THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND
PEOPLES’ RIGHTS

The African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights came into force in 1986, and is unique in that it lacks a precedent. However, little scholarship exists that analyses it as an operational system in practice.

The success of the first edition of this book has led to this updated second edition. Contributors include experts who have been actively involved in the implementation of the Charter – commissioners, NGOs and academics. Offering a detailed evaluation of the Charter as a mechanism for the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa, the contributions cover the Charter’s reporting system, the interpretation of different rights by the Commission, the prospects for the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the role of NGOs. This authoritative and comprehensive volume will interest lawyers acting for government and non-governmental organisations, as well as academics and postgraduates.

MALCOLM EVANS OBE is Professor of Public International Law at the University of Bristol, and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law.

RACHEL MURRAY is Professor of International Human Rights Law at the University of Bristol.

THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON
HUMAN AND PEOPLES’
RIGHTS

2nd Edition

The System in Practice 1986–2006

Edited by

MALCOLM EVANS AND RACHEL MURRAY

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Cambridge University Press
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First edition first published by Cambridge University Press 2002
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Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights : the system in

practice / edited by Malcolm Evans and Rachel Murray. – 2nd ed.

p.    cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-521-88399-3 (hardback)

1. Human rights – Africa. 2. African Charter on Human and Peoples’

Rights (1981) Ⅰ. Evans, Malcolm D. (Malcolm David), 1959– Ⅱ. Murray,

Rachel, Dr.

JC599.A36A36 2008

323.096 – dc22 2007049215

ISBN 978-0-521-88399-3 hardback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for
external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee
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Contents

CONTRIBUTORS

Professor Malcolm Evans OBE is Professor of Public International Law at the University of Bristol, and currently Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law. His chief areas of interest in the field of human rights concern the freedom of religion and torture prevention, and he has written extensively on these topics, with principal works including Religious Liberty and International Law in Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997) and, as co-author, Preventing Torture (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), Protecting Prisoners (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999) and Combating Torture in Europe (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 2001). He is a member of the OSCE Advisory Panel on Freedom of Religion and Belief, the ILA Human Rights Law and Practice Committee, and the Board of Management of the Association for the Prevention of Torture. He has co-edited, with Rachel Murray, a collection of Documents of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2001 and 2007, forthcoming), and also continues his long-standing research and writing interests in the international law of the sea.

Professor Rachel Murray is Professor of International Human Rights Law at the University of Bristol. Her specialist areas are human rights in Africa, particularly the African Charter and its Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Organization of African Unity/African Union. She has written widely in this area, including books with Hart Publishing and Cambridge University Press (Human Rights in Africa: From the OAU to the African Union (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004); The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The System at Work (with Malcolm Evans) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002); The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and International Law (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2000)), and articles in leading legal human rights journals. She also advises organisations and individuals on how to use the African human rights system, including drafting cases and participating in its meetings. She is on the editorial board of a number of journals including the Journal of African Law and African Journal of International and Comparative Law. Her other area of interest is national human rights institutions, and she has published a number of pieces in this area (The Role of National Human Rights Institutions at the International and Regional Level: The Experience of Africa (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2007)) and holds a major grant with the Arts and Humanities Research Council to evaluate the role of national preventive mechanisms under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture. She has previously worked at the University of the West of England, Queens University Belfast – where she was Assistant Director of the Human Rights Centre – and Birkbeck College, University of London.

Fiona Adolu is a Ugandan lawyer. She is currently working with the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia as a Human Rights Officer. Prior to that, she was a Legal Officer at the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). As a Legal Officer, her work involved, inter alia, drafting decisions of communications for consideration by the ACHPR; analysing initial and periodic State reports and drafting concluding observations thereto; and drafting various legal documents, resolutions and reports of Meetings, Conferences, etc. for adoption by the ACHPR. She also assisted the Follow-Up Committee on the Implementation of the Guidelines for the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture, Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Punishment and Treatment in Africa, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression in Africa and the Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa. Before joining the ACHPR, Ms Adolu worked with the Uganda Law Society – which is the Bar Association of Uganda – and the Federation of Uganda Women Lawyers (FIDA(U)), where she assisted with the formation and development of human rights programmes in both governmental and non-governmental organisations within the sub-region.

