The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties

42 Pages Posted: 22 Dec 2009

Date Written: 1995

Abstract

This article questions the universality of the human rights corpus and argues that a human rights doctrine that is legitimate across cultures and traditions is not possible without the participation of the wider globe. Its purpose is to imagine and reconfigure a rights regime that could achieve legitimacy in Africa. It argues that African cultures and conceptions of man have a lot to contribute to the exercise of the reconstruction of the human rights corpus. The piece focuses attention on particular African ideas and conceptions of society, morality, and human ethos that would enrich the human rights regime and make it more legitimate in Africa.

Keywords: African cultural fingerprint, duties, rights, African Charter, entitlement, norms, individualism, colonialism

Suggested Citation

Mutua, Makau, The Banjul Charter and the African Cultural Fingerprint: An Evaluation of the Language of Duties (1995). Virginia Journal of International Law, Vol. 35, p. 339, 1995, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1526730

Makau Mutua (Contact Author)

SUNY Buffalo Law School ( email )

626 O'Brian Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260-1100
United States
716 645-2311 (Phone)

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