DEPARTMENT
OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
SCHOOL
OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
SECOND
SEMESTER 2018/2019 ACADEMIC YEAR
COURSE
SYLLABUS
Course
Code and Title: POLI 468 HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA
Credits:
3 credit hours
Lecture
Period(s) and Venue: Mondays, 15:30-17:20 at JQB 22
Prerequisites:
None
Course
Instructor: Dr. Kumi Ansah-Koi
Office
Location: Kweku Folson Block, Political Science Department
Office
Hours: Mondays, 12:30-14:00; and by appointment
Teaching
Assistants: TBA
Tutorial
Hours: TBA
Course
Overview/Objectives/Goals: This course focuses on current issues
regarding Human Rights in Africa. Students are introduced to pertinent issues
bearing on the nature, contemporary significance, ramifications and challenges
or the notion of Human Rights particularly as regards the African continent.
They are as well introduced to basic Human Rights Instruments and also to
various theories of human rights and their practical import in Africa.
With regards to the methodology and pedagogy, it must
be stated that cases/thematic studies and focal analyses constitute significant
feature of the course. In addition, the web and its resources are very much
integrated into this course. Visuals from various web sources are particularly
helpful teaching aids in this course.
This will be very interactive course. Given the hybrid
nature of the course, students are to actively participate on the online
platform in order to fully benefit from the course. Tutorials are compulsory. Timely
and regular attendance at, and involvement in, tutorials and regular classes
would be insisted on.
Learning
Outcomes:
Students will at the end of the course be able to:
a. Identify
an analytical framework for zeroing in on Human Rights Violations
b. Relate
to and interpret commonalities and diversities of Human Rights in Africa
c. Identify
assumptions associated with human rights promotion and protection in Africa
d. Investigate
and examine case studies of Human Rights in Africa based on various thematic
foci
e. Appraise
and justify how mechanisms for the promotion and protection of Human Rights in
Africa play out
Online
Platform: You can access the online platform by logging on to www.easyclass.com.
The access code for this class is DK3Y-U782.
Each student is required to sign up once. The name of the course on the web
platform is HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA: POLI 468: HUMAN RIGHTS IN
AFRICA MAIN CAMPUS 2018/2019. Students would
have to wait for a maximum of 48 hours for their membership to be approved by
the site administrator.
Plagiarism
policy: Students are expected to duly cite all sources used in
assignments. Failure to do so will result in an automatic fail grade for those
found culpable.
Assessment
and Grading: End of Semester examination will consist of six
essay questions covering the entire course; out of which students would be
required to answer only three. This would constitute 70% of the total grade.
The course includes five online assignments based on
each of the continent’s five sub-regions. The best four of your online
assignments would account for your class participation grade. The total of all
four assignments would make up 20%
of the total grade. Further details on these assignments will be provided in a
separate lecture scheduled in this outline.
An assignment, to be given in class mid-way through
the course, would constitute 10% of
the total grade.
The
online assignment grade and mid-term assignment grades would comprise the
mandatory 30% Interim Assessment grade.
Grading
Scale:
|
Letter
Grade
|
Marks
|
|
A
|
80-100
|
|
B+
|
75-79
|
|
B
|
70-74
|
|
C+
|
65-69
|
|
C
|
60-64
|
|
D+
|
55-59
|
|
D
|
50-54
|
|
E
|
45-49
|
|
F
|
0-44
|
Reading
List/Required Text:
Weekly readings will be provided in class and on the
online platform. In addition, students are expected to read material from the
basic reading list attached to this course outline. A class dossier would be
made available in the main office by the end of the second week. It is your
responsibility to obtain copies for your tutorials and readings.
Other
Information:
This course outline is subject to modifications as and
when necessary. The online platform will always have the most current version.
It is the responsibility of students to regularly
check on online for latest information regarding this course. The instructor
will not be held liable in cases where students miss relevant information as a
result of failure to do so.
All exams are mandatory and students who miss them do
so at their own expense. Students who miss exams for health reasons will have
to seek written permission from the Head of Department.
Use of mobile phones during lecture hours is
prohibited.
Students with physical challenges and learning
disabilities should not hesitate to communicate their needs to me early in the
semester.
