AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

computers, and major electronics brands –
including Apple, Samsung and Sony – are
failing to carry out basic checks to ensure
that cobalt mined by child labourers is not
used in their products.
LOOKING AHEAD
The AU called 2016 its Year of Human
Rights, but many member states failed to
convert rhetoric on human rights into action.
If there was anything to be celebrated about
the year, it was the story of people’s resilience
and courage as they articulated a clear
message that repression and the politics of
fear can no longer silence them.
Almost certainly, escalating crises in
countries such as Burundi, Ethiopia, Gambia
and Zimbabwe could have been averted or
minimized had there been the political will
and courage to open up space for people to
freely express their views.
Despite progress in some areas, the AU’s
responses to violations of human rights – as
the structural causes of conflicts, or emerging
out of conflicts – remained largely slow,
inconsistent and reactive. Indeed, even when
it showed concern, the AU generally lacked
the determination and political will to confront
such violations head-on. There also appeared
to be co-ordination gaps between the peace
and security organs and mechanisms – such
as the AU’s Peace and Security Council and
its Continental Early Warning System – and
the regional human rights institutions, which
limited a comprehensive response to human
rights violations leading to or emerging out of
conflicts.
The AU has less than four years to realize
its aspiration to “silence all guns” on the
continent by 2020. It is time to translate this
commitment into action, by ensuring an
effective response to the underlying structural
causes of conflicts, including persistent
human rights violations.
More effective measures are also needed
to tackle the cycle of impunity – including
moving away from politically motivated
attacks on the ICC and working towards
ensuring justice and accountability for
serious crimes and gross human rights
violations being committed in countries like
South Sudan and elsewhere.
The AU has embarked on designing a 10
Year Action and Implementation Plan on
Human Rights in Africa, providing yet
another opportunity to address its key
challenges. The starting point should be
recognition that Africans are rising and
claiming their rights, despite repression and
exclusion.
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