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Introduction: Over the last decade, there has been an increasing number of studies regarding experiences of mistreatment, disrespect and abuse (D&A) during facility-based childbirth. These negative experiences during labour have been proven to create a barrier for seeking both facility-based childbirth and postnatal health care, as well as increasing severe postpartum depression among the women who experienced them. This constitutes a serious violation of human rights. However, few studies have carried out specifically designed interventions to reduce these practices. The aim of this scoping review is to synthetise available evidence on this subject, and to identify initiatives that have succeeded in reducing the mistreatment, D&A that women suffer during childbirth in health facilities. Methods: A PubMed search of the published literature was conducted, and all original studies evaluating the efficacy of any type of intervention specifically designed to reduce these negative experiences and promote RMC were selected. Results: Ten articles were included in this review. Eight studies were conducted in Africa, one in Mexico, and the other in the U.S. Five carried out a before-and-after study, three used mixed-methods, one was a comparative study between birth centres, and another was a quasi-experimental study. The most common feature was the inclusion of some sort of RMC training for providers at the intervention centre, which led to the conclusion that this training resulted in an improvement in the care received by the women in childbirth. Other strategies explored by a small number of articles were open maternity days, clinical checklists, wall posters and constant user feedback. Discussion: These results indicate that there are promising interventions to reduce D&A and promote RMC for women during childbirth in health facilities. RMC training for providers stands as the most proven strategy, and the results suggest that it improves the experiences of care received by women in labour. Conclusion: The specific types of training and the different initiatives that complement them should be evaluated through further scientific research, and health institutions should implement RMC interventions that apply these strategies to ensure human rights-based maternity care for women giving birth in health facilities around the world. Plain english summary: Women giving birth experience mistreatment, disrespect, and abuse during labour in health facilities around the world, which constitutes a serious human rights violation. This scoping review synthetises all available information on interventions specifically designed to reduce these negative experiences and to promote respectful maternity care. Although research in this regard is still scarce and focused in low-resource countries, our results indicate that there are promising initiatives to tackle this phenomenon. The most tested strategy is respectful maternity care training for providers, the results of which suggest that it is successful in improving the experiences of care received by women in labour. Other different strategies have been explored, such as open maternity days, clinical checklists, wall posters and constant user feedback. This review shows that there are promising interventions to reduce disrespect and abuse and promote respectful maternity care for women during facility-based childbirth, which should be implemented by health institutions to ensure human-rights based maternity care for women giving birth in health facilities around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male circumcision is a protective HIV prevention strategy. However, uncircumcised Zambian men are reluctant to undergo voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). Tailored interventions are necessary to stimulate the uptake of early infant male circumcision (EIMC) and VMMC in Zambia. This feasibility study presents the formative process of utilising the PRECEDE framework in the development of a family-centred EIMC/VMMC intervention, Like Father Like Son, and its application in an existing VMMC intervention, Spear & Shield. We found that fear of the pain associated with EIMC procedures, foreskin disposal, beliefs in children's autonomy and rights, and men's dominance in health decision-making were factors affecting EIMC uptake. Perceived benefits for infants included improved hygiene, protection from HIV infection, and faster recovery. Reinforcing factors included female partners and fathers' MC status. The availability and access to EIMC services and information, skill and experience of health workers, and engagement and belief in traditional circumcision practices were factors enabling EIMC uptake. These individual, interpersonal, and structural factors positively and negatively influencing EIMC uptake in the Zambian clinic context were integrated into the intervention for expecting parents. Feedback from community advisory boards suggested the process was effective in developing a culturally tailored and acceptable EIMC/VMMC promotion intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are integral to and manifest in LGBTIQ rights including homosexuality and same-sex marriage. International law promotes these rights and prohibits discrimination on these grounds. Many western countries endorse these rights and prohibitions in parliamentary legislation or judicial fiat. In comparison with all other jurisdictions worldwide, and within the African sub-region, only South Africa specifically prohibits unfair direct or indirect discrimination based on "sexual orientation" in its national constitution. This paper explores African approach to SOGI and LGBTIQ rights including homosexuality and same-sex marriage. It argues that despite the threat of homocapitalism, prevalent Afrocentrism and religions reject these form of "new rights" for being immoral, ungodly, unnatural and un-African, thereby underlining the limits of human rights in the sub-region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article engages with a case study situated in a public social service system in Uganda, Africa. Through case analysis, I highlight the complexities related to professional ethics in social work practice in Africa and argue that efforts to promote ethics, human rights and social justice in this context require creativity, innovation and activism to confront structural conditions that trap people in unjust circumstances. While building ethical capabilities demands grounding practice in the global social work principles, additional infusion of ubuntu ethics and African social work platforms for sharing experiences and actions are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the indigenisation of social work gathering momentum, the lens of universalism and relativism can highlight some critical social justice concerns. Sociocultural beliefs around human rights and gender equality, reproductive health and traditional fostering, among others, pose unprecedented dilemmas for social workers in Africa and indigenous societies globally. Furthermore, the blind pursuit of indigenisation can reinforce discriminatory and oppressive beliefs and practices. To rectify this, developing ethical decision-making screens and additional research promoting indigenous cultural competency