An Animated Video Explains the Powers of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights

A screenshot of the animation video.

A screenshot of the animated video.

The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO), the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation and British human rights organisation Article 19 have produced an animated YouTube video about the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Based in Arusha, Tanzania, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights is a continental court established by African countries to ensure the protection of rights in Africa. The Court complements the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. While the African Commission only gives recommendations, the Court's decisions are binding.

The Court was established under the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. According to the video, as of September 2016, only 30 countries have ratified the protocol.

The video points out that the Court has already made two major decisions relating to freedom of expression in Africa. In 2014, the Court ruled that imprisonment for defamation violates the right to freedom of expression. In the same year, the Court ordered a reopening of the investigation into the killing of Burkinabe investigative journalist and publisher Norbert Zongo.

The artist who worked on the animation is a Venezuelan named Juan Carlos Hernández Ramirez.

The video is also available in French and Arabic.

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