| Africa Legal Aid Making Human Rights a Reality | |
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AFLA Programs:
This program aims at strengthening AFLA’s targeted groups including the Judiciary, NGOs and Civil Society Groups in Africa, among others. Links:
-Africa Legal Aid organized the Second Consolidated Capacity Building Training Courses in Nairobi, Kenya. February 12-14 2003. Report.
-Training Course. Accra, Ghana, September, 2-6 2002, Universal Jurisdiction: Diversity and Inclusivity.
Selected and Targeted Legal Assistance: AFLA assists, on a carefully targeted basis, individuals and groups in bringing petitions before regional and international fora. Amicus Brief: August 2006 AFLA filed what is believed to be the first amicus brief presented to the Tema Circuit Court in Ghana in an effort to bring an end to corporal punishment in educational facilities. The brief makes the case that caning “should be classified as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and may amount to torture.” Submission of Requests for Advisory Opinions to the New African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights: AFLA will submit requests for advisory opinions to the new African Court on Human and People’s Rights on contemporary and unsettled human rights issues. South-North Dialogue: AFLA uses its platform in the North as a forum for its South-North Dialogues which began in 2002. AFLA seeks to contextualize development cooperation from an African perspective and for these purposes engages Southern stakeholders in dialogue with their Northern counterparts. The dialogues are also used to contribute much needed African perspectives to international norms and standard-setting. The era of colonial occupation and exploitation of Africa by Northern nations has evolved, as African nations have gained independence, into an era of economic aid from many of those same nations. Yet, over 50 years after the first African nations became independent, Africa is the only continent where poverty is still on the rise and Africans continue to be marginalized in every respect. African nations have created The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to frame a just process of economic development. It states:”Across the continent, Africans declare that we will no longer allow ourselves to be conditioned by circumstances. We will determine our own destiny and call on the rest of the world to complement our efforts”. Many Northern nations and leaders embrace the idea of a new global partnership which is based on mutual interest and shared responsibility for a new socio-economic world order. But Northern nations and institutions still have enormous influence over African decisions. In addition, new international institutions with global powers, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), can be seen by Africans as either an invaluable support or further inequitable domination over Africa. While general agreement on the goal for true partnership is a necessary first step, Northern nations and institutions have vastly more power than those in Africa, so it is important to take active steps to redress the balance to protect African interests. An obvious first step is to assure that African voices are equitably represented in forums for international debates, standards-setting and agreements. Africa Legal Aid is providing important leadership in this arena by bringing African voices to international venues for dialogue to understand African Perspectives. Africa Legal Aid has held the meetings below as part of its South –North Dialogue:
-Symposium on Universal Jurisdiction. Maastricht, The Netherlands. December 7 2001. Symposium Report.
-Africa and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Maastricht, The Netherlands. Seminar Report. The Seminar held on December 17 1998. -Legal Profession and the Protection of Human Rights in Africa. Maastricht, The Netherlands. November 27-29 1997, Conference report.
Lecture Series: One
of Africa Legal Aid’s newest initiatives is its Lecture Series designed
to bring together a diverse group of persons including legal
practitioners, academics, NGOs and Civil Society groups as well as the
business community to share ideas on contemporary human rights issues,
especially from an African perspective and situated within the African
context. The Inaugural Lecture was delivered by Professor Ali Mazrui on
July 12 2004 in Accra, Ghana. -Africa and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Pretoria, South Africa. May 31 2007. Report. -The Ethics of Africa’s Governance: Rights, Rules and Relativism. Accra, Ghana. July 12 2004. Report.
Lobbying: AFLA
is not a lobbying organization, but some cases are pursued to use our
ability to sensitize and bring cases to the forefront in the criminal
court system. Publications: AFLA's publications provides a wealth of information for the human rights community, including legal documents, excerpts from past issues of Africa Legal Aid Quarterly and AFLA's books, conference proceedings, reports and other documents. In a strategic review of AFLA, this is what the external facilitator, Prof. Makau Mutua has to say about AFLA's Publications: An important and critical medium for AFLA's work has been its publications. Particularly significant in this regard has been the AFLA Quarterly, the flagship of the organization. The AFLA Quarterly is now considered by many academics and human rights advocates in Africa and abroad to be an important source of information for human rights and legal developments relating to Africa. It is shaping the way academics and advocates think about complex human rights questions. It graces many a shelf around the world and is boldly expanding and revolutionizing the way both Africans and non-Africans think about African Human rights issues. In its short history, AFLA has become a leading voice in the progressive development of human rights jurisprudence for Africa.
 
AFLA Book Series:
Recent Web Resources: -"A Human Rights Colliquium on the Interface between Peace and International Justice in Africa. Report 2007. -"Seminar Introducing the New African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights to Human Rights and Justice Sectors. Report 2006. Archived Web Resources:
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