Legalization of Human Rights in Africa: The Institutionalization of Laws Prohibiting State-Sanctioned Violence and Torture

Most countries on the African continent have ratified or acceded to several human rights treaties, including the Torture Convention and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. This book assesses the progress African countries have made in institutionalizing human rights laws prohibiting torture, extrajudicial killings, and disappearances domestically.

States ratify human rights treaties for a variety of reasons. Some commentators defend an honest sincerity of purpose, whereas other...