African Commission’s Revised Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa should be a call to action
Posted: 21 February, 2020 Filed under: Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn | Tags: Access to Information, ACHPR, African Commission, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, African Union, Cyber Security, Declaration, Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa, election violence, free speech, freedom of expression, online media, Personal Data Protection, social media surveillance, Special Rapporteur, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, United Nations Leave a comment
Author: Dunia Mekonnen
Almami Cyllah Fellow, Amnesty International, USA
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) revised its Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa to address new technological advances, online activity, and internet restrictions throughout Africa, after deliberating on the draft beginning from April 2018. The Special Rapporteur collected comments from civil society, States parties, and others on the new draft Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa. The Declaration, is based on a series of resolutions adopted by the African Commission in 2012 and 2016.
A call for an adequate legal and institutional framework in the protection and inclusion of children with mental/ developmental disabilities in Nigeria
Posted: 30 January, 2020 Filed under: Busayo Oladapo | Tags: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, disabilities, discrimination, full rights, inclusion, mental/ developmental disabilities, Nigeria, protection Leave a comment
Author: Busayo Oladapo
Kenna Partners Associate, Nigeria
According to a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), between 93 and 150 million children live with a disability worldwide. The World Health Organisation (WHO) also reports that there are 7 million children with disabilities in Nigeria. With the emergence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006, the scope of disabilities has expanded to include persons with mental, intellectual or sensory impairments. Despite the almost universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which reiterate the inalienable rights of children, children with disabilities and their families all over the world are continually confronted with daily challenges that compromise the enjoyment of their human rights, Nigeria inclusive. With the global rise in the number of children with developmental disabilities, the implication is that in the coming years, a significant number of young adults globally would be individuals with one form of mental/ development disability or the other. Therefore, it is imperative for state parties to be more intentional about the protection and inclusion of children with developmental/mental disabilities for better integration into the society.
Nigerian High Court avoided constitutional scrutiny of anti-gay laws
Posted: 17 December, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
Many thanks to Ovye Affi, an LL.M student of Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa, in the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa. He kindly contributed a 6-page case summary to the updated edition of Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts., online here. We are pleased to circulate a few excerpts about this “first suit in a Nigerian court which specifically sought the protection of the rights of homosexuals.”
Cite as: Ovye Affi, “Nigerian High Court avoided constitutional scrutiny of anti-gay laws : Mr. Teriah Joseph Ebah v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2014),” Legal Grounds III: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts, Reprohealthlaw Blog, Dec. 10, 2019 Decision online. 6-page Case Comment by Ovye Affi.
“Court Holding: The Court held that the Applicant in this case has no legal standing to bring an…
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A socio-legal analysis of Nigeria’s Protection from Internet Falsehoods, Manipulations and Other Related Matters Bill
Posted: 5 December, 2019 Filed under: Tomiwa Ilori | Tags: Africa, Bill, Constitution of Nigeria, dissemination of information, ECOWAS, Fake News, false statements, freedom of expression, Frivolous Petitions Bill of 2015, ICCPR, internal rules, Internet Falsehoods, legislation, Manipulation, Manipulation and Other Related Matters Bill, Nigeria, Nigerian Communications Commission, online freedom of expression, platform regulation, Protection from Internet Falsehoods, restriction of content, social media, social media platforms Leave a comment
Author: Tomiwa Ilori
HRDA Alumni Coordinator/Researcher: Democracy, Transparency and Digital Rights Unit, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Introduction
The curbing of information disorder online has become one of the most contentious areas in platform regulation. Not only do states struggle with the best approach to fulfill their responsibility to safeguard human rights, non-state actors, especially social media platforms are stepping in with self-imposed rules that may reflect scale but struggle with context on regulating free speech. The most prevalent challenge facing social media regulation, especially outside the United States whose free speech regime is regarded as liberal, is the varying degrees of the protection of free speech in other jurisdictions. Social media platforms also face the challenge of protecting free speech on one hand and catering to national contexts on the other. These variations are often due to the different socio-political local context of each country.
Infringement on democracy, human rights and the rule of law through constitutional amendments: What mechanisms exist to restore Zambia?
Posted: 4 December, 2019 Filed under: Juliet Nyamao | Tags: African Charter on Democracy, Amendment Bill 2019, constitution, Constitution of Zambia, constitutional amendments, democratic changes, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), ECOWAS, Elections and Governance, EU, international treaties, political pluralism, SALC, The Gambia, Zambia Leave a comment
Author: Juliet Nyamao
Human Rights Attorney, Kenyan Bar
The first Constitution of the Republic of Zambia (1964) established a multiparty system of government. However, increasing tensions between the ruling party and the opposition parties compelled the first president of the Republic of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda, to institutionalise a one-party rule through the enactment of the Constitution of Zambia Act, 1973. The presidential rule in Zambia was reinforced, with the president as the sole player on the political scene. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war in the early 1990s, a wave of multiparty democracy swept across the African continent leading to emergence of political pluralism. Many countries in the Southern African region adopted constitutional dispensations that allowed political pluralism and cemented the roles of the different branches of governments. Zambia, a former British colony, was no exception to the wind of change; they adopted their new Constitution of Zambia, 1991 that restored multiparty democracy. Thereafter, the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016 spelt out the roles and mandates of the different branches of government and directed that all State organs and State institutions abide by and respect the sovereign will of the people of Zambia. This Constitution ensured separation of powers between the various branches of the government, which is crucial to uphold democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
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African Court ruling: Mali’s child marriage laws violate human rights
Posted: 5 November, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentMany thanks to George Sakyi Asumadu, an LL.M student in Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa at the Centre for Human Rights in the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Law, for summarizing and commenting on the significance of this landmark decision on age of marriage, gender discrimination, and violations of rights through customary law. We are pleased to excerpt this overview of the Court ruling and provide links to the full Case C.
APDF & IHRDA v Republic of Mali(Association pour le Progrés et la Défense des Droits des Femmes Maliennes (APDF) and The Institute For Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) v. Republic Of Mali), Application No. 046/2016, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. (2018) Decision of May 11, 2018 PDF. Decision online . Case Comment by George Sakyi Asumadu.
COURT HOLDING: The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (The…
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Botswana High Court decriminalizes homosexuality
Posted: 1 November, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentMany thanks to Kutlwano Pearl Magashula, an LL.M. student in the Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa program at the University of Pretoria’s Centre of Human Rights, for her summary and analysis of the recent judgment in Letsweletse Motshidiemang v Attorney General [2019] MAHGB-000591-16 (High Court of Botswana)Decision of June 11, 2019, in which the Court struck down sections of the Penal Code that criminalized same-sex sexual intercourse.
(Cite as:) Kutlwano Pearl Magashula, “Botswana High Court decriminalizes homosexuality: Letsweletse Motshidiemang v Attorney General, 2019” online at: “Legal Grounds: Reproductive and Sexual Rights in Sub-Saharan African Courts” 5-page case summary and comment
We are pleased to excerpt her comments about the significance of this ruling:
The case made a watershed finding that recognized the rights of LGBT persons in Botswana. The Court found that sodomy laws do not serve any useful public purpose and in fact ‘deserve archival…
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