Three human rights institutions, 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, are inviting contributions for the second edition of the African Human Rights Yearbook.
The Yearbook seeks papers and case discussions that will propose groundbreaking academic style contributions to the human rights discourse in Africa. Contributions are expected to take a continental approach to the issues they cover; or country or sub-regional level case studies that are designed in the light of the overall African human rights system. The year book encourages papers adopting multidisciplinary and empirical approaches.
The first edition of the African Human Rights Yearbook was published at the end of 2017 and comprises of 17 articles contributed in English and French.
Abstracts should be of not more than 600 words to be submitted together with a short resume of the author and should include the title, a short description of the topic to be addressed, the methodological approach taken, and a brief overview of the issues to be explored.
Abstracts should be submitted before or by March 31, 2018 as e-mail attachments to Thomas White thomas.white@up.ac.za, Centre for Human Rights – Pretoria copying Dr. Robert Eno, Registrar of the African Court Robert.Eno@african-court.org and Dr. Horace Adjolohoun, Principal Legal Officer at the African Court Horace.Adjolohoun@african-court.org. Any questions on this call for papers should be directed to the addresses given above.
The selection panel will consider the proposals and inform only the selected authors before or by April 30, 2018. On acceptance of a proposal by the selection panel, the author will be invited to submit a full draft paper together with an abstract of 200 words by July 31, 2018. Upon review, the authors will receive comments, which they will be expected to incorporate and return the final paper by September 30, 2018.
Papers accepted will be published in the second volume of the Yearbook, which is expected to appear in November 2018.
The joint paper invites submissions in three categories as follows:
Articles about the African human rights system or African Union human rights standards, including domestic application and interpretation.
Articles that focus on the African Union’s theme of the year, which is “Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.” Aspiration 3 of the African Union Agenda 2063 recognizes that corruption undermines the development of a universal culture of good governance, democratic values, gender equality, and respect for human rights, justice, and the rule of law. The call for the theme of the year is for articles on assessing progress being made thus far and proposing progressive approaches to an improved achievement of Aspiration 3.
Case Commentaries: Propositions to improve case law, this is as a result of the growing jurisprudence of the three organs. Commentaries may be on a single decision, or on the case law of one of the three organs, separately, or provide perspectives on the case law of the three organs, jointly (cross cutting jurisprudential issues, complementarily).
Contributions to the African Human Rights Yearbook are not remunerated. However, in recognition of their intellectual work and the value it adds to the Yearbook, authors of finally accepted papers will be added to a database of thematic experts of the African Court, the African Commission, and the Children’s Committee. In addition, they will be involved in various relevant activities and events organized by the three institutions either separately or jointly.
