Forty years of the African Charter and the reform issues facing the discourse and practice of human rights

Abstract

During its four decades of existence, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights has become the grand human rights instrument that inspired and informed the development of norms and institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights both at the national and continental levels. Despite the normative and jurisprudential contributions of the African Charter and the standard of legitimate state behaviour that it established, currently the Charter and the African human rights system face multifaceted challenges raising questions on the relevance and legitimacy of the African Charter-based human rights system. The central message of this article is that the future and continuing credibility of human rights depend on whether and how its existing and emerging flaws are addressed. Using the insights gleaned from the human rights issues that the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare, this contribution seeks to discuss the reform issues facing the discourse and practice of human rights, in general, and that of the African Charter-based system, in particular. To do so, the article draws on a conception of reform that the late Christof Heyns expounded two decades ago. Accordingly, the areas of reform that this contribution identifies relate to changes in the priorities of focus of the discourse and practice of human rights and the approaches to the promotion and protection of human rights.