This book tracks and critiques the impact of the internet in Africa. It explores the legal policy implications of, and legal responses to, the internet in matters straddling human rights, development, trade, criminal law, intellectual property, and social justice from the perspective of several African countries and the region. Well-known and emerging African scholars consider whether access to the internet is a human right, the implications on the right to privacy, e-commerce, cybercrime, the opportunities and dangers of admitting electronic evidence, the balancing of freedom of expression with the protection of intellectual property, and how different African legal systems address this tension. This book will be an invaluable resource for a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, scholars and postgraduate students; policymakers and legislators; lawyers and judicial officers; crime-fighting agencies; national human rights institutions; civil society organisations; international and regional organisations; and human rights monitoring bodies.

An integrative rights-based approach to human development in Africaby Dejo Olowu2009ISBN: 978-0-9814124-6-7Pages: x 322Print version: AvailableElectronic version: Free PDF available.

1 The dominant discourse

Changes in human rights environments in Africa over the past decade have been facilitated by astounding political transformations: the rise of mass movements and revolts driven by democratic and developmentalist ideals, as well as mass murder and poverty perpetuated by desperate regimes and discredited global agencies. Human Rights, the Rule of Law, and Development in Africa seeks to make sense of human rights in Africa through the lens of its triumphs and tragedies, its uneven developments and complex demands. The volume makes a significant contribution to the debate about the connections between the protection of human rights and the pursuit of economic development by interrogating the paradigms, politics, and practices of human rights in Africa. Throughout, the essays emphasize that democratic and human rights regimes are products of concrete social struggles, not simply textual or legal discourses. Including some of Africa's leading scholars, jurists, and human rights activists, contributors to the volume diverge from Western theories of African democratization by rejecting the continental view of an Africa blighted by failure, disease, and economic malaise. It argues instead that Africa has strengthened and shaped international law, such as the right to self-determination, inspired by the process of decolonization, and the definition of the refugee. Insisting on the holistic view that human rights are as much about economic and social rights as they are about civil and political rights, the contributors offer novel analyses of African conceptions, experiences, and aspirations of human rights which manifest themselves in complex global, regional, and local idioms. Further, they explore the varied constructions of human rights in African and Western discourses and the roles played by states and NGOs in promoting or subverting human rights. Combining academic analysis with social concern, intellectual discourse with civic engagement, and scholarly research with institution building, this is a compelling and original approach to the question whether externally inspired solutions to African human rights issues have validity in a postcolonial world.

This book tracks and critiques the impact of the internet in Africa. It explores the legal policy implications of, and legal responses to, the internet in matters straddling human rights, development, trade, criminal law, intellectual property and social justice from the perspective of several African countries and the region. Well-known and emerging African scholars consider whether access to the internet is a human right, the implications on the right to privacy, e-commerce, cybercrime, the opportunities and dangers of admitting electronic evidence, the balancing of freedom of expression with the protection of intellectual property and how different African legal systems address this tension. This book will be an invaluable resource for a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, scholars and postgraduate students; policymakers and legislators; lawyers and judicial officers; crime-fighting agencies; national human rights institutions; civil society organisations; international and regional organisations; and human rights monitoring bodies.

The aim of this reference work is to make African human rights law accessible to all those involved in or interested in human rights law on the continent in order to strengthen its impact. Primary documents are introduced and reproduced and presented in a coherent framework. The main institutions - public and private - dealing with human rights in Africa are identified and discussed. Comprehensive overviews of the international human rights legal regimes applicable to Africa, as well as country reports are provided. This book tries to contribute towards documenting, systemising and anchoring the African human rights system. The print edition is available as a set of two volumes (9789004138810).