within the social justice goal of social work is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread reports of human rights abuses across Africa have raised questions about the effectiveness of the rule of law in safeguarding civil liberties. Evidence from a fixed effects Poisson model based on a panel dataset of 51 African countries observed between 2006 and 2021 corroborates the notion that civil liberties are vulnerable in autocratic states, countries with poor electoral practices, economies that grow slowly, countries with limited trade intensities, and countries that are less tolerant to political pluralism. Secondly, while we find upholding the rule of law imperative in safeguarding overall civil liberties, we do not find it guaranteeing and protecting freedom of the press and freedom of expression. We, therefore, against this background, urge African governments to uphold the rule of law in a manner that ensuresthese constitutional freedoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research looking into the day-to-day lives of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) is on the increase in Africa. However, not enough is being done to include people with ID as active contributors to this research through inclusive approaches. Inclusive research empowers people with ID as they have the agency and autonomy to speak for themselves and they are given an active voice in the research process and outcomes. This leads to services that cater for what matters to people with ID themselves as opposed to having their needs defined by other people. The common myths and misconceptions attached to ID in Africa, which increase stigma towards people affected by this type of disability can be abated by their visibility in research and evidence of their ability to express themselves. This article makes a call to researchers on the African continent to include people with ID in research as active contributors to the research and not simply as research subjects or respondents. A background is given of global developments that have occurred in inclusive research based on the literature and the author's personal experience, which African researchers can learn from while taking cognizance of the specific needs of their own contexts. This is followed by highlighting the gaps in Africa. The article ends with a discussion of possible reasons for a lack of inclusive research in Africa and suggestions and recommendations to address this gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigated dominant manifestations of spatial exclusion and inclusion of people with disabilities in Africa. Manifestations of spatial exclusion include: design that create inaccessible spaces; socially constructed spatialisation that prevents people with disabilities from using and enjoying spaces in the same way as people without disabilities and harmful cultural practices, like concealment and institutionalisation. Spatial inclusion is promoted through law and policy in support of universal design, inclusive urban development, elimination of concealment and deinstitutionalisation. The authors argue that there are signs of positive progress towards spatial inclusion, but that problems that impede the implementation of progressive laws, policies and practices will have to be dealt with to ensure spatial inclusion for people with disabilities in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite enduring prolonged skepticism, Africa's regional human rights has a complex architecture of institutions, norms, procedures, and jurisprudence. A major entity among these institutions is the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. In existence for over one and a half decades, the Court remains an institution in transition. With an identity defined mostly by its contentious jurisdiction, the significance of its advisory jurisdiction has been neglected. Three hundred eight cases (95.36 percent) of the 323 [End Page 365] cases received by the court in its first fifteen years were contentious. The remaining fifteen (less than 5 percent) were advisory. Notwithstanding its relative rarity, the initial evidence suggests that advisory jurisdiction of the African Court could potentially play a significant role in shaping the trajectory of human rights norms in Africa. This article explores the mechanics and potential impact of the advisory jurisdiction of the African Court for the future of human rights in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many African countries, the rights of women and girls to adequate housing are under threat and remain vulnerable to violation by state- and non-state actors. This is so even though these rights are guaranteed by international human rights instruments and national constitutions. Of particular note is the existence of customary laws that discriminate against women and frustrate their ability to realize the right to adequate housing. To enhance the ability of women to realize their right to adequate housing, each African State must domesticate the various international and regional human rights instruments that guarantee this right in order to create rights that are justiciable in domestic courts. In the meantime, however, progressive judiciaries are using their power to interpret the constitution to eliminate or modify customary and other laws that are not in conformity with the provisions of international human rights instruments and the country's Bill of Rights. For example, in several African countries, courts have been adjudicating cases involving the right to adequate housing (e.g., discrimination against women by customary laws and forced evictions of women and other vulnerable individuals by state- and non-state actors). These courts have issued directives that can help the political branches develop and implement policies to ameliorate the deplorable living conditions that many women and their children face on a daily basis. Unfortunately. in many countries, the political branches have not been amenable to implementing court orders. However, recent social economic rights .jurisprudence by the South African Constitutional Court offers a possible solution to this quagmire. That solution is found in the engagement approach, which emphasizes robust dialogue between the political branches, the affected individuals and groups, and civil society and its organizations. While such a holistic approach can proffer solutions that reflect the values and norms that are enti, reed by the socioeconomic rights guaranteed by the constitution, it can also encourage democratic engagement and make the courts an important force in the protection of human rights, particularly those of women and girls. Of greater importance is that this approach places women at the center of public efforts to confront the problems that afflict them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research looking into the day-to-day lives of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) is on the increase in Africa. However, not enough is being done to include people with ID as active contributors to this research through inclusive approaches. Inclusive research empowers people with ID as they have the agency and autonomy to speak for themselves and they are given an active voice in the research process and outcomes. This leads to services that