ABSTRACT
This chapter advocates for close trade and other economic links, more likely to be developed at the regional levels, with hope that they may serve as a guarantee of respect for commonly agreed standards, including human rights. It examines both negative and positive impacts of regional integration on human rights protection in Africa in order to propose solutions based on the maximization of positive impact. The chapter explores how human rights issues are addressed in Regional Economic Communities (RECs) Treaties. It identifies the contribution of RECs Courts and Tribunal in the protection of human rights. The chapter inspects how effective the RECs' Courts and Tribunal's decisions are enforced by the member states. The African Economic Community (AEC) Treaty is more comprehensive than any treaty of other integration schemes in Africa. It adopts an all-inclusive approach to cooperation and integration which takes into account not only the contributions of economic sectors but also noneconomic ones.
