Africa and the Global Human Rights Agenda: The African Group at the UN Human Rights Council

Photo: WikiCommons, US Mission Geneva, Eric Bridiers
Photo: WikiCommons, US Mission Geneva, Eric Bridiers

This policy briefing examines the behaviour of African countries in country-specific situations at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), focusing specifically on developments and examples that occurred between July 2010 and July 2014.

Africa is the region with the largest number of seats on the HRC. It is also one of the most organised. However, an analysis of its members’ behaviour shows that there is a diversity of approaches within the group, which does not react consistently when addressing situations of grave human rights violations on the continent or in other parts of the world.

The views expressed in this publication/article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA).

22 Oct 2014