cater for what matters to people with ID themselves as opposed to having their needs defined by other people. The common myths and misconceptions attached to ID in Africa, which increase stigma towards people affected by this type of disability can be abated by their visibility in research and evidence of their ability to express themselves. This article makes a call to researchers on the African continent to include people with ID in research as active contributors to the research and not simply as research subjects or respondents. A background is given of global developments that have occurred in inclusive research based on the literature and the author's personal experience, which African researchers can learn from while taking cognizance of the specific needs of their own contexts. This is followed by highlighting the gaps in Africa. The article ends with a discussion of possible reasons for a lack of inclusive research in Africa and suggestions and recommendations to address this gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores whether China's political and economic relations with African countries constitute a factor in undermining Africa's path to liberal democracy or not. It addresses the question of why democratic values like human rights could not be sustained in some African countries. Along this line, could China's economic influence harm the democratisation of the African continent? The argument of this article is that differing perceptions of democracy coupled with China's entry in Africa as an alternative to the West have provided a context for several African countries to elude the liberal democratic path. The article concludes that, in providing them with economic support, China has introduced concepts of an alternative model of government to several African countries that had initially embraced liberal democracy. China's close relations with Africa thus have been a game-changer for the post-Cold War liberal order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advocacy is one of the core functions of public health and is a key tool for achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Public health associations play a key role in advocating for the development and implementation of strategies to prevent diseases and promote health and well-being. This study aims to map out the focus of public health advocacy carried out by selected national public health associations over 4 years, between 2018 and 2021, in order to identify gaps and strengths and support associations and professionals in their advocacy efforts. Twelve national public health associations participated in the study. Official policy documents produced between 2018 and 2021 were collected and analysed. The title and summary of the policy documents were examined line by line and coded into the main subject categories and themes. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted. Policies were assessed from global and regional perspectives. A total of 220 policy documents were analysed. Overall, the largest number of policy documents came from high-income countries and dealt with environmental health and communicable diseases, including COVID-19, with, however, important differences among regions. In the African region, public health advocacy focused mainly on strengthening health systems; Europe and South America were mostly concerned with communicable diseases and pandemic management; and North America and the Western Pacific regions focused primarily on climate change. Limited attention was paid to international health and health as a human right in all regions. Our study showed that, especially in high-income countries, public health associations actively engage in advocacy; however, more effort needs to be devoted to implementing a more international and intersectoral approach at the global level, anchored in health as a human right and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the resurgence of economic justifications for investment in family planning in Africa. In the Cold War period, population control programmes were at the forefront of the Northern development agenda for the Global South; rapid population growth was cast as the enemy of national economic advancement and modernisation. At the United Nations Conference on Population and Development in 1994, global leaders signed on to a Platform of Action that sidelined economic and environmental concerns with population growth in favour of a human rights approach to family planning. Over the past decade, key sectors of the development community have regained their enthusiasm about the economic and social benefits of reducing fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. A wide variety of multilateral organisations have joined forces with African governments in a common pursuit: lower fertility to achieve demographic transition and harness the demographic dividend. The article contends that efforts to catalyse the demographic dividend are problematic because pursuing dramatic reductions in fertility (rather than reproductive and contraceptive autonomy) violates human rights approaches to sexual and reproductive health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the paper was to conduct a legal-realist assessment of the South African prison system response to COVID-19. Severely congested and ill-resourced prison systems in Africa face unprecedented challenges amplified by COVID-19. South Africa has recorded the highest COVID-19 positivity rate in Africa and, on March 15th 2020, declared a national state of disaster. The first prison system case was notified on April 6th 2020. Design/methodology/approach: A legal-realist assessment of the South African prison system response to COVID-19 in the 12 months following initial case notification focused on the minimum State obligations to comply with human rights norms, and the extent to which human, health and occupational health rights of prisoners and staff were upheld during disaster measures. Findings: A legal-realist account was developed, which revealed the indeterminate nature of application of South African COVID-19 government directives, ill-resourced COVID-19 mitigation measures, alarming occupational health and prison conditions and inadequate standards of health care in prisons when evaluated against the rule of law during State declaration of disaster. Originality/value: This legal-realist assessment is original by virtue of its unique evaluation of the South African prison system approach to tackling COVID-19. It acknowledged State efforts, policymaking processes and outcomes and how these operated within the prison system itself. By moving beyond the deleterious impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the already precarious South African prison system, the authors argue for rights assurance for those who live and work in its prisons, improved infrastructure and greater substantive equality of all deprived of their liberty in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africanist scholars are increasingly exploring histories of human rights in Africa, while human rights scholars are becoming more attentive to the critical place of African and Africa-centred events in shaping global human rights history. Derrick, Nault Africa and the Shaping of International Human Rights, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2020, ix + 249 pp.; £83.00 hbk; ISBN 9780198859628 The place of Africa in human rights history is gaining more attention from both historians of Africa and human rights scholars. Nault's objective is to inscribe Africa into global human rights history by highlighting key historical events in Africa that define contemporary human rights. [Extracted from the article]

