisions of the AU Assembly backed by the concomitant full sanctioning power of the latter. Such adoption, it is argued, must go beyond the current near ceremonious practice whereby the Assembly receives and ‘adopts’ the Commission’s Activity Reports and focus on the recommendations themselves. Adopting this new system, it is argued, will strengthen and add meaning to the Commission’s protective mandate and further project the status of human rights across the continent.

III. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA: THE PRAGMATIC REVOLUTION OF THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS

2011 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémie Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Advisory Opinion ◽  
African Charter ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
African Commission

The definition and scope of indigenous peoples' human rights are usually contentious in the context of Africa.2While in recent years indigenous peoples' human rights have expanded immensely internationally, in Africa indigenous peoples' rights are still perceived to be in their infancy.3At the United Nations, the group of African States delayed the process that finally led to the adoption of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 (UNDRIP).4At a national level, most of the States in Africa are still reluctant to recognize the specific rights of indigenous peoples.5Until recently, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission), the leading human rights institution for the continent,6had kept a low profile on the issue and had ‘not always interpreted indigenous peoples’ rights favourably'.7From this perspective Commission regarding the communication submitted by the indigenous Endorois community against Kenya casts new light on the rights of indigenous peoples in Africa.8The decision, which has already been hailed as a ‘landmark,’9touches on several crucial issues regarding the development of indigenous peoples' human rights in Africa. This groundbreaking decision did not materialize unexpectedly but is part of a wider evolution of the Commission regarding indigenous peoples' human rights in Africa. It echoes the work of the Commission's own Working Group of Experts on Indigenous Populations/Communities (Working Group) which was established in 2001 with the mandate to focus specifically on the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in Africa.10The mandate of the Working Group is to examine the concept of indigenous communities in Africa, as well as to analyse their rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Charter).11In 2003 the Commission adopted the report of the Working Group which proposes several avenues for the recognition and promotion of indigenous rights in Africa.12The adoption of an Advisory Opinion by the Commission to support the adoption of UNDRIP marked another step toward the affirmation of indigenous peoples' rights in Africa.13The Advisory Opinion not only participated in unlocking the reluctance of the group of African States to adopt the UNDRIP, but also reflected developments taking place at the international level on the rights of indigenous peoples as well as their connection to the continent. Remarkably, in recent years, the Commission has started to refer to indigenous peoples' rights in its examination of States' periodic reports.14All these factors and the recent decision of the Commission in the Endorois case indicate the emergence of a consistent jurisprudence on indigenous peoples' rights in Africa.

scholarly journals A missed opportunity? Derogation and the African Court case of APDF and IHRDA v Mali

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda K Kombo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Court Case ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
States Of Emergency ◽  
Force Majeure ◽  
African Charter ◽  
African Commission ◽  
Missed Opportunity

The permissibility and application of derogation from human rights obligations in the African human rights system are far from clear. Based on the absence of a derogation clause in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has interpreted the Charter as prohibiting derogation even in emergency situations. However, this interpretation is inconsistent with the Commission's practice of reviewing states of emergency during state reporting and creates confusion when considered together with the Commission's conflation of derogation and limitation as well as its references to non-derogable rights. The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights is yet to pronounce itself on this question. Although Mali invoked a force majeure defence in APDF and IHRDA v Republic of Mali, the Court dismissed the defence without elaborating on its reasoning. As such, the article contends that the Court missed an opportunity to develop its jurisprudence on derogation.

scholarly journals Responding to Human Rights Violations in Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Manisuli Ssenyonjo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
African Charter ◽  
Interim Measures ◽  
Advisory Opinions ◽  
Rights Issues ◽  
African Commission

This article examines the main achievements and challenges of Africa’s two regional bodies established to ensure the implementation of human rights in Africa. It makes an assessment of the role of Africa’s oldest regional human rights body, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) in the last 31 years of its operation (from 1987–March 2018). It also considers the judicial role of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Court) in the last 12 years of its operation (from 2006–March 2018). The increasing contribution of both the Commission and the Court to the protection of human rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights is rarely subjected to scrutiny in mainstream human rights literature. The article is limited to the consideration of the Commission’s contribution with respect to: (i) decisions on admissibility of communications concerning mainly exhaustion of domestic remedies; (ii) decisions on merits of communications; (iii) adoption of resolutions, principles/guidelines, general comments, model laws and advisory opinions; (iv) special rapporteurs and working groups to deal with thematic human rights issues; (v) consideration of State reports and conducting on-site visits; and (vi) referral of communications to the African Court involving unimplemented interim measures, serious or massive human rights violations, or the Commission’s findings on admissibility and merits.

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Libya

2017 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 738-744
Author(s):  
Marie Joseph Ayissi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
African Charter ◽  
Default Judgment ◽  
African Commission

On June 3, 2016, the African Court on Human and People's Rights (the Court) rendered its first default judgment, in a case brought by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) against Libya for alleged violations of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter). The Commission had alleged that the Libyan government had violated its obligations under the Charter to protect one of its citizens, Saif al-Islam Kadhafi, from incommunicado detention and to provide him access to counsel. When Libya failed to respond to the Commission's complaint and to the Court's order of provisional measures, the Court proceeded to the merits and found Libya in violation of several articles of the Charter. Its decision reflected both a measured approach to the issuance of default judgments and an emphasis on the need for states to comply with their human rights obligations even in situations of exceptional political and security instability.

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