occur in custody.”8 These Principles are relevant in determining the scope of
what constitutes unlawful deprivations of life.
97. Therefore the situations of wrongful killings, summary executions or extrajudicial killings which the African Commission can examine include all acts
and omissions of State agents that constitute a violation of the general
recognition to the right to life embodied in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and
AC
HP
R
the African Charter.
Alleged violation of Articles 1 and 4
98. Article 1 provides that:
The member states of the Organization of the African Unity parties to the
present Charter shall recognise the rights, duties and freedoms enshrined in
this Charter and shall undertake to adopt legislative or other measures to give
effect to them.
99. The Complainant alleges that the Respondent State is in violation of Article 1
of the African Charter. They argue that the primary duty of States in terms of
this article follows from the fourfold obligations to “respect, protect, promote
and fulfill” the rights contained in the African Charter.
100.
The Complainant states that the duty to respect imports a negative
obligation for the State not to interfere with the right while the duty to protect
refers to a positive obligation on the State to ensure that third parties do not
interfere with an individual right. The duty to promote and to fulfill imposes
a positive obligation to advance human rights enjoyment by creating an
enabling environment where a culture of human rights can thrive.
8
ECOSOC RES. 1989/65: Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of
Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions para. 1
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