African social workers and psychologists have called for the utility of ubuntu philosophy in the fields of social work and psychology. Ubuntu is an African philosophy that is based on humanness, kindness, communality, socio-structural issues such as social justice, and human rights. This paper explores the philosophy of ubuntu guided by the seven modalities of the multimodal approach, which are behaviour, effect, sensation, imagery, cognition, interpersonal relationships and drugs/biology. The article suggests that ubuntu as an African philosophy has potential to contribute two modalities in addition to the seven modalities in the multimodal approach by the South African psychologist Arnold Lazarus. It argues that ubuntu contributes two domains in assessments and these are as follows: the person-physical environment relationship and the spiritual relationship. Given the emphasis on eco-spiritually informed social work, this paper calls for the adoption of these two modalities for the assessment and intervention plans in social work practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study sought to empirically test the contribution of information and communication technology (ICT) to the advancement of human rights, drawing on the fact that safeguarding human rights through the use of ICT is a field of increasing interest to academics and those working towards the advancement of human rights and development practitioners. The literature on ICT and human rights holds the view that ICT can play a significant role in the advancement of human rights. ICT has become an essential instrument for realising human rights, and ensuring its accessibility must be a primary concern for all governments. However, despite the increase in ICT usage, the southern African region has been marred by atrocities and human rights violations. Many southern African governments regularly impose restrictions on human rights defenders, journalists, and rights activists, often to suit political goals. The use of ICT has extensive effects on the human rights agenda and forms an important tool in its endeavours to gather, analyse, and spread information and advocate for fitting remedies in response to human rights infringements. It is against this background that this study sought to examine the contribution of ICT to the advancement of human rights. The study was quantitative in nature, using panel data to estimate its model. The findings reveal a weak positive relationship between ICT and the advancement of human rights. The study recommends that governments and civil society encourage the use of ICT functionality in ways that advance human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Tahir Square, a series of movements and uprisings have spread around Africa. Redefining themselves as "citizens" movements to emphasise their "rights", one of the most significant characteristics is their tendency to couch their aspirations in terms that resonate the liberal moral order. Yet in so doing they also create a new subjectivity and redefine democracy, development and human rights. With the cases of Y'en a Marre in Senegal, and LUCHA in DRC, the article analyses this rearticulation, not as reproducing the dominant discourse, but as a reversed discourse that criticises and challenges the status quo. Following Foucault's approach, the paper embraces the circular, contradictory and tactical nature of discourses, but expands it with African political theory and resistance theory to articulate resistance as acts that attack and subvert power at the same time that create new subjectivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children across Africa, not unlike elsewhere in the world, suffer myriad hardships, some of which include sexual and physical violence, economic exploitation and ritual killings. Using a literature review, this article maps the foci of research on the status and value attributed to children in various African contexts. The article also juxtaposes this value by considering how children have been maltreated historically and contemporaneously, discussing how notions of personhood contribute to the devaluation and possible revaluation of children. Here, the authors contrast two dominant positions in the treatment of personhood in Africa as communitarian – personhood-as-acquired and personhood-as-endowed. Noting the appeal and limits of these positions, the authors articulate a synthesis of both that could contribute towards a revaluation of children in African contexts. They argue that while 'personhood-as-endowed' safeguards against a hierarchy of persons that might be vulnerable to abuse and arbitrary excesses sanctioned by one's community, 'personhood-as-acquired' holds adults to a high moral standard which has a protective effect for children while maintaining the role of community in cultivating moral development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how violence occurs among young adult asylum seekers in collective accommodations in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It provides an insider perspective to understand a phenomenon related to non-European people who were forced to leave their countries to seek asylum. Based on 16 qualitative interviews with young adult male asylum seekers from Syria and some African countries, seven interviews with social workers, and one interview with a German psychological therapist, the author finds that the asylum procedure in Germany as a total institution catalyzes violence among young adult asylum seekers in collective accommodations. The present study shows that collective accommodations are unhomely places, where "inmates" lack privacy and autonomy. In addition, the asylum procedure deprives them of essential human needs, such as the right to work and to have full access to the health care system. These circumstances make them uncertain and desperate, which leads to violence among them. The author calls for more attention towards the human needs of asylum seekers, rather than making them related to the granting of asylum, which can ultimately take years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented which explores the protection of women from violence in Africa and the African philosophy of Ubuntu and Code of Honor. Topics discussed include the cases of femicide in armed conflicts in the region, the legal instruments focused on women's protection such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and the possible revival of the Code of Honor through mainstream education.

The article investigate how the rights enshrined in Articles 12(1) and 12(2) are construed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR,) as well as Article 12(3)'s focus on the protection of asylum-seekers and refugees, as enacted by the communication procedure of the ACHPR. It mentions Banjul Charter was in line with the objective of the Organisation of African Unity to promote and protect human rights in Africa.

