The promotion and protection of socio-economic rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights: prospects and challenges in South Africa and Nigeria
This thesis argues that the nature of socio-economic rights makes their violation central to key poverty and developmental issues in Africa. The thesis further argues that an effective socio-economic rights' legal and institutional framework will aid the realisation of socioeconomic rights as well as poverty reduction and development. In this context, the thesis examines the arrangements made for the promotion and protection of socio-economic rights under the African Charter. It also critically examines challenges to the realisation of socioeconomic rights under the Charter. Using South Africa and Nigeria as case studies in the implementation of socio-economic rights in Africa, the thesis examines how both countries have incorporated the African Charter and the influence if any; the Charter may have on the interpretation of socioeconomic rights in both jurisdictions. The thesis also examines constitutional protection of socio-economic rights as well as other domestic arrangements for the realisation of socioeconomic rights in both countries. As an original contribution to the study of socio-economic rights, the thesis compares how domestic courts in South Africa, a country with constitutionally recognised justiciable socioeconomic rights and Nigeria, a country with constitutionally recognised non-justiciable directive principles of state policies, have interpreted and applied socio-economic rights provisions. Justiciable and non-justiciable socio-economic rights provisions both guide and shape legislative action, policy formulation and executive/administrative decision making. Against a backdrop of the above, the increasing role of civil society organisations in the realisation of socio-economic rights is also examined. The thesis hypothesised that the Constitutional Court of South Africa will not provide a fundamental right to individuals to claim positive judicially enforceable action and services from the state. As an original contribution to the study of socio-economic rights, this hypothesis is tested by conducting qualitative analyses of socio-economic rights cases where litigants invoked the socio-economic rights provisions of the South African Constitution.
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