Fareda Banda is a Reader in the Laws of Africa at the School of Oriental and African Studies, which is part of the University of London. She is an expert on women’s rights and has published widely in this area, including Women, Law and Human Rights: An African Perspective (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2005).

Clive Baldwin has been Head of Advocacy at MRG since 2002. Previously, he practiced as a human rights lawyer in the United Kingdom and the United States, and worked for several years in Kosovo. He has degrees from Leeds, Princeton and City (London) universities. Minority Rights Group International have been responsible for the first case to be heard on the merits at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on indigenous land issues and the right to development.

Germain Baricako is the former Secretary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Ibrahima Kane is Senior Lawyer for Africa at Interights. He qualified as a lawyer in Senegal and France, and has run a human rights programme focused on public education and women’s human rights in five West-African countries (Cape Verde, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal) for six years. He was a founding member of RADDHO, a Senegalese human rights organisation, before he joined Interights in 1998. He has a particular interest in Francophone countries, economic, social and cultural rights, torture and women’s rights.

Bronwen Manby currently works for the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP), an initiative of the Open Society Institute’s network of African foundations to monitor compliance with the commitments to good governance, democracy, human rights and the rule of law undertaken by Member States of the African Union. She was previously the Deputy Director of the Africa division of Human Rights Watch, and has also worked for human rights organisations in South Africa. She has degrees from Oxford and Columbia universities, and is trained as a solicitor in England and Wales. She has written on a wide range of human rights issues in Africa, especially South Africa and Nigeria.

Nobuntu Mbelle is a Consultant for the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, and Co-ordinator for the Coalition for an Effective African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Cynthia Morelhas served as Legal Cases Officer at MRG since 2002, and as a part-time Lecturer on Minority Rights under International Law at the University of Essex since 2006. Her previous experience includes positions at the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and the Canadian International Development Agency.

Ahmed C. Motala, the Executive Director of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in South Africa, is a human rights lawyer and activist who has worked over the past eighteen years on an array of human rights and development issues at the national, continental and international level. Previously, he has been Executive Director of the Human Rights Institute of South Africa, Legal Adviser on Africa at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International and Human Rights Officer at Save the Children UK. In these capacities, he worked on human rights, child rights and development issues in a range of African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries. From 1989 to 1995, he worked as a litigating attorney and investigator at Lawyers for Human Rights, South Africa, and also managed the Litigation Fund. He has written on a range of human rights topics, including the African human rights system, and presented papers at numerous workshops and symposia. His formal training includes a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from The American University in Washington DC.

Gino J. Naldi studied Law at the University of Birmingham, where he was awarded his PhD. He is Senior Lecturer at the Norwich Law School, University of East Anglia, lecturing in public international law and EC law. He has a special interest in Africa, especially the Organization of African Unity/African Union, on which he has published widely. He is author of The Organization of African Unity: An Analysis of its Role, 2nd edn (London: Mansell, 1999).

Bahame Tom Mukirya Nyanduga is a member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He is an LLB (Hons) graduate of the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He holds an LLM degree from the LSE, University of London, and a Post Graduate Diploma in International Law from the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. He was elected to the African Commission by the 2nd AU Summit held in Maputo, Mozambique, July 2003. He practices law in Tanzania and was President of the East Africa Law Society from 2004 to 2006. He is Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migration and IDPs in Africa.