We study whether institutions supportive of human rights improve trade openness. Strengthening human rights institutions could reduce the adverse consequence of trade on consumers and labour rights. On the other hand, adherence could impose high transaction costs limiting the comparative advantage of many African countries. We study the effect of democratic and human rights institutions on trade openness for 40 African countries from 1960 to 2010. To address endogeneity concerns, we exploit the variation in democracy measurement among geographically proximate neighbours with similar political histories (i.e. an inverse distanceweighted average of democracy among 'neighbours'). We find that human rights and democratic institutions increase trade in Africa. We find evidence supporting property rights, freedomof domestic movement and the political recruitment process as likely mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global community has committed to achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services, but how to do it remains a challenge in many low-income countries. Capacity development is listed as a means of implementation for Agenda 2030. Although it has been a major element in international development cooperation, including SRHR, its effectiveness and circumstances under which it succeeds or fails have limited evidence. The study sought to examine whether improvement in team capacity of SRHR practitioners resulted in improved organisational effectiveness and/or improved SRHR outcomes in low-income countries. The study involved 99 SRHR interventions implemented in 13 countries from Africa and Asia. Self-reported evaluation data from healthcare practitioners who participated in a capacity development international training programme in SRHR was used. The training was conducted by Lund University in Sweden between 2015 and 2019. Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between improved team capacity, improved organizational effectiveness and improved SRHR outcomes, for all the 99 interventions. Adoption of new SRHR approaches (guidelines and policies), media engagement, support from partner organisations and involvement of stakeholders were assessed as possible confounders. Improved team capacity, support from partner organisations and media engagement were positively associated with improved organisational effectiveness. Improved team capacity was the strongest predictor of organisational effectiveness even after controlling for other covariates at multivariate analysis. However, adopting new SRHR approaches significantly reduced organisational effectiveness. Furthermore, support from partner organisations was positively associated with increased awareness of and demand for SRHR services. Successful implementation of capacity development interventions requires an enabling environment. In this study, an SRHR training programme aiming at improving team capacity resulted in an improvement in organisational effectiveness. Support from partner organisations and media engagement were key enablers of organisational effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 25 African countries had planned elections for 2020. In the face of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, states resorted to one of two courses of action: adherence to planned electoral timelines in the shadow of the outbreak, which largely led to record low voter turnouts and hastened the spread of the virus; or adjourning elections with ill-defined election programming, constitutional tensions and unrest over delayed polls. The global health crisis not only frustrated the organization of the electoral process but set severe challenges to democracy, the rule of law and human rights in the region at a time of landmark elections, notably in Ethiopia, Burundi and Malawi. This article analyses initial state responses in electoral administration in light of international electoral norms, and interrogates the role of national and regional mechanisms in securing safe, inclusive, timely, free and fair elections amid new infectious disease outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study whether institutions supportive of human rights improve trade openness. Strengthening human rights institutions could reduce the adverse consequence of trade on consumers and labour rights. On the other hand, adherence could impose high transaction costs limiting the comparative advantage of many African countries. We study the effect of democratic and human rights institutions on trade openness for 40 African countries from 1960 to 2010. To address endogeneity concerns, we exploit the variation in democracy measurement among geographically proximate neighbours with similar political histories (i.e. an inverse distanceweighted average of democracy among 'neighbours'). We find that human rights and democratic institutions increase trade in Africa. We find evidence supporting property rights, freedomof domestic movement and the political recruitment process as likely mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa has the largest number of migrant populations in Africa due to its relatively stable economy as compared to other African countries. A considerable number of these migrants are living in the country without proper documentation. This study sought to determine how migrants are treated by native South African citizens. Data for this body of work was collected following the COVID-19 regulations by way of focus group and semi-structured individual interviews. Five African-born foreigners from Southern Africa were interviewed in a focus group to solicit the treatment that they receive from South African citizens and authorities. A further two foreigners were individually interviewed to obtain their experiences. A thematic analysis was utilised to analyse data obtained from the participants. It emerged from the themes that undocumented migrants tend to live in isolation. This stems from a lack of trust by locals. The status of foreign nationals in the country makes it difficult for them to access basic services such as healthcare, safety and security services, and education. This obstacle makes it challenging for migrants to enjoy good quality life, which is an inherent human right. There is a need to protect human rights of foreign-born nationals, including undocumented migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International organisations have increasingly advocated a rights-based approach to social protection, especially in Africa, despite persistent criticisms from some African scholars that the globally dominant discourse of human rights reflects a specifically 'western' ideology. Regional African inter-governmental organisations have occupied a frontline between international organisations and national governments in 'vernacularising' global rights, that is, incorporating some 'African' norms and values into the universal claims of the dominant global discourse. This has entailed an emphasis on broadly communitarian responsibilities and obligations (including but not limited to the family and kin) alongside individual claims. The process of vernacularisation has been limited, however, in that it entails the adaptation of exogenous statements about