Instruments
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981/1986)
Also sometimes called the ‘Banjul Charter’, the African Charter was adopted by the OAU in Nairobi, Kenya, on 27 June 1981 and entered into force on 21 October 1986. The Charter is the pivotal human rights instrument of the OAU/AU. It recognises individual rights as well as peoples’ rights, rights and duties, and some socio-economic rights, in addition to civil and political rights. The supervisory mechanism created by the Charter is the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which had its first meeting in 1987. The Commission is now being supplemented with an African Human Rights Court. The Commission’s mandate includes the review of periodic state reports on the implementation of the Charter by state parties (see the Guidelines for National Periodical Reports, reprinted below). The Commission also has the power to review individual and inter-state complaints. Selected decisions on complaints concerning Charter violations committed by state parties are reprinted below.
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990/1999)
Adopted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 11 July 1990 and entered into force on 29 November 1999. The African Children’s Charter is similar to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, persons under the age of 18 years are protected to a higher level under the African Children’s Charter, which also provides an individual complaint procedure. The African Children’s Charter has its own monitoring body, the Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which held its first meeting in 2002.
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003/2005)
Adopted in Maputo, Mozambique on 11 July 2003 and entered into force on 25 November 2005. The Commission has adopted guidelines on state reporting under the Protocol reprinted below. The Commission adopted general comments on various aspects of article 14 of the Protocol in 2012 and 2014, see the [African Commission website](http:// www.achpr.org/instruments/)
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Adopted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 10 June 1998 and entered into force on 25 January 2004. In terms of this Protocol, the protective mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights is complemented by the establishment of an African Human Rights Court. The first judges were sworn in during the July 2006 Summit of the AU in Banjul, The Gambia. The seat of the Court is Arusha,Tanzania. This Protocol will be replaced by the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, reprinted below, once the latter has entered into force. As of August 2016 seven states (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Mali and Tanzania) had made a declaration under art34(6) allowing direct access for individuals and NGOs to the Court. Rwanda withdrew its declaration in March 2016.
Rules of Procedure of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (2010)
Adopted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 10 June 1998 and entered into force on 25 January 2004. In terms of this Protocol, the protective mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights is complemented by the establishment of an African Human Rights Court. The first judges were sworn in during the July 2006 Summit of the AU in Banjul, The Gambia. The seat of the Court is Arusha, Tanzania. This Protocol will be replaced by the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, reprinted below, once the latter has entered into force. As of August 2016 seven states (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Mali and Tanzania) had made a declaration under art 34(6) allowing direct access for individuals and NGOs to the Court. Rwanda withdrew its declaration in March 2016.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights was established under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1987. The Commission consists of 11 part-time commissioners and is based in Banjul, The Gambia. The Commission meets twice a year for up to two weeks at a time in regular sessions, either in The Gambia or in other African countries. The Rules of Procedure reprinted here were adopted in 2010 and include provisions on the relationship with the African Court.
Rules of Court (2010)
These rules replaced the Interim Rules, also available on the African Court website