Human Rights, Peace and Justice in Africa: A Reader
Edited by Christof Heyns & Karen Stefiszyn
2006
ISBN: 0-9585097-4-3
Pages: 432
Print version: Available
Electronic version: Free PDF available
About the publication
This Reader contains materials on human rights, peace and justice relevant to Africa, extracted from academic writings, reports from the United Nations and non-governmental organisations, speeches, official documents, national constitutions and human right cases. Where possible, material from Africa has been selected.
The Reader is part of an evolving Series on Peace and Conflict in Africa published by the United Nations-affiliated University for Peace (UPEACE). The main objective of the Series is to make material which can be used by African universities in courses dealing with issues of peace and conflict readily accessible to lecturers, students and researchers. In this particular Reader material of relevance to the relationship between human rights and peace and security is included.
This Reader is a joint publication of the Africa Programme of the United Nations-affiliated University for Peace and the Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria. It can be used in conjunction with other publications in the Series, particularly the Compendium of Key Human Rights Documents of the African Union and the Compendium of Key Documents relating to Peace and Security in Africa.
About the editors:
Prof Christof Heyns is Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria.
Karen Stefiszyn is Project Officer, University for Peace: Africa Programme and Programme Manager: Gender Project, at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Glossary of Terms
Acronyms
SECTION 1 - HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA
A. THE CONCEPT AND LANGUAGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELATED IDEAS
- Introduction to the concept of human rights
Shestack, The philosophic foundations of human rights
Heyns, A ‘struggle approach’ to human rights - Human rights in Africa
Cobbah, African values and the human rights debate: An African perspective
Eze, Human rights issues and violations: The African experience
Zeleza, The struggle for human rights in Africa
Address delivered by Leopold Sedar Senghor
Mutua, The Banjul Charter and the African cultural fingerprint
Kiwanuka, The meaning of ‘people’ in the African Charter - Economic, social and cultural rights
Agbakwa, Reclaiming humanity
Howard, The full–belly thesis - The relationship between conflict and human rights
Parlevliet, Bridging the divide
Nathan, The four horsemen of the apocalypse - Criticism of the concept of human rights
Pollis and Schwab, Human Rights: A Western construct with limited applicability
Donnelly, Cultural relativism and universal human rights
Chinkin, Charlesworth and Wright, Feminist approaches to international law
Kennedy, The international human rights movement: Part of the problem?
Bielefeldt, Muslim voices in the human rights debate - Democracy and good governance
Tomuschat, Human rights - Positive peace and human security
Galtung, Violence, peace and peace research
Report: Commission on Human Security
Annan, Peace and development — one struggle, two fronts
Annan, In larger freedom
UNDP Human Development Report 2005
International Crisis Group, HIV/AIDS as a security issue - International Humanitarian law
Pejic, Humanitarian law and human rights in armed conflict
B. MECHANISMS FOR REALISING HUMAN RIGHTS AT THE DOMESTIC LEVEL
- Constitutional protection
An–Na’im, Possibilities and constraints of the legal protection of human rights under the constitutions of African countries
Constitution of the Republic of Ghana
Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon
Udombana, Interpreting rights globally: Courts and constitutional rights in emerging democracies
An–Na’im, The legal protection of human rights in Africa: How to do more with less - The role of international human rights law in domestic courts
Adjami, African courts, international law, and comparative case law - International human rights law in Nigeria
Section 12(1) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution
Section 1 of Cap 10 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution
Abacha and others v Fawehinmi - The role of the judiciary in the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights
An–Na’im, To affirm the full human rights standing of economic, social and cultural rights
Constitution of South Africa, Section 26
The Government of South Africa v Grootboom and others
Budlender, Justiciability of socio–economic rights: South African experiences - The role of national human rights institutions
Human Rights Watch, Protectors or pretenders?
Government human rights commissions in Africa
Human Rights Watch, Ghana: Working with NGOs and traditional chiefs on women’s rights - The role of civil society
Welch, The ‘NGO revolution’
Odinkalu, Why more Africans don’t use human rights language
The Kampala Declaration on Strengthening the Human Rights Movement in Africa
C. MECHANISMS FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
- Human rights in the United Nations
Smith, The United Nations system of human rights protection
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women - The African regional human rights system
Heyns and Killander, The African human rights system
Report of the retreat of members of the African Commission
Viljoen, Recent developments in the African Regional Human Rights System
Motala, NGOs in the African system - The importance of international law
Heyns and Viljoen, The impact of the United Nations human rights treaties on the domestic level
Cassel, Does international law make a difference?
SECTION 2 — CONFLICT IN AFRICA
A. CAUSES OF CONFLICT IN AFRICA
- Annan, The causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa
Cilliers, Human security in Africa: A conceptual framework for review
UNDP, Human Development Report 2005
Adejumobi, Citizenship, rights, and the problem of conflicts and civil wars in Africa
Renner, The anatomy of resource wars
Menkhaus, A ‘sudden outbreak of tranquillity’: Assessing the new peace in Africa
B. APPROACHES TO PEACE IN AFRICA
- Traditional conflict resolution
Mazrui, Toward containing conflict in Africa
Malan, Conflict resolution wisdom from Africa
Tuso, Indigenous processes of conflict resolution in Oromo society
Osaghae, Applying traditional methods to modern conflict - Regional conflict resolution
Kindiki, The normative and institutional framework of the African Union
Statement of commitment to peace and security in Africa
Moni, The UN report on Darfur: What role for the AU?
Report: The infrastructure of peace in Africa:
Assessing the peacebuilding capacity of African institutions - International conflict resolution
Ghalt, An agenda for peace
Annan. ‘We the peoples’: The role of the United Nations in the 21st century
Report: The responsibility to protect
Louis, Inconsistency and the tragedy of Africa’s neglect
Feil, Preventing genocide
C. WOMEN AND PEACE
- Beijing Platform for Action
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325
Heyzer, Women, war and peace
Awad, Transition from war to peace in Sudan
SECTION 3 — TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
A. WHAT IS TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE?
- Boraine, Transitional justice
Goldstone, Justice as a tool for peacemaking 369
Mamdani, When does reconciliation turn into a denial of justice?
B. APPROACHES TO TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE 383
- Wierzynska, Consolidating democracy through transitional justice: Rwanda’s gacaca courts
Habimana, What does ‘international justice’ look like in post–genocide Rwanda?
Graybill, Pardon, punishment, and amnesia: Three African post-conflict methods
Freeman and Hayner, Truth-telling
Minow, Truth commissions
Slye, The International Criminal Court
UN Press Release, International Criminal Court judges embody our collective conscience
Economist, Hunting Uganda’s child-killers: Justice versus reconciliation
Amnesty International, Sierra Leone: Ending impunity and achieving justice
Juma, The role of the African Union machinery in promoting gender justice in post–conflict societies
Acknowledgents
Profiles
Organisations
Editors
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