rights. These tend to overlook the specific needs and claims of poor farmers and fail to recognise the full extent to which communitarian norms and values in Africa challenge the predominant global discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of biodiversity conservation in Africa began in the late 19th century, and since then, the paradigm and methodologies have changed, reflecting the social background and international situation of each era. Modern Africa has always been confronted with the issues of biodiversity conservation; this is indispensable for analyzing the problems Africa is facing today and considering future prospects of Africa. In this paper, we summarize the historical changes in the conservation paradigm, from fortress conservation to community-based conservation, and then to neoliberal conservation. We also describe contemporary issues of human rights violations against local people under conservation activities, such as “green grabbing” and “green militarization.” It is noted that the livelihoods and cultures of the local people have not been sufficiently accounted for in conservation policies, and a topdown structure led by governments and international organizations has been maintained. To solve this problem and effect improvements in conservation activities, we propose a natural resource management system based on “participatory monitoring” and “adaptive management.” For this purpose, African studies in Japan are expected to play significant roles because the studies have cultivated a profound understanding of local communities based on fieldwork and applied this to practical issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's breakneck economic growth has been accompanied by an expanding development finance agenda. Many have hypothesized that China is undermining the West's drive to promote good governance globally, and in Africa in particular, by predominantly distributing money to poorly governed countries. This paper explores whether the determinants of Chinese development finance in Africa differ from those of Western countries. It finds that Western countries send more development finance than China to better governed African countries—those with lower corruption levels, better democratic outcomes, and a better human rights track record (though only the latter two have a negative relationship with Chinese development finance in absolute terms). This paper also finds that bilateral trade and UN voting alignment have a stronger impact on China's development finance than that of Western countries and that China allocates more development finance than the West to richer and more resource-dependent African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flight of South African writer Dugmore Boetie from his home in the Sophiatown neighborhood of Johannesburg to Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika, in mid- to late 1960 highlights the fuzzy distinction between exile and refuge before international refugee protections extended to Africa. Like many decolonial refugees after the Sharpeville Massacre, Boetie fled political persecution, lured abroad by the possibility of resettlement in London under the United Kingdom's open-door policy to British Commonwealth citizens. Unlike many contemporaries, however, Boetie had yet to attain literary fame and had few notable advocates. Fragmentary exilic archives shift attention away from refugee reception and toward motives for flight, speaking to the ad hoc strategies of escape and survival characteristic of the transitional decolonization epoch. While networks of anticolonial, anti-apartheid sympathizers generally welcomed the first waves of exiles, politically connected socioeconomic elites were best positioned to make dangerous journeys. Men and women from all over Africa sought refuge in the 1950s and 1960s before global anti-apartheid activism was fully formed, but political subjectivities, legal statuses, and shifting citizenship statutes impeded or expedited individual paths. The better connected entered the United Kingdom, the United States, or the Soviet Union for education or employment. Those bereft of connections were forced to make a difficult choice between returning home or becoming another humanitarian statistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colonialism activities in Africa have turned into an economic exploitation system by multinational companies rather than the use of occupy and power as in past. A recent case in Kalsaka, which has gold mine deposits in Burkina Faso, is a concrete instance of this. The people of Kalsaka suffer greatly because of unfair interventions in their natural resources. The film 'No Gold for Kalsaka' is a motion picture that carries these grievances in Kalsaka to the screen. When entered the door that the film opens, the legal perspective on the subject takes shape. One of the legal norms that can be applied is the right to economic self-determination which ensures the permanent sovereignty over their natural resources. In that sense, steps can be taken to compensate the damages of Kalsaka people based on the authority given by this right which includes the rights to own, use and benefit from natural resources. Accordingly in this study, firstly, the legal framework of the right to economic self-determination is drawn. Secondly, the said documentary film is analysed in the context of the relationship between law and cinema, and finally, the film's narrative about the events in Kalsaka is associated with the mentioned right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's world, it is essential to reflect on the problematization of the values and role of NGOs in the scope of solidarity and volunteering. They promote the personal, social and cultural development of individuals, making them part of active and committed citizenship in this world that shows so little solidarity. In this sense, it is important that we all have our eyes on solidarity movements and that we are the first players to help, defend and cooperate, in different areas with other realities. In this global era, where wealth and poverty interact, showing their potentialities and vulnerabilities, the conviction emerges to face this diversity through cooperation in the name of education and the attitudes they can transform. NGOs play a catalytic role capable of promoting development in cooperation with the achievement of the SDGs - Sustainable Development Goals. This article aims to present the missions carried out on the African continent, in favour of the achievement of the SDGs stipulated by the UN; these missions are integrated into projects carried out by volunteers from a Portuguese NGO, AMI - Assistência Médica Internacional (International Medical Assistance) and demonstrate how their work promotes cooperation and sustainable development in the communities where they operate, as well as the defence of Human Rights. We cannot ignore a global solidarity movement. Volunteers contribute in a fundamental way to cooperation and aid the countries that need it the most. We believe that the main "weapon" of a country's development is education for Human Rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-determination campaigns remain a critical cause of