2021 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 3(1) rights abuses due to political repression, economic exploitation and socio-cultural assimilation. This time period was also marked by an increase in the documentation of human rights abuses, and the adoption of international human rights instruments such as the UDHR of 1948, the ICCPR of 1966 and the International Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (‘ICESCR’) of 1966 at the global level and the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights and the 1969 American Convention on Human Rights at the regional level. 13 The clamour for political rights, especially the right to self-determination within the frame of the ICCPR and ICESCR, was at the forefront of the struggle by African people for decolonisation and independence between 1960s and the 1980s, which in some contexts involved liberation wars. 14 There were also widespread political exclusions and discriminations within the African states resulting in armed conflicts, poor governance and human rights violations. During this period, the OAU recognised liberation movements as representing African people living under colonial and white-dominated regimes in Southern Africa. 15 The people-centered perspective to human rights was largely influenced by the 1976 Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples (‘Algiers Declaration’), which among other things, listed these peoples’ rights in its 30 articles to include the rights to existence; to self determination; the right to a national and cultural identity; to minority rights, and the guarantees of these rights. 16 These collective peoples’ rights developed in the Algiers Declaration were therefore incorporated in the Banjul Charter in 1981. To address the diverse human rights issues in Africa, the continent has developed a distinct system based on the Banjul Charter, with specific regional institutions, mechanisms and values which are consistent with the universality principles of the international human rights system. The African human rights system highlights the fact that cultural relativism, local realities, and specificities are very important in the African human rights system. Carlson Anyangwe for instance posits that: Regional human rights systems are critical in contemporary human rights development. They play an important complementary role in reinforcing international standards and machinery. They provide the means by which human rights concerns can be addressed within the particular social, historical, and political context of the region. Moreover, when it comes to human rights implementation, the universal human rights system relies heavily on regional human rights arrangements. 17 According to Jean Désiré Ingange-wa-Ingange, the ‘African Human Rights System’ refers to ‘the regional system of norms and institutions for enforcing 13 14 15 16 17 See Jean Désiré Ingange-wa-Ingange, ‘The African Human Rights System: Challenges and Prospects’ (LLD Thesis, University of South Africa 2010) 8–9; ICCPR (n 3); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, opened for signature 16 December 1966, 993 UNTS 3 (entered into force 3 January 1976) art 1 (‘ICESCR’); Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, opened for signature 4 November 1950, 213 UNTS 221 (entered into force 3 September 1953); American Convention on Human Rights (n 3). See ICCPR (n 3) art 1; ICESCR (n 13) art 1. See Elizabeth Schmidt, Foreign Intervention in Africa: From the Cold War to the War on Terror (Cambridge University Press 2013) 103. See Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples (4 July 1976) Preamble <http://permanentpeoplestribunal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Carta-di-algeri-EN2.pdf> (‘Algiers Declaration’). See Carlson Anyangwe, ‘Obligations of States to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (1998) 10 African Journal of International and Comparative Law 625, 625. 36