Kolawole Olaniyan is Acting Africa Program Director and Africa Legal Adviser at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International London, LLB, Lagos State University, 1989; BL, Nigerian Law School, 1990; LLM, Notre Dame Law School, 1998; JSD, Notre Dame Law School, 2003; Head of the Legal Services Unit of the Constitutional Rights Project, Lagos, 1993–7; Legal counsel, Office of the Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, The Hague, 1998; Research Fellow, Danish Center for Human Rights, Denmark, 1999; and Teaching Assistant, University of Notre Dame, 2000. He acted as General-Secretary of the African Students Association, University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary College, Indiana, 2000–1, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Nigeria. He is also the author of many articles on international and comparative human rights law and corruption. This current work, relating to corruption and human rights, is focused on combating corruption through the framework of human rights. He is completing the writing of his new book, Corruption & International Human Rights Law.

Frans Viljoen is Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law in the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He obtained the degree LLD (with a thesis on the African regional human rights system) from the University of Pretoria, and the degree LLM from Cambridge University. He also heads the AIDS and Human Rights Research Unit at the University of Pretoria. He teaches on, and is the academic co-ordinator of, the LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa), presented by the Centre for Human Rights, in collaboration with seven partner law faculties across Africa. He has taught widely on the African regional human rights system at other universities and at training events, is the author of numerous articles (especially dealing with human rights issues), has conducted research for the United Nations and the African Union, and is editor-in-chief of the African Human Rights Law Journal and co-editor of the English and French versions of the African Human Rights Law Reports.

TABLE OF CASES

Note: references to Documents of the African Commission are references to R. Murray and M. Evans (eds.), Documents of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2001).

Communication 1/88, Frederick Korvah v. Liberia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 337 96, 159

Communication 2/88, Iheanyichukwu A. Ihebereme v. United States, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 337 100

Communication 3/88, Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers v. Yugoslavia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 337 100

Communication 4/88, Co-ordinating Secretary of the Free Citizens Convention v. Ghana, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 338 101

Communication 5/88, Prince J. N. Makoge v. United States, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 338 100

Communication 6/88, Dr Kodji Kofi v. Ghana, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 338 101

Communication 7/88, Committee for the Defence of Political Prisoners v. Bahrain, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 339 100

Communication 9/88, International Lawyers Committee for Family Reunification v. Ethiopia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 339 100

Communication 10/88, Getachew Abebe v. Ethiopia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 339 100

Communication 11/88, Henry Kalenga v. Zambia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 339 81

Communication 12/88, Mohamed El-Nekheily v. OAU, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 340 101

Communication 13/88, Hadjali Mohamad v. Algeria, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 340 101, 159

Communication 14/88, Dr Abd Eldayem A. E. Sanussi v. Ethiopia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 340 100

Communication 15/88, Mpaka-Nsusu Andre Alphonse v. Zaire, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 340 127

Communications 16/88, 17/88 and 18/88, Comité Culturel pour la Démocratie au Benin, Badjogoume Hilaire, El Hadj Boubacar Diawara v. Benin, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, pp. 340 and 381 102

Communication 19/88, International Pen v. Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 341 101

Communication 20/88, Austrian Committee Against Torture v. Morocco, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 341 101

Communication 21/88, Centre Haitien des Libertés Publiques v. Ethiopia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 342 100

Communication 22/88, International Pen v. Burkina Faso, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 342 88

Communication 24/89, Union Nationale de Libération de Cabinda v. Angola, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 342 100

Communications 25/89, 47/90, 56/91 and 100/93, Free Legal Assistance Group, Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, Union Interafricaine des Droits de l’Homme, Les Témoins de Jehovah v. Zaire, Ninth Activity Report 1995–1996, Annex Ⅷ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 444 111, 146, 193, 216

Communication 26/89, Austrian Committee Against Torture v. Burundi, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 342 100

Communications 27/89, 46/91, 49/91 and 99/93, Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture and Association Internationale des Juristes Democrates, Commission Internationale des Juristes (CIJ), Union Interafricaine des Droits de l’Homme v. Rwanda, Tenth Activity Report 1996–1997, Annex Ⅹ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 551 151, 179, 252

Communication 28/89, Association Internationale des Juristes Democrates v. Ethiopia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 343 100

Communication 29/89, Commission Française Justice et Paix v. Ethiopia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 343 100