ethno-linguistic conflicts and resultant humanitarian crises in many countries in Africa and other parts of the world. While the United Nations (UN), its agencies, and the international community at large are ever ready to intervene in humanitarian crises arising from self-determination conflicts, it has remained difficult to adopt criteria and procedures to proactively decide and resolve self-determination campaigns in a way that encourages non-violent approaches, and to nip violent approaches to self-determination agitation in the bud. This article argues that the role of the UN in the maintenance of international peace and security should include adopting certain criteria for implementing its declarations relating to the right to self-determination. The article avers that such measures would better enhance peace and nation-building in Africa than the current approach of non-action, which consists of waiting to intervene in ethno-linguistic conflicts and the consequent humanitarian crises. The article is based on the use of documentary data and desk research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa is one of the least developed continents with a larger population of people living with intellectual disability. Various literature shows that having a person with disability is more of a taboo or curse as communities continue to hide them. Infrastructure developments are not making life easier for people living with disability (PWD). During COVID-19, PWD are left behind from communications, online learning, and online business; they are not given personal protective equipment, and those are some of the things that continue to cripple the rights of PWD who continuously feel left behind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) are established to document violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in post-conflict societies. The intent is to excavate the truth to avoid political speculations and create an understanding of the nature of the conflict. The documentation hence results in a common narrative which aims to facilitate reconciliation to avoid regression to conflict. TRCs therefore do a tremendous job and create compound documentation that includes written statements, interviews, live public testimonies of witnesses and they also publish final reports based on the accumulated materials. At the end of their mission, TRCs recommend the optimal use of their documentation since it is of paramount importance to the reconciliation process. Despite this ambition, the TRCs' documentation is often politicized and out of reach for the victims and the post-conflict societies at large. The TRCs' documentation is instead poorly diffused into the post conflict societies and their findings are not effectively disseminated and used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a qualitative interpretive analysis of genocide, nationhood and the dearth of democratic aspirations of the Rwandese population following a violent ethnic or tribal conflict that saw nearly a million people dead in 1994. The historical drama depicts harrowing acts of brutality against a specific tribal group perpetuated by the national leadership that had failed to uphold its social contract with the masses. The conflict is reflective of the postcolonial anti-pluralistic tendencies characteristic of some African states where ethnicity, tribalism and patronage have displaced the democratic order. Both qualitative visual content analysis and ideological criticism were used to formulate specific cinematic elements to generate discursive themes. The film demonstrates how poorly managed tensions among peoples within corrupt political and undemocratic systems have the potential to degenerate into atrocious human rights calamities in post-colonial Africa. Thus, the cinema verite and composition of the film go beyond merely engaging the audiences on the aftermath of conflict but serve as a moral lesson on the dangers of malignant approaches to conflict resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines The Gambia's campaign from 1977-83 for a new international mechanism to protect human rights in the Commonwealth of Nations. President Dawda Jawara's crusade for a Commonwealth Human Rights Commission complicates the dominant scholarly interpretation of human rights history, which tends to dismiss or overlook African participation in the international human rights movement. The article explains The Gambia's display of human rights idealism as a strategy to attract aid and legitimacy in the global arena. It also shows how The Gambia's project was thwarted by the 'Old Commonwealth', including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Western member states worked together to surreptitiously weaken and defeat The Gambia's initiative, while deflecting blame and counting on 'New Commonwealth' governments in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific to play the role of antagonist. Overall, the article contends the Commonwealth Human Rights Commission was killed because it threatened illusions and assumptions about the human rights movement that were convenient for western powers. With the use of archival sources from the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, this article spotlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of African and Global South actors in human rights history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss the plight of urban poor African immigrants from the perspective of the right to food (food availability, accessibility and adequacy) for everyone during the COVID-19 in South Africa. Despite their disrupted sources of livelihood, the majority of the African immigrants are without a social welfare safety net and have little hope of benefiting from the Government relief packages. Consequently, it seems that the increase in the triple burden of food insecurity, poverty and malnutrition compounded with social injustice and income inequality is inevitable for the urban poor African immigrants in South Africa. Even though the Government may not have the capacity to address food insecurity by itself, the Government should endeavour to make the limited resources to access food equally available to all with no social injustice. By working hand in hand with foreign national associations, township councillors and other stakeholders, such as the food banks and faith-based organisations, that have stepped forward to try and bridge the widening incapacity of the Government to feed the food insecure, the nexus of food insecurity and social injustice of African immigrants will be alleviated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), in particular Truth Commissions, are important institutions which can be established in both conflict and post-conflict periods to ensure that widespread or systematic human rights violations are accounted for and do not recur. Given the violent past and in some cases present human rights violations in African States, independent Commissions play a pivotal role in dealing with the past. However, no concept can be examined in a vacuum. Therefore, it is important to examine Truth Commissions within the context of the Paris Principles so as to ascertain the gains made in the past years of their