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From 17 to 21 April 2023, the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Centre for Human Rights (Centre) hosted its annual advanced one-week human rights course (AHRC) on the African human rights system in comparative perspective. It did so with support from the government of Flanders, and in collaboration with Ghent University, a leading Flemish university.

The short course on African human rights system in comparative perspective intends to build capacity among participants through a general introduction of human rights law and the role players in the development and enforcement of human rights norms in Africa. It deals with topics such as the African Union and human rights; the architecture of the African regional and sub-regional human rights systems; the Maputo Protocol; and children’s rights and civic engagement within the African regional human rights system.

The course is made possible thanks to funding from the government of Flanders, which has been funding the course for a well over a decade. In terms of a collaborative agreement, international renowned experts, Professors Clara Burbano-Herrera and Yves Haeck, based at Ghent University in Flanders, taught participants on the similarities between different human rights systems and challenged participants to envisage of a comparative human rights system that is both relevant and functional.

Addressing participants  on the collaborative work by the government of the Flanders and the Centre, Deputy General Representative of Flanders, Mr Zvi Raman, lauded the strong academic partnerships between Flemish Universities and the University of Pretoria through this collaboration. He added that, because of it, there is a repository of knowledge that has enriched the field of comparative studies. applauded the participants to make informed differences in their own countries through better comparative analyses of the human rights systems. Raman reminded participants after 75 years the Universal Declaration on Human Rights has not accomplished what it set out to accomplish when declared on 10 December 1948; he encouraged the participants to continue to study, analyse, question, and discuss these human rights systems.

The course was hosted in hybrid format through Zoom, with around 40 participants online and around 50 participants in person on UP’s Hatfield Campus. The course is part of a series advanced human rights courses on a variety of topic presented throughout the year. 


For more information, please contact:

Dennis Antwi
Project Manager: Advanced Human Rights Courses (AHRC)

Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 4197
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
dennis.antwi@up.ac.za

Dorcas Basimanyane
Project Coordinator: Advanced Human Rights Course

Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 6398
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
basimanyane.k@up.ac.za