DISCUSS THE CHALLENGES OF ADMISSIBILITY OF INDIVIDUAL COMPLAINTS OF VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS BEFORE REGIONAL RIGHTS COURTS

ABSTRACT

Background: The three well-established regional human rights systems (in Europe, the Americas, and Africa) aim to provide access to individuals to a decision and remedy based on the violation of human rights in the founding treaties.It’s exactly 18years; 24years and 33 years after the establishment of African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights; European Court of Human Rights; and Inter-American Court of Human Rights respectively, but still but still the gross violation of human rights in the all the regions of the world continues unabated and the courts have only received and decided very few cases related to economic, social and cultural rights. Objective: On this basis, this study attempted to examine the challenges of admissibility of individual complaints of violation of human rights before regional rights courts. Method: qualitative research was adopted and content analysis was employed to analyze the data obtained from published materials. Results: the finding of the study revealed that poverty and illiteracy; states power to withdraw the rights of its citizens and NGOs to file complaints to the regional human rights courts; delay passage of judgments and caseloads; contradiction of national laws and regional laws; and lack of enforceable power were the challenges of admissibility of individual complaints of violation of human rights before regional rights courts. Conclusion: the study concludes that there is much need to be done to address the gross violation of human rights at the regional level. Recommendation: the enforceable power and compliance to the decision of the regional human rights courts need to be strengthen.