emergence on the African continent. It is with much sadness that most Truth Commissions are thriving under the weight of authoritarian regimes, thus it is of utmost importance to take stock of the gains made so far in as far as truth, peace and reconciliation processes are concerned. Lessons learned from other countries will enable other Truth Commissions to navigate the rough terrain in Africa, but most importantly self-introspect, improve and shake-off the legacy of failure. Given the mammoth task facing Truth Commissions in Africa, it is pivotal for them to adopt international best practices and constantly look back, self-introspect and learn from each other so as to ensure that they effectively deliver their mandate. This paper will also proffer recommendations so that Truth Commissions are competent in implementing their intervention strategies and are able to navigate the obstacles posed by both non-state and state actors in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communities facing extractive industry and destructive land-use projects in Africa have appealed to the continent's human rights bodies and subregional courts to protect their lives and livelihoods, and the environments on which both depend. To date, most of these cases have not been considered "climate change litigation." But the rights they have championed and the legal decisions they have produced are vital to climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in Africa and around the world. Avoiding climate catastrophe requires keeping fossil fuels in the ground and leaving forests intact. Litigation can advance those life- and planet-saving goals if it reinforces the ability of frontline communities to resist new pipelines, mining concessions, and plantations. Courts can validate the role of communities as stewards of their lands and participants in natural resource governance, provide them the compensation they are owed for past harms, and order the restoration of their environments. The adjudicative bodies that comprise the African human rights system have produced a rich jurisprudence that furthers these aims. Past decisions recognizing communal rights to land tenure and resource control, participatory development, and a healthy environment establish important legal footholds for climate litigation globally. This Article examines four such precedents from African regional bodies and argues that the type of frontline community cases they represent and the collective rights they expound are critical to effective and equitable climate action. These cases provide legal support for a community-centered strategy essential to mitigating climate change: stopping the drivers of global warming upstream at their source, rather than downstream through emissions regulations. The climate litigation movement should embrace such upstream approaches and build on these precedents. The scale and scope of the climate crisis requires expansive thinking about the types of cases and rights that can help secure urgently needed climate justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C) is a human rights violation used to claim asylum in the US. We sought to understand the nature of these asylum requests. Analysis of 121 FGM/C-focused medical affidavits, and 132 legal case reports. Of 119 eligible affidavits analyzed, 84% were reportedly cut: 4.6% Type I, 84.6% Type II, 16.5% Type III. Average age: 9. Reported acute effects: bleeding (76.3%), infection (27.6%), shock (6.7%), broken bones (2.7%), and hospitalization (2.7%). Reported chronic issues: intercourse difficulty (81.7%), pregnancy complications (54.2%), chronic pain (42.4%), scarring (37.3%), urinary difficulty (31.8%). Psychological consequences included PTSD (72.4%), depression (65.9%), anxiety (51.1%), and lack of trust (10.1%). Co-occurring abuses included domestic violence (62.4%), forced marriage (46%), rape (33.3%), torture (33.3%), child marriage (31.3%), assault due to LGBTQ + status (2.9%). Women claiming asylum based on FGM/C report high rates of chronic health issues. Their histories suggest FGM/C co-occurs with other forms of gender-based violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of truth and reconciliation committees (TRCs) on human rights in Africa. It examines the effects of fifteen different TRCs from 1984–2014, and fills a gap in the existent literature by developing measures to assess the strength of each TRC. Many African TRCs are quite weak. Nevertheless, the study does not find that stronger TRCs are more successful in terms of human rights outcomes. While not dismissing the value of TRCs, this work discusses limitations of quantitative studies on their impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the number of international non‐governmental organisations (INGOs) and international civil society organisations (ICSOs) trying to influence policy processes in Africa has increased considerably. These players increasingly play an important role in socio‐political and life of many African countries. To achieve certain political results, INGOs and ICSOs often lobby governments, using a variety of techniques. Though lobbying as a public relations (PR) technique is widely discussed in academic spheres, the debate on the relationship between transnational advocacy and lobbying as a PR practice is still marginal. This paper explores how INGOs and ICSOs lobby governments in Africa and examines via a case the effectiveness of activist lobbying in the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the article "State, Democracy and Human Rights in Africa" which appeared in the periodical "African Journal of Democracy & Governance" is presented.

Access to mental healthcare in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is one of the greatest challenges in public health today. One suggestion for improving accessibility is through collaboration between biomedical practitioners and traditional healers. This paper reviews studies of traditional healers' and biomedical practitioners' perceptions of collaboration. We conducted a systematic review of online databases, selected journals, and reference lists for relevant studies. Eligible papers were assessed using a tool designed for this review for quality and study characteristics, and qualitative data demonstrating participants' views were extracted. A total of 14 papers from seven countries were included. The published literature on this topic is relatively homogenous and studies are of variable quality. The findings suggest that, despite differing conceptualisations of mental illness causation, both traditional healers and biomedical practitioners recognise that patients can benefit from a combination of both practices and demonstrate a clear willingness to work together. There are concerns about patients' safety and human rights regarding traditional methods and some healers are sceptical about the effectiveness of Western psychiatric medication. Despite keeping the inclusion criteria open to all LMICs, 13 of the studies were conducted in Africa, seven of which were in South Africa. This limits the applicability of the findings of this review to the wider LMIC context. The paper concludes with recommendations for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]