The Challenges Of International Human Rights Organizations In Promoting And Protecting Human Rights: A Case Study Of African Court On Human And People’s Rights

ABSTRACT

This study explored the challenges faced by the International Human Rights Organizations in promoting and protecting civil and political rights. African Court on Human and Peoples Rights was selected to inform the study. The study had four specific objectives these are; the first objective was to determine the funding and financial situation of the African Court; the second objective was to identify the accessibility and coverage of the Court; the third objective was to assess the state compliance and effectiveness of enforcement mechanism of the Court; and the fourth was to identify public awareness about the Court. The study employed a case study design to collect data qualitatively from 37 purposively and random sampled respondents through interviews, and supplemented by documentary review. The data were analyzed qualitatively using Thematic and Content Analysis, Pattern Matching and Strong Explanation Building technique to develop themes and contents that were followed by descriptions and discussions. The results indicated that the African Court faces several challenges in executing its mandate: the court has insufficient funds which cause difficulties in coordinating some activities. The findings of the study have also revealed that the court is not easily accessible by the public. The findings also revealed that the court lack of support from the partner states, particularly by failing to comply with the decisions of the court. The findings have further revealed that the court is lacking enforcement mechanism to monitor implementation its judgments, and the public is not aware of the existence of the court. It is concluded in this study that the challenges facing the African court hinder the effectiveness of the court in executing its mandate of protecting and promoting human rights. The study, therefore, recommends the AU Member States are to address these challenges for the effectiveness of the court in promoting and protecting human rights.