BLANTYRE INTERNATONAL UNIVERSITY

NAME: HAPPY YAUKA KUMWENDA

PROGRAM: BCD

COURSE: HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

FACULTY: LAW

LECTURE: MR AUSMAN KENNEDY

PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY THE GOVERNMENT, INTERNATIONAL AND
INTER-GOVERNMENTAL BODIES

Human rights are moral principles or norms that describe certain standard of human behavior and
are regularly protected in municipal and international law (Amnesty international, 2004). This
essay will specifically dwell on protection of human rights by the Malawi government,
international body and intergovernmental bodies.

The Malawi constitution provide human rights in two ways, in chapter three under fundamental
principles and in chapter four under human rights in fact chapter four is the bill of rights properly
so called. The principle of national policy are only directory in nature, this means the state is given
some leeway to implement progressively given the economic resources as most as most of the
rights provided under this chapter are social, economic and cultural rights.

Section 15(2) of the Malawi constitution states that Any person or group of persons, natural or
legal, with sufficient interest in the promotion, protection and enforcement of rights under this
Chapter shall be entitled to the assistance of the courts, the Ombudsman, the Human Rights
Commission and other organs of the Government to ensure the promotion, protection and
enforcement of those rights and the redress of any grievances in respect of those rights. Any person
or group of persons, natural or legal, with sufficient interest in the promotion, protection and
enforcement of rights under this Chapter shall be entitled to the assistance of the courts, the
Ombudsman, the Human Rights Commission and other organs of the Government to ensure the
promotion, protection and enforcement of those rights and the redress of any grievances in respect
of those rights.

Section 15 of the Malawi constitution gives the opportunity to everyone who his rights has been
violated to seek assistance from the court, Malawi human rights commission and the office of
ombudsman, this governmental bodies especially the human rights commission and the
ombudsman help investigate any case of human rights abuse and if they find that the persons rights
have been violated they advise the person to go to the court to seek compensation. The popular
incident is that of buleya lule who died while in police custody, the Malawi human rights report
of May 2019 at page 47 advised buleya lule wife to go to the court in order to seek compensation
due to the death of her husband which was due to police torture. This is how the constitution protect
human rights of the Malawi citizen through governmental organ’s like the Malawi human rights
commission.

Section 46(1) of the Malawi constitution states that Save in so far as it may be authorized to do so
by this Constitution, the National Assembly or any subordinate legislative authority shall not make
any law, and the executive and the agencies of Government shall not take any action, which
abolishes or abridges the rights and freedoms enshrined in this Chapter, and any law or action in
contravention thereof shall, to the extent of the contravention, be invalid. In the case of the state v
the president and others Exparte HRDC and others, the court granted the injunction against the
lockdown which the government imposed due to failure by government to explain how it was
going to assist Malawian who depend of daily to daily business for them to find food, this could
have put these people into loss of income hence failure to provide for their families. The court
granted an injunction and the lockdown was not enforced due to the court decision.

Article 2 of the African charter on human and people’s rights, stipulates that every individual shall
be entitled to the enjoyment of the right and freedom recognized and guaranteed in the present
charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, color sex language, religion,
political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status. The supreme
court of Malawi slapped a popular human rights activist Charles kajoloweka to pay over twenty
million in cost for the George chaponda case. Charles kajoloweka through the pan African lawyers
obtained a provisional measure from the African court on human and people’s rights, the court at
page 6 of the ruling ordered the state to stay the enforcement of the order of costs by the Supreme
Court of appeal against the applicant pending the determination of the application on merits.

Article 27(2)of the protocol and rule 51(1) of the rules, empowers the African court of human and
people’s rights to order provisional measures in case of extreme gravity and urgency and when
necessary to avoid harms to persons and which it deems necessary to adopt in the interest of parties
or justice. This article insures that people who suffer human rights abuse in their respective nation
because of trying to enjoy their rights must be protected. Many African nation abuse rights of the
people they don’t follow and abide by this international human rights instruments which they
signed and codified.

Article 5 of the African Charter provides as follows:"... All forms of... torture, cruel, inhuman or
degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited." Prison conditions endured by Vera
and Orton Chirwa are described in detail in the complaints. Ill-treatment and punishment for
disciplinary reasons included reduction in diet, chaining for two days of the arms and legs with no
access to sanitary facilities, detention in a dark cell without access to natural light, water or food,
forced nudity, and beating with sticks and iron bars. These are examples of torture, cruel and
degrading punishment and treatment. These acts, jointly and separately, clearly constitute a
violation of Article 5. In this case of Achuthan and another the African court on human and
people’s rights found out that Malawi violated article 5 of the African charter. The African court
of human and peoples right act as a watch dog to all African stated who signed the charter against
violation of human rights issues.

Amnesty international is one of the tier governmental body which protects the violation of human
rights in Malawi, in 2020 when the government of Malawi arrested leaders of the human rights
defenders coalition, the reason being that they wanted to demonstrate to state house while the law
does not allow but only allows 100 meters radius which was emphasized in the case of HRDC
VAG and another of 2020. The Amnesty international produced a statement which condemned the
arrest of the said activist and demanded immediately release of the said activist by the government.
The amnesty international plays vital role into the protection of human rights violation in the world
and including Malawi this is so in order to ensure that the government of Malawi comply with
municipal law on human rights and international which is important in a democratic society.

In summation this essay have fully explained how human rights are protected in maawi by different
stakeholders including the government and other international bodies so as to ensure that each and
every citizens enjoy his rights as prescribed.
REFERENCES

Constitution of the republic of Malawi

International law

African charter of human and peoples rights of 1979

Cases

64/92, 68/92, 78/92 Krishina Achuthan on behalf of Aleke Banda, amnesty international on behalf
of Orton and Vera chirwa, /Malawi

Charles kajoloweka v republic of Malawi, provisional measures 27 of 2020 (African court on

human and people’s rights).

HRDC VAG and another 2020

Reports

Amnesty report on the arrest of HRDC members 2020

Malawi human rights reports on the finding of Buleya Rule May 2019