Communication 31/89, Maria Baes v. Zaire, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 383 103

Communication 33/89, Simon B. Ntaka v. Lesotho, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 343 101

Communication 35/89, Seyoum Ayele v. Togo, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 343 159

Communication 37/90, Georges Eugene v. United States, Haiti, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 344 100

Communication 38/90, Wesley Parish v. Indonesia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 344 100

Communication 39/90, Annette Pagnoulle (on behalf of Abdoulaye Mazou) v. Cameroon, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Tenth Activity Report 1996–1997, Annex Ⅹ; Documents of the African Commission, pp. 384 and 555 31, 106, 116, 155, 197

Communication 40/90, Bob Ngozi Njoku v. Egypt, Eleventh Activity Report 1997–1998, Annex Ⅱ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 604 115, 126, 141, 156

Communication 41/90, Andre Houver v. Morocco, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 344 101

Communication 43/90, Union des Scolaires Nigeriens, Union Générale des Etudiants Nigériens au Benin v. Niger, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 345 89

Communication 44/90, Peoples’ Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism v. The Gambia, Tenth Activity Report 1996–1997, Annex Ⅹ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 559 81, 91, 117, 160

Communication 45/90, Civil Liberties Organisation v. Nigeria, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 345 89, 104

Communications 48/90, 50/91, 52/91 and 89/93, Amnesty International; Comité Loosli Bachelard; Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights; Association of Members of the Episcopal Conference of East Africa v. Sudan, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Addendum 106, 147, 174, 216, 263, 323

Communication 53/91 and 53/90, Alberto T. Capitao v. Tanzania, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, pp. 346 and 384 92

Communications 54/91, 61/91, 98/93, 164/97 and 210/98, Malawi African Association; Amnesty International; Ms Sarr Diop, Union Interafricaine des Droits de l’Homme and RADDHO; Collectif des Veuves et Ayants-droits; Association Mauritanienne des Droits de l’Homme v. Mauritania, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Addendum 32, 33, 79, 147, 174, 176, 179, 202, 204, 232, 251

Communication 55/91, International Pen v. Chad, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 346 147, 176, 251, 323

Communication 57/91, Tanko Bariga v. Nigeria, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 346 93, 159

Communication 59/91, Embga Mekongo Louis v. Cameroon, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 385 34, 35, 143, 152

Communication 60/91, Constitutional Rights Project (in respect Wahab Akamu, G. Adega and others) v. Nigeria, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 385 116, 152, 205

Communication 63/92, Congress for the Second Republic of Malawi v. Malawi, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 346 159

Communications 64/92, 68/92 and 78/92, Krischna Achuthan, Amnesty International, Amnesty International v. Malawi, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, pp. 347 and 387 172

Communication 65/92, Ligue Camerounaise des Droits de l’Homme v. Cameroon, Tenth Activity Report 1996–1997, Annex Ⅹ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 562 108, 143, 150

Communication 67/92, Civil Liberties Organisation v. Nigeria, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 346 81, 89, 164

Communication 69/92, Amnesty International v. Tunisia, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 347 127

Communication 70/92, Ibrahim Dioumessi, Sekou Kande, Ousmane Kaba v. Guinea, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Ninth Activity Report 1995–1996, Annex Ⅷ; Documents of the African Commission, pp. 347 and 448 93

Communication 71/92, Rencontre Africaine pour la Defense de Droits de l’Homme v. Zambia, Tenth Activity Report 1996–1997, Annex Ⅹ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 563 111, 180

Communication 73/92, Mohamed Lamine Diakité v. Gabon, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 348 234

Communication 74/92, Commission Nationale des Droits de l’Homme et des Libertés v. Chad, Ninth Activity Report 1995–1996, Annex Ⅷ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 449 28, 94, 144, 175

Communication 75/92, Katangese Peoples’ Congress v. Zaire, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 389 33, 95, 97, 160, 246

Communications 83/92, 88/93 and 91/93, Jean Y. Degli (on behalf of N. Bikagni), Union Interafricaine des Droits de l’Homme, Commission Internationale des Juristes v. Togo, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, pp. 348 and 390 144

