Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Selected African Countries: A Comparative Evaluation in the Context of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)

Constitutional democracy, human rights and the rule of law are critically important for peace, and sustainable development—this more so on the African continent which has faced and continues to face enormous challenges ranging from poor governance to armed conflicts, poverty, inequality, poor education and healthcare systems and unemployment to mention but a few. Constitutional democracy, the protection of human rights and the rule of law are closely linked because each needs the other to function. However, the levels of achievement of these ideals vary from country to country and depend on various internal and external factors. This chapter explores the extent to which selected African countries have achieved these ideals and the comparative lessons those countries can learn from each other. The chapter begins by contextualizing constitutional democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It provides an explanation of the rationale for the choice of selected countries for evaluation. An evaluation contemporary practice of constitutional democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the selected countries is then undertaken before drawing comparative lessons. This is done in the context of the role of the APRM and the extent to which it has achieved its objectives. Conclusions are then drawn and recommendations made mainly to the effect that the APRM provides opportunities for promoting constitutional democracy, human rights and the rule of law and efforts should be made to strengthen it and to bring more countries on board.