BY ADAMA DIENG
Forty years ago, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights entered into force. It was more than another treaty. It was Africa’s declaration that dignity, freedom and justice were not foreign concepts imported onto the continent, but values deeply rooted in our own history and aspirations. The Charter was also distinctive. It affirmed individual rights while recognising peoples’ rights. It spoke of freedoms, but also of duties. It understood that human dignity cannot be separated from community, solidarity and responsibility.
Four decades later, there is much to celebrate. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Court, national institutions and a vibrant civil society have progressively built an African architecture for the protection of human rights. But anniversaries must not become exercises in self-congratulation. Across our continent, citizens still face arbitrary detention, restrictions on civic space, discrimination, unconstitutional changes of government, hate speech and violence. In too many situations, institutions react only after violations have become crises.
The next forty years must therefore be about closing the distance between promise and protection. The Charter must live not only in courtrooms, conference halls and official declarations, but in the everyday experience of Africans. Its principles should guide governments before violence erupts, inform early warning before hatred becomes atrocity and protect the vulnerable before their suffering becomes another item on an international agenda.
As Africa marks this anniversary, the question is not whether the Charter has endured. It has. The question is whether we have the courage to make its promises real for every African. That is the unfinished work of our generation.
Adama Dieng is African Union (AU) Special Envoy for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Mass Atrocities.
