The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter) from 1981 has been ratified by 53 out of 54 member states of the African Union (AU). Most African states have enshrined human rights in their respective constitutions. However, national justice systems often lack the capacities to deal with human rights violations or the political situation in some countries does not allow for an independent, strong judiciary. This leaves many African citizens with a long list of rights but often no reliable mechanisms that could enforce them, protect individuals against human rights violations and remind states of their role as primary bearer of the duty to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights.
German development cooperation took up the challenge to support a completely new continental judicial institution in a politically sensitive environment. A project called ‘Strengthening the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ was established in 2007 to contribute to the improvement of the African human rights protection system. In particular, it aimed at increasing the number of cases reaching the Court, including through more referrals of cases from the Commission, and at raising awareness among African citizens about the existing protection mechanisms. Between its launch in 2007 and 2013, it was a stand-alone programme. Since January 2014, the cooperation with the Court and the Commission has been a component of the BMZ-commissioned AU programme ‘Support to the African Governance Architecture’.
The “Promising Practices” series presents development cooperation programs that have implemented elements of a human rights-based approach. The individual publications describe the measures implemented by the project, its impact and lessons learned.
