Examining the Role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) in Responding to Human Rights Violations: A critical Analysis of Gross Human Rights Violations during the Tigray War

Abstract

he outbreak of the armed conflict in Tigray in 2020 was marked by grave human rights violations. Numerous reports documented extrajudicial killings, sexual and gender-based violence, forced displacement of civilians, starvation as a method of warfare, and the obstruction of humanitarian access. These grave human rights violations raised urgent concerns regarding accountability and exposed the inadequacy of existing human rights protection mechanisms at regional level. The conflict in Tigray therefore serves as a critical test of the legal and institutional capacity of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to respond to grave violations of human rights committed in situations of armed conflict. Within the African human rights system, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights is the principal body mandated to promote and protect the rights guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This thesis examines the role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in responding to grave human rights violations committed during the Tigray armed conflict. It then critically evaluates the effectiveness of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in preventing and addressing these grave violations of human rights, particularly in light of its mandate under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In addition, the study examines the legal and institutional challenges that constrain the African Commission in fulfilling its responsibilities, thereby providing a critical analysis of the Commission’s capacity to address grave violations of human rights during the Tigray armed conflict. In this study a doctrinal research methodology is employed to examine the main research questions throughout the research.