ABSTRACT
The question of what rights are inherent to man has been a preoccupation of jurists and philosophers for many ages. Christian theology states that God created man and woman endowed them with certain rights, such as the right to life, to be taken only in accordance with divine authority. Human rights are comprehended in universal terms without regard to the socio-cultural peculiarities of different societies. The African social systems differ from the European in history, culture, climate and the level of economic development. In 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. From Africa, only Ethiopia and Liberia were parties to the Declaration. The Charter was drafted under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity and signed in Banjul in The Gambia on January 1981. African traditional societies are stratified according to a hierarchy that corresponds with the enjoyment of privilege.
