The right to peace and the fight against terrorism. The role of African regional Human Rights instruments and mechanisms (PDF)

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, Catholic University of Central Africa (Academy for Peace and Human Rights in Central Africa), course: Human Rights Law and the Fight Against Terrorism in Africa, language: English, abstract: This paper investigates the role of African regional instruments in promoting the right to peace and the fight against terrorism. The need to fight against terrorism in Africa in order to maintain peace and security became one of the most important objectives of the African Union. This desire to fight led to the organization of many extraordinary and ordinary sessions of the Heads of States and government of the African Union, where during these sessions many human rights instruments were adopted. Amongst these instruments are: the OAU Convention on the prevention and fight against terrorism and its Protocol adopted in 2004, the 1994 Declaration on a Code of Conduct for Inter-African Relations, the Dakar Declaration against terrorism and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights.

The adoption of these instruments therefore marked the beginning of a new era in Africa, where all the efforts and means converged to fight the organization and outbreak of terrorist attacks. All the African States were as from this moment supposed to ratify and adopt all these regional instruments in order to continue locally and internally the fight against terrorism.

This also called for a more effective and efficient collaboration between the African States and African Union Organs engaged in the fight against terrorism. This work therefore also examines the role of the African Union Organs responsible for the protection of Human Rights and responsible for maintaining peace and security in Africa. Amongst these African Union Organs are the Peace and Security Council (PSC) and the African Commission on Human and People's Rights.

The Peace and Security Council, which was created by the Protocol of 2002 and entered into force in 2003, was put into place in order to stop all terrorist attacks and stop the outbreak of internal and international conflict, in order to maintain peace, security and stability in Africa. The action of this Council was completed and accompanied by the African Commission on Human and People's Rights, as it is stipulated in article 19 of the 2002 Protocol. This Commission through its resolutions and rules of procedures greatly fights against terrorism in order to protect all the Human Rights contained in the African Charter of 1981. The action of these two organs shows to us the important role they play in fighting against terrorism.