African Union [to 25 October 2014]
http://www.au.int/en/

Oct.25.2014
AUC, AfDB and ECA confident that countries will beat Ebola Virus Disease
Leaders of three Pan-African institutions – the African Union Commission’s Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the African Development Bank’s Dr Donald Kaberuka, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s Dr. Carlos Lopes – concluded a solidarity tour on Friday 24 October 2014 in Conakry, Guinea.
The visit ended with a confident call to step up resource mobilisation, enhance coordination, fight stigmatization, promote Africa’s readiness for business and its continued rise. Starting off in Ghana, the visit took in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire, before rounding off in Guinea.
They met with Heads of Government, cabinet Ministers, parliamentarians, civil society and media in the affected countries, as well as with leaders of two neighbouring countries, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Ghana also hosted the delegation in its capacity as the current President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The primary purpose of the visit was to show solidarity in the spirit of Ubuntu, to shore up more resources to support the Governments and peoples of these countries, and to engage with leaders on their national efforts and strategies in response to Ebola…

Oct.24.2014
Ethiopia Contributes to African Union Ebola Response Efforts

Oct.23.2014
Fighting Ebola: a warm no-handshake reception in Ebola-affected countries

Oct.22.2014
AU-ICRC Seminar on Protection of Health-Care Services in Armed Conflicts and Other Emergencies

Oct.22.2014
AUC Chair takes fight against Ebola to another

Oct.22.2014
Addressing losses and waste across the food chain should be a critical pillar of national agricultural strategies

Oct.21.2014
The Commemoration of the Africa Human Rights Day, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
MESSAGE BY H.E. DR. AISHA L. ABDULLAHI, COMMISSIONER FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS
AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION ON THE OCCASION OF THE COMMEMORATION OF THE AFRICA HUMAN RIGHTS DAY UNDER THE THEME:
“HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL, FOR A PEACEFUL AND SECURE AFRICA”
21 OCTOBER 2014
ADDIS ABABA – ETHIOPIA
[Excerpt]
The African continent has witnessed decades of numerous human rights challenges resulting from a diverse range of factors, which include, inter alia, war, poverty, impunity, corruption, autocratic governance. It is against this background that Member States of the then Organization of African Unity (OAU), solemnly resolved to promote and safeguard freedom, justice, equality and human dignity in Africa by putting in place instruments to enforce these values.

The African Human and Peoples’ Rights System with its various instruments and mechanisms paved the way for the advancement of human rights promotion and protection in Africa. It also led to the creation of strategic measures to accelerate the attainment of respect for the right to development as well as measures to assist Member States to respond to development as a human rights issue. Such instruments have an undeniable moral force and provide practical guidance to States in their conduct. The value of the African Union Human and Peoples’ Rights Instruments and Mechanisms rests on their recognition, acceptance and effective implementation by Member States and indeed they may be seen as declaratory of broadly accepted goals and principles within the African Community.

The protection and promotion of Human Rights are keys for sustainable development on the continent and are an integral part of the African Shared Values. The promotion and protection of human rights has been a priority for Member States of the African Union and has been articulated as a priority in a number of the AU Instruments and Pronunciations. The principles and objectives of the AU’s Constitutive Act of 2000 emphasise the need to promote and protect human rights on the continent. This Act includes a number of provisions placing human and peoples’ rights on top of the agenda of the organization. In its Article 3 (h), the Act states that African leaders are determined to “promote and protect human and peoples’ rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and other relevant human rights instruments”. In Article 4 (m), the Act commits African leaders to the “respect for democratic principles, human rights, rule of law and good governance”.

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) was adopted by the OAU on 27 June 1981 and entered into force on 21 October 1986, a day which is celebrated annually as the Africa Human Rights Day. This instrument forms the foundational stone for the African Human and Peoples’ Rights System. The African Charter is unique to other regional human rights instruments in that it not only covers internationally accepted human rights norms and standards, but also recognizes the values and principles that are unique to the African continent. It covers Civil and Political Rights, Economic Social and Cultural Rights, Peoples’ and Group Rights as well as a set of duties of the individual to society….