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After the 1963 summit where African leaders signed the Charter
of the Organisation of African Unity, they were invited to study
the possibility of adopting an African Convention on Human Rights
to give full effect to both the Charter of the UN and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. The long process lasted until 1981
with the adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples'
Rights. The African Charter came into force in 1986, and has
been ratified by more than forty African states, thus becoming
the most widely accepted regional convention.
The uniqueness of the charter lays in the originality of its
normative content. Indeed, this charter has unusual features,
in the sense that it covers economic, social and cultural rights
as well as civil and political rights, which actually distinguishes
it from both the European and the American Conventions which
follow a more traditional methodology. Furthermore, the African
Charter covers third generation rights, and gives due importance
to the assumption that a person has duties as well as rights
in the community. |
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The
charter grants the same protection to civil and political rights
as is found in other regional and international instruments,
except with respect to freedom from slavery, the freedom from
forced or compulsory labor, the prohibition of the death penalty,
the right to marriage and equality during marriage and the right
to privacy which have less protection. Furthermore, the charter
amalgamates duties and rights. Moreover, it stipulates rights
of both individuals and peoples.
The African Charter is divided into three main parts. The two
chapters of part I deal with rights and duties: chapter I sets
out the human and peoples' rights to be protected under the
charter, while chapter II sets out the individual's duties toward
his family and society, the State and other legally recognized
communities including the international community.
Part II of the charter, composed of four chapters, elaborates
on the measures to safeguard the rights articulated in part
I. Chapter I calls for the creation of the African Commission
on Human and Peoples' Rights and sets down the structure of
the Commission in detail. Chapter II deals with the functions
of the commission. The final chapter of part II indicates the
applicable principles by which the commission should secure
the protection of human rights in Africa. Finally, part III
establishes general provisions concerning the commencement of
the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. |
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