RIGHTS activist Femi Falana, SAN has accused the African Union (AU) leaders of failing to genuinely and effectively implement human rights obligations and commitments in their countries.
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Falana stated this yesterday in a paper titled, “The Unconstitutional Change of Government in Africa” delivered at the AU Forum in Accra, Ghana.
According to Falana, “Many years of government impunity, abuse of human rights, grand and systemic corruption and flagrant disregard for the rule of law have been pervasive throughout the African continent.”
He stated it was more worrisome that political opponents and activists, who opposed illegal constitutional amendment and other infractions are jailed, exiled or killed.
He noted that despite the illegality and grave human rights violations in many of these member states, the AU has continued to send election observers, who usually endorse questionable and seriously flawed elections under purported constitutional amendment.
He said since tenure elongation paved way for coup in some countries, the AU should suspend governments that amend their constitutions to extend the tenure of political leaders.
Falana urged the leaders to begin to make effective and meaningful use of its treaties and protocols on democracy and human rights, and its early warning mechanisms to improve respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and the well-being of African citizens.
“The primary responsibility for implementing human rights lies with governments. But AU leaders can no longer use as pretext the ground of ‘national sovereignty for their failure to respond to gross and systematic violations of human rights that affect their citizens, and reject impunity where states fail to perform their legal and constitutional duties.
“Apart from the manipulation of constitution, abuse of human rights and official impunity, the crisis of poverty arising from the gross mismanagement of the economy by the ruling class aided by imperialism is also exploited to remove elected governments,”he said.
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