An appraisal of regional models of human rights protection: the European and African experience

bibliographic database
Line

Periodical article

Title:	An appraisal of regional models of human rights protection: the European and African experience
Author:	Okogbule, Nlerum S.
Year:	2001
Periodical:	Zambia Law Journal
Volume:	33
Pages:	18-33
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Africa
Subjects:	African agreements human rights African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
Abstract:	Although regional supranational organizations have inherent structural and operational problems, they serve as useful tools in the efforts to enhance respect for human rights in the international system. This is principally because, as protective mechanisms, they function at an intermediate level, exercising authority which is broader than the sovereign State, yet closer to the affected communities than a global supranational organization. This article examines how inherent regional peculiarities have influenced the adoption and application of contemporary human rights models in Europe and Africa, as exemplified by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights. Africa's peculiar cultural and colonial past is reflected in the African Charter's provisions for the protection of people's rights as distinct from individual rights, which is the hallmark of the European model. Notes, ref.