This work reveals the true dimension of the African Charter through a systematic analysis of its real or apparent innovations and a detailed assessment of the commitments of the States parties. It also analyzes the effectiveness of the mechanism put in place to monitor compliance with those commitments, examining the practice of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights from its establishment in 1987. It incorporates major recent achievements in the field of the protection of human rights in Africa, including the creation of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights and the establishments of the African Union. This work is the expanded and updated English version of ""La Chart africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples - Une approache juridique des droits de l'homme entre tradition et modernite"" (Presses Universitaires de France, Paris, 1993).