Communication 86/93, M. S. Ceesay v. The Gambia, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 390 117

Communication 87/93, Constitutional Rights Project (in respect of Zamani Lakwot and six others) v. Nigeria, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 391 94, 120, 152, 203

Communication 90/93, Paul S. Haye v. The Gambia, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 393 124

Communication 92/93, International Pen (in respect of Kemal al-Jazouli) v. Sudan, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 394 116

Communication 97/93, John K. Modise v. Botswana, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Tenth Activity Report 1996–1997, Annex Ⅹ; Fourteenth Activity Report 2000–2001, Annex Ⅴ, Documents of the African Commission, pp. 349 and 567 83, 144, 178, 235

Communication 101/93, Civil Liberties Organisation (in respect of the Nigerian Bar Association) v. Nigeria, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 394 201

Communication 102/93, Constitutional Rights Project and Civil Liberties Organisation v. Nigeria, Twelfth Activity Report 1998–1999, Annex Ⅴ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 712 30, 144, 174, 217, 222

Communication 103/93, Alhassan Abubakar v. Ghana, Tenth Activity Report 1996–1997, Annex Ⅹ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 571 121, 152, 197, 232

Communications 104/94 and 109–126/94, Centre for Independence of Judges and Lawyers v. Algeria and others, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, pp. 349 and 396 97, 160

Communications 105/93, 128/94, 130/94 and 152/96, Media Rights Agenda, Constitutional Rights Project, Media Rights Agenda and Constitutional Rights Project v. Nigeria, Twelfth Activity Report 1998–1999, Annex Ⅴ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 718 26, 89, 120, 142, 151, 177, 217

Communication 106/93, Amuh Joseph Vitine v. Cameroon, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 350 160

Communication 107/93, Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities v. Nigeria, Seventh Activity Report 1993–1994, Annex Ⅸ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 350 150

Communication 108/93, Monja Joana v. Madagascar, Tenth Activity Report 1996–1997, Annex Ⅹ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 573 93

Communication 127/94, Sana Dumbaya v. The Gambia, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 397 114

Communication 129/94, Civil Liberties Organisation v. Nigeria, Ninth Activity Report 1995–1996, Annex Ⅷ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 452 120, 201

Communication 133/94, Association pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme et des Libertés v. Djibouti, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 82, 169

Communication 135/94, Kenya Human Rights Organisation v. Kenya, Ninth Activity Report 1995–1996, Annex Ⅷ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 455 118

Communication 136/94, William A. Courson v. Zimbabwe, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 397 184

Communications 137/94, 139/94, 154/96 and 161/97, International Pen, Constitutional Rights Project, Interights on behalf of Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr and Civil Liberties Organisation v. Nigeria, Twelfth Activity Report 1998–1999, Annex Ⅴ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 729 30, 144, 174, 217, 222

Communications 140/94, 141/94 and 145/95, Constitutional Rights Project, Civil Liberties Organisation and Media Rights Agenda v. Nigeria, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 151, 182, 219, 269

Communication 142/94, Muthuthirin Njoka v. Kenya, Eighth Activity Report 1994–1995, Annex Ⅵ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 398 106, 159

Communications 143/95 and 150/96, Constitutional Rights Project and Civil Liberties Organisation v. Nigeria, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 80, 151, 202

Communication 144/95, William Courson (acting on behalf of Severo Moto) v. Equatorial Guinea, Eleventh Activity Report 1997–1998, Annex Ⅱ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 609 143, 182

Communications 147/95 and 149/96, Sir Dawda K. Jawara v. The Gambia, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 96, 110, 141, 142, 174, 220, 247

Communication 148/96, Constitutional Rights Project v. Nigeria, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 152, 197

Communication 151/96, Civil Liberties Organisation v. Nigeria, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 152, 202

Communication 153/96, Constitutional Rights Project v. Nigeria, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 204

