The impact of country-specific resolutions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 1994-2024

Abstract

This article analyses the impact of the country-specific resolutions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights using a theoretical framework constructed around the concept of ‘naming and shaming’. The Commission’s country-specific resolutions focus on the human rights situation in named countries. While the Commission has consistency adopted these resolutions since 1994, very little is known about their impact. The article attempts to fill this gap in the literature by presenting evidence of the extent to which country-specific resolutions issued by the Commission have been complied with. It analyses nine resolutions, selected because they contain specific recommendations that would allow for the possibility of analysing impact with some level of accuracy. An analysis of these resolutions, adopted in seven countries (Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe) reveals that immediate full compliance is rare. At best, the Commission’s country-specific resolutions have triggered discursive engagements that have resulted in tentative changes in human rights practices or situational compliance as a result of changes in government or political circumstances.