The Charter was adopted in Banjul, The Gambia, in 1981 and entered into force on October 21, 1986.
South Africa signed and ratified the Charter in 1996, making the 40th anniversary an opportunity to assess the continent’s progress and SA’s record over the past 30 years.
Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs Researcher Advocate Sipho Mantula said the Charter distinguished itself by recognising individual rights alongside collective responsibilities and duties. “The importance of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights is that in Africa we have rights and responsibilities,” Mantula said.
“We also have duties. What is the duty of the state? What is the duty of citizens?”
Mantula said persistent poverty, conflict, restrictions on civil liberties and inequality demonstrated that many countries had failed to translate commitments into practical protection.
Human rights institutions frequently lacked adequate financing, while governments invested insufficiently in public education about constitutional and continental rights. “Governments don’t want to fund human rights commissions and bodies. They don’t want to invest in human rights education,” Mantula said.
Some African Union Member States were also overdue in submitting reports to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, weakening oversight and accountability.
Mantula said governments sometimes disregarded findings and recommendations from human rights institutions, allowing recurring violations to continue without effective intervention.
Although the Charter had strengthened voting rights and political participation in parts of Africa, progress remained uneven in education, food security, safety and other socioeconomic rights. “I think the Charter has changed a few lives in terms of the right to vote and political participation,” Mantula said.
However, conflict, climate shocks and the high cost of education continued to prevent millions of people from exercising other rights.
Mantula said existing mechanisms, including special rapporteurs and investigations by the African Commission, showed that the continent had institutions capable of responding.
Greater progress would require governments to finance those institutions, submit reports on time and implement recommendations. “If we can have focused leadership on human rights issues and effective government departments dealing with the challenges facing communities, then we can have a good story to tell,” Mantula said.
–ChannelAfrica–
