The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, have called for submissions of fully developed articles and case discussions aiming to make ground-breaking academic-style contributions to human rights discourse in Africa in the 10th edition of African Human Rights Yearbook.
The year 2026 holds special meaning for the African human rights system as it marks four decades since the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the foundational treaty of the system, came into force on October 21, 1986. It also celebrates 20 years since the African Court officially began its work and opened its doors in 2006.
While submissions are expected to engage with issues from a continental African perspective, studies focused on specific countries or sub-regions that connect to the African regional human rights system are equally welcome. Contributors are especially encouraged to adopt multidisciplinary and evidence-based approaches in their research and analysis.
Submissions are invited in any of the three categories below:
a. Articles focused on aspects of the African human rights system, established under the auspices of the African Union.
b. Articles related to the African Union theme of the year for 2026, which is “Assuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063.”
c. Case Commentaries
Submissions of critical analyses of the decisions of the African Court, the African Commission, and the African Children’s Committee, especially most recently decided cases, are especially invited.
Suitable papers, which should be fully developed articles (of no more than 10,000 words, including footnotes) and case discussions (of no more than 8,000 words, including footnotes), should be submitted, before or by July 31, 2026, by email to ahry@up.ac.za.
Contributions should include the author’s current designation, academic qualifications and ORCID number, and a summary of no more than 250 words, setting out the aim of the contribution, the methodology, and the main findings. The submission must be original and not have already been published or submitted elsewhere.
The full guidelines for paper submission can be accessed at https://www.ahry.up.ac.za/submissions.
Authors of published articles will be fully responsible for the originality, validity, and integrity of the content of their manuscripts. They have to confirm that the manuscript they are submitting is their original work and that the work of others has been appropriately attributed.
AI-generated content will not be accepted for publication; as a result, any submission found to include AI-generated substantive content will be rejected, or retracted if already published.
