Myth and Reality of Regional Human Rights Protection Under Comparative Constitutional Law: The African Experience

Abstract

This paper critically examines the efficacy of regional and international human rights
instruments in Africa, with particular focus on the African Charter on Human and
Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). While these instruments set crucial
normative standards, their practical implementation is hampered by persistent
implementation gaps rooted in weak governance, political interference, and
structural deficiencies in legal systems.

Using a comparative analysis of Nigeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Rwanda,
the paper highlights how political will, institutional design, and cultural norms shape the
enforcement of human rights. Nigeria provides a central case study, illustrating the
complexities of implementation under a dualist legal system through cases such as the
Ogoni Nine executions and the uneven domestication of the Child’s Rights Act. The
analysis reveals how structural weaknesses create criminogenic conditions that permit
systemic human rights abuses and state-corporate crimes.

The research concludes that the crisis of human rights protection in Africa reflects
not isolated failures but a systemic problem of governance and law, where
international commitments are repeatedly subordinated to political expediency.