Communication 155/96, The Social and Economic Rights Action Center and the Center for Economic and Social Rights v. Nigeria, Fifteenth Activity Report 2001–2002, Annex Ⅴ 30, 32, 172, 246, 278, 309, 389

Communication 157/96, Association Pour la Sauvegarde de la Paix au Burundi v. Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zaire and Zambia, Seventeenth Activity Report, 2003–2004, Annex Ⅶ 21, 78, 104, 185, 281

Communication 159/96, Union Interafricaine des Droits de l’Homme, Fédération International des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme, Rencontre Africaine des Droits de l’Homme, Organisation Nationale des Droits de l’Homme au Sénégal and Association Malienne des Droits de l’Homme v. Angola, Eleventh Activity Report 1997–1998, Annex Ⅱ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 615 91, 152, 180, 233

Communication 162/97, Mouvement des Réfugiés Mauritaniens au Sénégal v. Senegal, Eleventh Activity Report 1997–1998, Annex Ⅱ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 613 97

Communication 197/97, Bah Ould Rabah v. Mauritania, Seventeenth Activity Report 2003–2004, Annex Ⅶ 77, 195

Communication 198/97, SOS-Esclaves v. Mauritania, Twelfth Activity Report 1998–1999, Annex Ⅴ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 742 112, 114, 160, 179

Communication 199/97, Odjouoriby Cossi Paul v. Benin, Seventeenth Activity Report 2003–2004, Annex Ⅶ 205

Communication 204/97, Mouvement Burkinabé des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples v. Burkina Faso, Fourteenth Activity Report 2000–2001, Annex Ⅴ 84, 204

Communication 205/97, Kazeem Aminu v. Nigeria, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 122, 158, 182

Communication 206/97, Centre for Free Speech v. Nigeria, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 152, 203

Communication 209/97, Africa Legal Aid v. The Gambia, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 165

Communicatoin 211/98, Legal Resources Foundation v. Zambia, Fourteenth Activity Report 2000–2001, Annex Ⅴ 174, 235, 248, 251, 407

Communication 212/98, Amnesty International v. Zambia, Twelfth Activity Report 1998–1999, Annex Ⅴ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 745 26, 89, 91, 99, 142, 180, 216

Communication 215/98, Rights International v. Nigeria, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 121, 152, 193

Communication 218/98, Civil Liberties Organisation, Legal Defence Centre, Legal Defence and Assistance Project v. Nigeria, Fourteenth Activity Report 2000–2001, Annex Ⅴ 172

Communication 219/98, Legal Defence Centre v. The Gambia, Thirteenth Activity Report 1999–2000, Annex Ⅴ 122

Communication 221/98, Alfred B. Cudjoe v. Ghana, Twelfth Activity Report 1998–1999, Annex Ⅴ; Documents of the African Commission, p. 753 114, 116

Communications 222/98 and 229/99, Law Office of Ghazi Suleiman v. Sudan, Sixteenth Activity Report 2002–2003, Annex Ⅶ 198, 202, 204, 205

Communication 223/98, Forum of Conscience v. Sierra Leone, Fourteenth Activity Report 2000–2001, Annex Ⅴ 152, 190

Communication 224/98, Media Rights Agenda v. Nigeria, Fourteenth Activity Report 2000–2001, Annex Ⅴ 79, 107, 152, 178, 220

Communication 225/98, Huri-Laws v. Nigeria, Fourteenth Activity Report 2000–2001, Annex Ⅴ 144, 152, 193, 227, 240

Communication 227/99, Democratic Republic of Congo v. Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, Twentieth Activity Report, January – June 2006, Annex Ⅳ 76, 180, 232, 239, 240, 309

Communication 228/99, The Law Office of Ghazi Suleiman v. Sudan, Sixteenth Activity Report 2002–2003, Annex Ⅶ 28, 38, 119, 222

Communication 231/99, Avocats sans Frontières (on behalf of Gaëtan Bwampamye) v. Burundi, Fourteenth Activity Report 2000–2001, Annex Ⅴ 174

