Idle Mohammed April, 20th, 2017

Human Rights and Human Security

Id.No-GSR/6834/09
Submitted to Mr. Getahun Kassa
Reflection on: Mubiala’s article entitled ‘‘The contribution on African Human rights
traditions and norms to United Nations human rights law’’.

Brief Summary of the Article

The following piece of writing examines how African’ s human rights tradition contributed to the
historical development of International human Rights law. The author believes that African
norms and indigenous rights are the foundations for current universalistic nature of human rights.
The writer also deals with the current nature and principles of African human rights and its effect
on the progress of UN human rights law. He begins his explanation by referring to human rights
in the traditional African society derived from ancestral origin of life. Mubiala cited father
Tepmpels who claimed that the centrality of life was the dominant feature of African traditional
societies in which life is considered as gift from God. Mubiala insisted that traditional African
rights includes both the protection of individual rights as well as collective rights which are
perceived as an integral part of traditional believes, values, norms and institutions.

The notion of the ‘right to live’ includes providing secured environment free from conflict,
inequality, famine etc. for individuals and communities. In addition, the author argued that
African traditional right to live encompassed some fundamental individual and group rights and
obligations such as the right to education, the right to work, the right to property in land, the right
to participate in public affairs, the right to protection and assistance and, hosting foreigners
seeking asylum. Mubiala mentioned all those above listed rights are currently basic fundamental
rights in the international law of human rights and become base for conventions like ICCPR and
ICESCR. Especially rights such as the right to participate in the political decision making is
holistic and inclusive as current reality where women and youth participate and play important
role and the right to seek asylum is considered as refugee rights that is incorporated in the
international laws and reflected in OAU convention on refugees.

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For Mubiala, colonialism has deteriorated African tradition values and norms and averted
African human rights and duties from implementing it properly. It was only during post-
independence era that African human rights tradition was well reflected in different regional
instrument, in specific, the 1969 OAU convention on refugee problems in Africa, and the
ACHPR. Also, some norms that are intrinsic by African traditions system has been incorporated
in universal instruments of United Nations and its agencies.

The author sums up his argument of Africa’s human rights traditions and values enormous role
to the enhancement of IHRL into three major points. First, it had great influence on the holistic
approach to human rights adopted by initiators on the African charter on human and people’s
rights. This approach fits with the UDHR and this led African states to play dominant role in the
endorsement of main human rights principles based on its indivisibility and interrelation, at
Vienna conference of human rights in 1993. Secondly, some universal human rights principles
and concepts are driven from African traditional norms and values. For instance, the right to
development which become basis for the right to work and economic, and social prosperity as
well as humanitarian elements like the right of refugees endorsed by UNHCR. Finally, UN
adopts the principle of African’s restorative justice approach which is based on the principle of
reconciliation and social compensation i.e. the establishment of truth and reconciliation council
(TRC). However, Mubiala argued that the universalized African based norms faced some
challenges in relation to its implementation. UNHR laws lack effectiveness and credibility as
compared to regional system of protection, like EU. The other reason is related with the not
binding instrumental nature of UN laws or lack of enforcement mechanisms in resolutions of UN
general assembly or other legislative.

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Reflection

Mubiala’s article on African human rights traditions and norms contribution to UN human rights
law is important as it lights Africa played vital role for the development, incorporation of valid
principles as well as better protection of human rights. Mubiala breaks out the vicious cycle that
western values are the dominant and sole contributor for the protection and institutionalization of
human rights. He clearly showed that how African traditional norms and values that gives
recognition to both individual and collective rights rooted in ancestral concept of the ‘right to
live’ played outstanding role in terms of becoming input and legal reference to different kinds of
rights in regional, national and international level. Today, human rights advocators claimed that
human rights are natural and universal in nature. `More or less many agreed to this kind of
definition. Thus, the African traditional norms are novel example in this regard in terms of
respecting human dignity individually and collectively in a given society. For instance, pre-
colonial Africa was characterized as better Africa with strong socio-economic and political
relations between the chiefs, elders and the ordinary society where everyone knows his task and
contributed for the prosperity of the community. African’s used to live in a solidarity and
maintain their integrity in several ways, such in ritual ceremony, economic production system by
working together and sharing resources, maintaining collective security and have holistic and
inclusive approach of justice system based on reconciliation and community hilling. Here,
whenever I think about African’s traditional human rights system, several questions come to my
mind why Africa failed to maintain its precious rights which are based on human dignity and
turned to mistrust between African’s and led to protracted civil wars after colonial era? Why
Africa failed to protect their culture and norms from colonial spoilers? Why also Africa still
remained economically poor continent in spite of its reach norms and economic resources? There
might not be satisfactory answers for those questions and even if we try it does not change the
current reality on the ground. In this stand, both the colonizers and African tribal elders and the
society are responsible for the problems. It is true that colonialism distorted African traditional
values and cultures found in communal life system and strong psychological attachment by
dividing society through clan, ethic and tribal system in order one to dominant the other
economically and politically. Clan, ethnic and tribal system is not problem by itself but it
become problem if it is intentionally meant to divide society and give social and political
meaning like during colonial times.

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Also corrupt African chiefs and elders must equally take the blame and shame for letting their
people down and failing to act according to the needs of their society and fail to struggle against
colonialism by maintaining integrity and solidarity with their community and becoming partial
and made the society vulnerable to colonial influence. This article is crucial as it illustrates
African’s traditional human rights norms and values as it made incredible contribution for
different IHRL. The authors strong side is that he acknowledges African beautiful traditional
cultures and norms for UN human rights laws. He sheds light on African’s human rights system
and African states role in different regional and international rights initiation. However, the
author over romanticized African traditional norms and values based on human dignity and
failed to discuss their limitations. For instance, if we see the African’s restorative justice which is
based on the principle of reconciliation which over emphasizes on hilling and bringing collective
peace has some limitations. First, restorative approach does not bring justice for the victim and it
does not punish the criminal. Any crime committed against a person is considered as crime
against his clan and society. But what about if the offender does not stop killing and continue to
victimize others. As long as the perpetrators is not taking any direct personal consequence and
his clan is handling everything, why he need to bother? Second, African restorative justice
system is insufficient to manage sophisticated and complex crimes such as terrorism, mass
killing, large blow civil wars where the victims and perpetrators are difficult to identify.
Therefore, it is better to look and examine African traditional norms and values from different
perspective to have holistic understanding. It is logical enough to conclude that African
traditional human rights system played important role for other basic human rights in the
continent itself and the world. It gives credit for African ancestral rights and balances the
discourse that leans on western values and made Africa important continent of human rights
originator than violator.