Non-interference enables human rights violations: AU

Arusha. The principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states, adopted by the Organization of African Union (OAU) from its inception in the 1960s and maintained until the 1990s, fuelled human rights abuses in the continent.

A senior official of the African Union (AU) which succeeded OAU Dr. Khabele Matlosa said here on Wednesday although the principle became popular among the African leaders was premised on the consideration of sovereignty as sacrosanct, it did more harm to the continent especially in issues of governance and peace and security mandates as has been anticipated.

“It opened room for a variety of massive human rights abuses in places like Idi Amin’s Uganda and Bokassa’s Central African Republic”, she said at the start of the second African Judicial Dialogue taking place at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge.

She said it was not until the 1990s when most OAU (later transformed to AU) member countries realized that the principle, which was one of the important clauses adopted when the organization was set up in 1963 was retrogressive to human rights protection in Africa.

Dr. Matlosa further said that one of the key enablers for the successful implementation of Africa Agenda 2063 - a 50 year development path of the continent - is entrenchment of a culture of human rights.

Under it the , the human rights should not only be respected in Africa but AU member states should be democratically governed but the culture of constitutionalism and rule of law should be entrenched and justice dispensed fairly and equally without fear, prejudice and favour.

“The noble goals of Agenda 2063 are achievable, starting with its ten-year implementation plan”, she stated, adding that the continental body would by January next year adopt two key frameworks that would address human rights protection in Africa.

The Chief Justice of Tanzania Mohamed Chande Othman said judicial reforms which had been underway in the country for years were aimed at strengthening the rule of law and guaranteeing efficiency and timeliness in the dispensation of justice.

He said since last decade, Tanzania has a new regime in Land Law, Labour Law, Intellectual Property Law, Fair Competition Law, Cyber Laws, to mention just a few under the extensive legal reform which had been underway in the country since the early 1990s.

However, he said, a lot remained to be done in order to ensure a more effective and efficient penal, correctional and rehabilitative and communal services “as well as reinforce full respect of human and people’s rights as stipulated in our Constitution”.

Opening the conference, the outgoing Prime Minister Mizengo Peter Pinda underscored the need for application and interpretation of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and other continental and regional human rights instruments and domestic constitutions.

He reiterated Tanzania’s commitment “to the letter and spirit” of all human rights instruments that the country is party to. “Where we fall short on the implementation, we are committed to undertaking our obligation to ensure the full compliance with the provisions of these instruments”, he said.

The three-day dialogue was organized by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), a pan African judicial body based in Arusha and the African Union.