Communication 232/99, John D. Ouko v. Kenya, Fourteenth Activity Report 2000–2001, Annex Ⅴ 193, 220, 241

Communication 233/99, Interights (on behalf of Pan-African Movement and Citizens for Peace in Eritrea) v. Ethiopia, Sixteenth Activity Report 2002–2003, Annex Ⅶ 90, 128, 136

Communication 236/2000, Curtis Francis Doebbler v. Sudan, Sixteenth Activity Report 2002–2003, Annex Ⅶ 90, 194, 456

Communication 238/2001, Institute for Human Rights and Development (on behalf of Sédar Tumba Mboyo v. Democratic Republic of Congo, Fifteenth Activity Report 2001–2002, Annex Ⅴ 88

Communication 239/2001, Interights (on behalf of Jose Domingos Sikunda) v. Namibia, Fifteenth Activity Report 2001–2002, Annex Ⅴ 96, 115

Communication 240/2001, Interights (on behalf of Mariette Sonjaleen Bosch) v. Botswana, Seventeenth Activity Report 2003–2004, Annex Ⅶ 38, 87, 174, 397

Communication 241/2001, Purohit and Moore v. The Gambia, Sixteenth Activity Report 2002–2003, Annex Ⅶ 32, 80, 112, 123, 179, 198, 200

Communicatoin 242/2001, Interights, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, and Association Mauritanienne des Droits de l’Homme v. Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Seventeenth Activity Report 2003–2004, Annex Ⅶ 114, 201, 228, 227

Communication 245/2002, Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum v. Zimbabwe, Twenty-first Activity Report 2007, Annex Ⅲ 115, 142, 148, 175, 209, 210, 222, 223

Communication 247/2002, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (on behalf of Jean Simbarakiye) v. Democratic Republic of Congo, Sixteenth Activity Report 2002–2003, Annex Ⅶ 122

Communication 249/2002, African Institute for Human Rights and Development (on behalf of Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea) v. Republic of Guinea, Twentieth Activity Report January – June 2006, Annex Ⅳ 78, 142, 180, 234

Communication 250/2002, Liesbeth Zegveld and Mussie Ephrem v. Eritrea, Seventeenth Activity Report 2003–2004, Annex Ⅶ 28, 38, 92, 104, 183, 221, 224

Communication 251/2002, Lawyers for Human Rights v. Swaziland, Eighteenth Activity Report 2004–2005, Annex Ⅲ 38, 39, 80, 90, 106, 153, 202, 227, 236

Communication 253/2002, Antoine Bissangou v. Republic of Congo, Twenty-first Activity Report 2007, Annex Ⅱ 178, 201

Communication 254/2002, Mouvement des Réfugiés Mauritaniens au Sénégal v. Senegal, Sixteenth Activity Report 2002–2003, Annex Ⅶ 114

Communication 258/2002, Miss A. v. Cameroon, Seventeenth Activity Report 2003–2004, Annex Ⅶ 94

Communication 261/2002, Interights et al. v. Egypt, Sixteenth Activity Report 2002–2003, Annex Ⅶ 87

Communication 268/2003, Ilesanmi v. Nigeria, Eighteenth Activity Report 2004–2005, Annex Ⅲ 109

Communication 269/2003, Interights on behalf of Safia Yakubu Husaini et al. v. Nigeria, Eighteenth Activity Report 2004–2005, Annex Ⅲ 78, 85, 86, 88, 190

Communication 273/2002, Centre for Advancement of Democracy, Social Justice, Conflict Resolution and Human Welfare v. Nigeria, Eighteenth Activity Report 2004–2005, Annex Ⅲ 87

Communication 283/2003, B. v. Kenya, Seventeenth Activity Report 2003–2004, Annex Ⅶ 94, 110

Communication 290/2004, Open Society Justice Initiative (on behalf of Pius Njawe Noumeni) v. Cameroon, Twentieth Activity Report January – June 2006, Annex Ⅳ 82, 86, 223

