I am making a discourse on Human Rights in Africas perspective and I find the need to classify the human rights abuses into two: actions and omissions for want of better terms. There is an unprecedented believe that all violations are voluntary actions and thus impacts positively on humans. little do we consider poverty, diseases, political upheavils as agents of another form of human right abuse. we define human right to mean, anything that accrues to human. Then, we go ahead to define the basic needs to include food, shelter and clothing. A marriage of the two aspects gives us the point. When a government decides to underfeed, destroy the shelter and unclothe its citizenry, then it should be seen to be in gross violation of this right. Rights under international perspective has been classified into Civil and social rights (see UDHRs modification by both ICCPR and ICESCR) I am considering what the UN is actually doing in Africa. lets begin with the genocide in Rwanda; the UN sends its blue helmets cops in the names of stopping the Hutus and Tutsi war and ended up assembling poor people for easy attack and the massacres that occured are hitherto untold. In Sierra-leone, it asked the Nigerian troops to get to Siera-leone who in turn killed innocent civilians in the name of rebels. Now, it has supplied armory disguised as food to the South Sudan rebels led by Riak Machar. Enough said, the UN must also be accountable to the states in question and once in a while, must be compelled to unravel those behind it. I am aware that Africas rich resources is a subject of concern to many states outside Africa but if Africans must be sacrificed as a means to achieving those ends, then I have a reason to believe that Africa must wake up and review its relations with the outside world. This reminds me of African Court on Human and Peoples Rights, established under Article 45 of the African Charter, based in Arusha Tanzania. This Court is an old dog. I choose to call it because, it has no tooth. African states have reluctantly ratified the instruments establishing it, little is known about the court, implementation of its decisions is slow or none at all, member states do not make appeals to nor does it also have funds to run itself. The general purview is that African states lack patriotism and cannot believe in its potentials. Yes, I accept we are poor and black in a dark continent, but this does not mean we should be raped and defiled. I think Africa is at a state at which there are more problems than solutions. My country Kenya for instance just ushered in a constitution on 2010, August and it seems much water has passed under the bridge. Power led to responsibility, responsibility led to corruption and corruption like plaque, spread to everyone and as a result, the public kitty run red then the president turned to the innocent population to have a 20% pay cut to fill the gap. Some begin to cast aspersions on the constitution for the unprecedented escalation on wage bill while others, including the government hides under it to deny its citizens government employment. One fact is constant: tax payment. It is like a continuous flow of water in a river that never cease. Turkana is registering enough hunger and has seen oil being dug on their land; no one cares, except the media...atleast, taking pictures. I am about to class this a human right concern. My lecturer told me that rights are interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. I read a case (Salvatori Abuki Vs. AG) which the learned Judge said that deprivation of livelihood (food, shelter and clothing which I mentioned earlier) is deprivation of the right to life) I should not refer you to the bill of rights under the constitution, it is entrenched. Be it as it may, as the African renaissance of the new millennium is framed with the self-determined precept of African solutions to African problems, it is crucial that regional human and peoples’ rights protection are strengthened. Indeed, the African Charter provides a solid foundation, though not without inherent weaknesses, to guarantee the protection of these rights. Africa is still facing the long road to promote human rights for all Africans. #justthinkingoutloud.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 11:26:43 +0000
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