An English and French website aimed at helping Africans to pursue cases of human rights abuse has been given a facelift.

Photo: claiminghumanrights.org

Human rights abuses occur daily in many parts of the world, but especially in those states where there are hardly any legal mechanisms for bringing abuses to account. However, what many people do not know is that international law offers the chance for redressing human rights abuses. This was the reason that the national UNESCO  committees of Germany and France decided to establish a bilingual website in 2008, aimed at providing information about how individuals can legally pursue abuses of human rights at an international level. The “Claiming Human Rights in Africa” website has now been updated and expanded.

The unique internet platform (www.claiminghumanrights.org) provides information in English and French about human rights protection afforded by the United Nations, the African Union and other international bodies. It provides an overview of human rights treaties and laws aimed at protecting human rights in individual African countries. And it provides contact information for victims of human rights abuses about lawyers and non-government organisations as well as human rights activists and activist groups who might be able to help them.