Domestic Implementation of International Human Rights Obligations in Africa

Abstract

African States have ratified a number of human rights treaties that require them to respect, protect and fulfil (facilitate, provide and promote) human rights, as well as to prevent violations of human rights. In practice, States and non-State actors have paid very little attention to the obligation to prevent human rights violations. This article examines the obligation of States to prevent violations of human rights and remedies for human rights violations. It considers the application of international human rights law within the national law of the State. It further examines discrimination based on sexual orientation drawing on State practice as reflected in domestic legislation and judicial decisions from Zimbabwe, Uganda and Malawi. It is observed that the obligation to prevent violations of human rights requires a new approach to human rights in Africa and what States must do to comply with international human rights obligations. The obligation to prevent requires States to refrain from acts or omissions they foresee or ought reasonably to foresee will create, contribute to or result in violations of human rights before they occur within and beyond State borders, and to take effective measures to prevent similar violations in the future. Despite the fact that most attention to violations of human rights has tended to be retroactive, the obligation to prevent violations of human rights necessitates taking action before individuals or groups of individuals suffer violations of human rights.