Oxford LibGuides: Africa: sub-Saharan jurisdictions: Human rights in Africa

Human rights in Africa

African Commission on Human & Peoples' Rights
Official website
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
Free resource. On ACHPR website
African Human Rights Law Reports 2000-
Free resource.Download volumes as pdf - speed will vary according to your service "The African Human Rights Law Reports contains legal decisions of relevance to human rights law in Africa. These include selected domestic decisions from the whole continent, as well as the decisions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations treaty bodies, dealing with African countries." From Centre for Human Rights, Pretoria University
African Human Rights Case Law Analyser (IHRDA)
"It offers the most comprehensive access to African human rights law and case law in English, French and Portuguese. It does not simply list decisions and instruments, but presents them as interacting and interrelated texts to facilitate research friendliness and a better understanding of the web of textual and jurisprudential interaction in the African human rights system."
East African Court of Justice
Official website
ECOWAS Court of Justice
Official website
Chambres Africaines Extraordinaires
Archive website of court which Hissène Habré for human rights abuses in Chad.
Chambres Africaines Extraordinaires/Extraordinary African Chambers
Collection of materials on the website of HybridJustice "The Hybrid Justice project analyses the impact of ‘hybrid’ domestic-international criminal justice mechanisms in post-conflict and transitioning states. These courts and tribunals feature varying combinations of domestic and international staff, operative law, structure, financing and rules of procedure."
Coalition for an Effective African Court on Human and People's Rights
Free resource "The Coalition for an Effective African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Court Coalition) is a network of non-governmental organisations and independent national human rights institutions which was formed during the first conference for the promotion of the protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Niamey, Niger in May 2003."
IHRDA: Institute for HR & development in Africa
"The Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) is a pan–African non-governmental organization (NGO) working to promote awareness of human rights in Africa and improve the effectiveness of the African Human Rights system. IHRDA envisions an African continent where all have access to justice via national, African and international human rights mechanisms. Our work can be summarized in three words: defend, educate, inform."
FIDH: African section of International Federation for Human Rights
Open access to its reports, news etc "FIDH is an international human rights NGO federating 178 organizations from 120 countries. Since 1922, FIDH has been defending all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".
Africa Legal Aid (AFLA)
Partially free resource. "AFLA is a Pan African NGO devoted to promoting and protecting individual and collective rights throughout Africa and to challenging the impunity of gross human rights violators." Some reports, collections of legislation & publications are free - See under Resources and Publications.
Southern African Litigation Centre
Free resource. The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) promotes and advances human rights and the rule of law in southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe)
Good for news, summaries of recent cases, and issue profiles.
Human Rights Watch
A nonprofit registered in the USA makes its reports and publications available Open Access Use eg Country or Topic filter, or the search function
Amnesty International: Issues
Open Access. International monitor/lobby group makes news, reports etc available
Indigenous peoples' rights database
Creation of the Centre for HR, University of Pretoria

Related Bodleian guide

Human Rights
by Kate Matthews Last Updated Apr 17, 2024 588 views this year

Commentary

Droits fondamentaux 2001 -
OA journal. Published by CRDH Centre de Recherche sur les Droits de l'Homme et le Droit Humanitaire, Univ Paris II Pantheon-Assas.
Backlash Against International Courts in West, East and Southern Africa: Causes and Consequences
Open Access via SSRN Article by Alter, Gathii, and Helfer (2016) 27 European Journal of International Law 293, iCourts Working Paper Series, No. 21, Duke Law School Public Law & Legal Theory Series No. 2015-19

The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights : A Commentary by Rachel Murray
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 019881058X
Publication Date: 2019
Print copy is at Internat 570 M983g
Human Rights in Africa: from the OAU to the African Union by Rachel Murray
Call Number: Internat 570 M983c
ISBN: 0521839173
Publication Date: 2004
Africa and the Shaping of International Human Rights by Derrick M. Nault
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 9780198859628
Publication Date: 2021
Print copy at Internat 570 N298.5a if preferred
The Justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the African Regional Human Rights System by Sisay Alemahu
Call Number: Internat 570 S622.3a
ISBN: 1780680872
Publication Date: 2013
Communication Rights in Africa Emerging Discourses and Perspectives by Edited ByTendai Chari, Ufuoma Akpojivi
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 9781003388289
Publication Date: 2023

Focus on children?

Suggested subject searches to use in SOLO

Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Africa;
Children's rights -- Africa;
Child welfare -- Africa

Children's Rights in Africa a legal perspective by Julia Sloth-Nielsen editor
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 0754648877
Publication Date: 2008

Focus on women?
Suggested subject searches for SOLO:
Women -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Africa
Women's rights -- Africa
Sex discrimination against women -- Africa
Women -- Africa -- Economic conditions
Women -- Africa -- Social conditions

Women, Law and Human Rights by Fareda Banda
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this book online via title link
ISBN: 9781841131283
Publication Date: 2005
Print copy is at Internat 570 B214a