ABSTRACT
The basis for the emphasis on the peoples’ rights can be found in the traditional importance which in African culture and history has been attributed to the nature of the local close-knit society. This chapter addresses one of the main problems in relation to the inclusion of the provisions in the African Charter. This arises from the use of the term “people”, without any suggestion what the definition hereof should imply. The “internal” freedom fights and secessions were not acceptable to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) for various reasons, expressed clearly in the Charter of the OAU, prescribing the “respect for the sovereign and territorial integrity of each State and for its inalienable right to independent existence”. The African Charter does not distinguish sharply between the political and civil rights and freedoms on the one hand and the economic, social and cultural rights on the other hand.
