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4 Afr. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 226 (1992)
The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights - An Effective Weapon for Human Rights

handle is hein.journals/afjincol4 and id is 238 raw text is: THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS - AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON FOR HUMAN RIGHTS? PHILIP AMOAH * I. INTRODUCTION The adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights by the 18th Assembly of the Organisation of African Unity (O.A.U.) Heads of State and Government in Nairobi, Kenya, June 1981, was hailed as a significant step by African States. The move was generally viewed as ushering in a new era of recognition of fundamental human rights and freedoms as well as the legal protection of individuals and groups against repression and totalitarianism. A major development which prompted the introduction of the African human rights convention was the massive and egregious human rights violations in Africa of the 1970s and the widespread abandonment of national democratic institutions in favour of repressive governments. The Charter's preamble and drafting history clearly indicate that it was designed to introduce both international and traditional African standards of human rights protection into modern statecraft in the Africa of the 1980s and 1990s. Consequently, the provisions of the African Charter reflect not only the African view of the human rights situation in Africa of the 1970s but also the provisions of the existing international human rights instruments and principles of international law. Noteworthy in this regard are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the U.N. Covenants, the O.A.U. Charter, the European and Inter-American Conventions on Human Rights and the European Social Charter. The important linkage is further reinforced by Article 60 of the African Charter which mandates the African Commission (the implementation machinery) to: ... draw inspiration from international law on human and peoples' rights, particularly from the provisions of various African instruments on human and peoples' rights, the Charter of the United Nations, the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, other instruments adopted by the United Nations and by African countries in the field of human and peoples' rights as well as from the provisions of various instruments adopted within the Specialised Agencies of the Legal Officer for Africa, International Commission of Jurists, Geneva, Switzerland. 4 RADIC (1992)

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