The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights established the continent's primary legally binding human rights framework, later enforced by the African Commission and Court.
Key Facts
- Adopted
- June 1981 at OAU's 18th Assembly, Nairobi
- Entered into force
- 21 October 1986
- African Human Rights Day
- 21 October, declared in honour of entry into force
- Oversight body established
- African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, 2 November 1987
- African Court protocol in effect
- 25 January 2004
- Ratifying states (as of 2019)
- 53 states
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
At its 1979 Assembly, the Organisation of African Unity adopted a resolution calling for a committee of experts to draft a continent-wide human rights instrument, modelled on existing regional frameworks such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights, reflecting growing international emphasis on formalised human rights protections.
The committee's draft charter was unanimously approved at the OAU's 18th Assembly in June 1981 in Nairobi, Kenya. The instrument, formally named the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and also known as the Banjul Charter, was designed to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms across the African continent.
The Charter entered into force on 21 October 1986, prompting the declaration of African Human Rights Day. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights was established in 1987 to oversee the Charter, and a 1998 protocol created the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, which became operational in 2006 with its first elected judges.
Political Outcome
The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights was unanimously adopted and subsequently entered into force in 1986, creating a binding regional human rights framework for Africa with 53 ratifying states as of 2019.
No continent-wide legally binding human rights instrument existed in Africa
African Commission and later African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights established to enforce regional human rights standards