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ENGLISH
PART
3
LIBERTY, ARREST,
AND DETENTION
A. Prohibition of Arbitrary Detention: Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security
of his or her person. No one shall be subject to arbitrary or unlawful arrest or detention. Arrest and
detention shall only be carried out strictly in accordance with provisions of the law that are clear, public, and precise and shall be enforced by competent officials or persons authorized for that purpose,
pursuant to a warrant, or on reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has committed an offense
or is about to commit an arrestable offense.
Explanatory Note: See, ACHPR, Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial
and Legal Assistance in Africa, Section M(1) (”Right to liberty and security”); African
Charter on Peoples’ and Human Rights, Article 6; Comms. 54/91-61/91-96/93-98/93164/97_196/97-210/98, Malawi African Association, Amnesty International, Ms Sarr Diop,
Union interafricaine des droits de l›Homme and RADDHO, Collectif des veuves et ayantsDroit, Association mauritanienne des droits de l›Homme v. Mauritania (2000), paras. 113114; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 9(1); U.N. Body of Principles
for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, Principles
3 and 4; ACHPR, Guidelines on the Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trial
Detention in Africa, Guideline 2 and 3; and Principles in Relation to Deprivation of Liberty
of Persons Accused of Acts of Terrorism, U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, A/
HRC/10/21, February 19, 2009, Principle 53.
B. Rights of an Individual Arrested or Detained: Any individual arrested or detained shall be treated in
accordance with relevant regional and international human rights standards, in particular the Guidelines on the Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention in Africa. This includes, but is
not limited to:
(i)
Notification of Rights: Any individual arrested or detained shall be promptly notified of
his or her rights at the time that the arrest or detention takes place and prior to any questioning. The notification shall be carried out by the appropriate authority in a language
that the individual can understand.
Explanatory Note: See, ACHPR, Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and
Legal Assistance in Africa, Section M(2)(b and d) (“Rights upon arrest”) and Section N(2)(b)
(“Right to counsel”).