fundamental freedoms and human rights taking into account their universality, interdependence and indivisibility. 52. The African Union Commission states in conclusion that, in view of the foregoing and other provisions, the African Charter on Democracy may be described as "a relevant human rights instrument" which the Court has jurisdiction to interpret and implement. 53. For its part, the African Institute for International Law notes that the link between democracy and human rights has been established by several international human rights instruments, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its Article 21 (3) which provides that: "The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures. " 54. The Institute also contends that the African Charter on Democracy is a human rights instrument in the sense that it confers rights and freedoms to individuals. According to the Institute, this Charter explains, interprets and enforces the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter on Human Rights, the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the Grand Bay Declaration and Plan of Action (1999), the Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa 5 and the Kigali Declaration of 2003. It declares that this Charter also forms part of the continental human rights architecture and is integrated into several decisions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. According to the Institute, the said legal instruments should not be read separately but rather together. 5 A HD/ Decl.9 (XXXVIII), 2002 14