Communication 299/2005, Anuak Justice Council v. Ethiopia, Twentieth Activity Report January – June 2006, Annex Ⅳ 111, 112, 113

Communication 304/2005, FIDH, National Human Rights Organisation (ONDH), and Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO) v. Senegal, Twenty-first Activity Report 2007, Annex Ⅱ 176

ABBREVIATIONS

EDITORS’ PREFACE

It is a little unusual to produce a second edition of a collection of essays, yet the circumstances surrounding the African human rights system are such as to make this – we hope – a worthwhile endeavour. The first edition of this collection appeared in 2002 and focused on what might now be described as the foundational phase of that system, a phase in which institutions were established and the basic approaches to human rights issues as addressed in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights were explored and its potential for further development reflected and worked upon. During the last four years, the human rights system as established by the Charter has undergone considerable change. At one level, such change flows from the evolution of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU), and with it a new dynamic in the system of human rights protection. Change has also come about through the adoption and entry into force of new protocols to the Charter, on the establishment of the African Court of Human Rights and on Women’s Rights. There has also been a greater richness to the work under the system through the increasing jurisprudence under the complaints mechanisms, as well as further growth in the number of, and thematic reach of, its working groups and special rapporteurs.

   This new collection of essays seeks to capture these developments in a number of ways. First, we have included a number of contributions by those who have played important roles within the African Commission itself. The volume now opens with an expansive introductory preface by Germain Baricako, who as former Secretary of the Commission is uniquely qualified to provide a holistic presentation of its work. This is complemented by a new chapter by Fiona Adolu, sometime member of the Secretariat and legal officer, who is again perfectly placed to offer an ‘insider’s view’ of the practical issues facing the Commission, and with it, the system itself. Second, we have added a number of new chapters which address elements of the changing structural and jurisprudential framework, such as that by Fareda Banda on the Protocol on Women’s Rights, by Commissioner Nyanduga on Working Groups, and Clive Baldwin and Cynthia Morel on Group Rights under the Charter. The inclusion of the chapter by Baldwin and Morel reflects a decision to place greater emphasis on the jurisprudential output of the Commission, and this finds further reflection in the coverage given to civil and political rights being expanded hence and divided into two chapters, by Bronwen Manby and Kolawole Olaniyan. The chapter by Frans Viljoen has been expanded to consider not only admissibility criteria but other procedural questions as well. As might be expected, other chapters are also significantly amended in order to reflect changing directions. Thus Nobuntu Mbelle addresses not only the role of NGOs but also embraces national human rights institutions. Ahmed Motala and Ibrahima Kane take a fresh look at the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights in the light of recent resolutions of the AU concerning its future, whilst Rachel Murray adds an appraisal of three new special rapporteur mandates to the three older mandates previously examined. Chapters on reporting and evidence and fact-finding are also systematically updated in line with recent practice. To set all this in its context, the collection opens with a presentation and appraisal of the system of human rights protection in Africa by Gino Naldi that is rooted in the changing landscape ushered in by the emergence of the AU as a regional organisation.

   There is, then, a great deal that is new in this collection, yet as it flows from what came before, it seemed appropriate to retain the basic approach of that earlier edition rather than offer up a volume that purported to be entirely novel in its approach to the subject. In this, we have been fortified by the favourable response to the first edition, and we hope that the second edition will find equal favour. It is true that there is now a great deal more written from an academic or practitioner perspective on the African human rights system than there was a few years ago, and this is to be welcomed greatly. However, for all the advances that have taken place in terms of mechanisms and of jurisprudence, the demands that are placed on human rights mechanisms remain enormous. There are many lessons to be learnt – both positive and, it must be said, negative – from the experience under the African Charter. It is our hope that in adding a new edition of these critical essays to that growing literature we will in some small way help to focus upon and foster the former whilst learning the lessons of the latter in a climate that is, perhaps, more challenging for international human rights protection than might have been foreseen when this project commenced.

Professor Malcolm Evans
Professor Rachel Murray