All public holidays will be observed accordingly.
Provision will however be made to accommodate missed lecture periods.
I am committed to creating an atmosphere of
inclusivity. No student should feel discriminated on basis of religious
orientation, physical ability, nationality, sexual preference or gender. If you
feel threatened at any point during lectures, do not hesitate to draw my
attention to it.
Course
Syllabus
|
Week
|
Date
|
Lecture Theme/Topic
|
|
1-2
|
February
4-11
|
Introduction to Course
Navigating the Online Platform
Explanation
on Class Participation Assignments and Assignment of Countries/Foci for Class
Participation Activities.
Signing up for Online Assignments
|
|
2
|
February
11
|
The Notion of Human Rights
Theories;
Nature; Sources; Evolution; Legal Obligations; International Status; Human
Rights in contemporary Socio-Political Thought; and Human Rights Obligations
of contemporary States/Societies.
We
would as well focus on the basic Human Rights Instruments and Obligation;
Human Rights Promotion and Protection; and also identify an analytical
framework for zeroing in on Human Rights Violations.
Deadline for Signing Up to Online
Platform
|
|
3-4
|
February
18-February 25
|
Our African Matrix
The
Notion of Africa; Basic Socio-Political features of Africa: Commonalities and
Diversities
Human
Rights in Africa: Historical Overview
a.
Pre-Colonial/Traditional Africa and Human Rights
b.
Colonial Africa and Human Rights
c.
Post-Colonial Africa and Human Rights
d.
Human Rights in Africa since the End of the Cold War
African
basic instruments on Human Rights; African basic institution and arrangements
pertaining to Human Rights; and African Contributions to the evolution of
Human Rights.
Deadline for Google registration
|
|
5-6
|
March
4-March 11
|
A
survey of Human Rights in Contemporary Africa
State
of Human Rights in Contemporary Africa
Human
Rights Violations and shortfalls in Africa
Detailed
Case/Thematic/Focal Studies drawn from Africa would be extrapolated for
analyses. The selection would, among others, cover such themes as
a)
FGM
b)
Gender/Women/Child Rights
c)
Minority Rights
d)
Reproductive Rights
e)
Sexual Rights
f)
Civil and Political Rights
We
would as well be particularly concerned with the Human Rights dimensions of
the Civil Wars in Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and elsewhere in
Africa, as well as with the Human Rights dimensions of the
electoral/political mess in such countries as Libya, Mali, Congo, Zimbabwe,
Somalia and the Central African Republic.
|
|
7-8
|
March
18-25
|
Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights (in Africa)
Introduction
(Why promotion and protection; and what those notion entail)
Overview
Mechanisms
for the Promotion and Protection and how they so far play out. We would be
specifically concerned with the following:
1)
Constitutions and Constitutionalism
2)
Law and Legality/The Rule of Law
Mid-Term Assignment Due on March 22
|
|
9-10
|
April
1-8
|
3)
The Courts of Law/Justice: The Judiciary
4)
The Mass Media
5)
State-Owned/Operated Human Rights Institutions (CHRAJ
would be our case in point)
|
|
11-13
|
April
15-April 22
|
6)
NGOs/Civil Society Organisations
7)
Public Policies/Programmes/Initiatives
8)
International Organisations/Law/Treaties/Conventions
a)
The UN System
b)
Regional Institutions (Case in point: OAU/AU)
c)
Sub-regional institutions (case in point: ECOWAS)
9)
MDGs and SDGs and Human Rights in Africa
10) ICT and Human
Rights in Contemporary Africa
|
|
14
|
April
29
|
Review/Revision
|
|
15
|
May
1
|
Public
Holiday but would be used for mop up only if necessary
|
Rubrics for Online
Assignments
·
There are five (5) assignments for the
whole semester but only your best four (4) will count towards your final grade.
·
All
assignments should be uploaded on the online
platform. Failure to do so will result in no participation grades. No hard
copies would be accepted.
·
For this course, Africa will be divided
into five (5) sub-regions-North, East, West, Central and Southern. You are to
choose a country from a particular sub-region for each assignment. No two
assignments should be from the same sub-region.
·
You must
select your preferred countries on the day assigned for that purpose.
Otherwise, the TAs have the discretion to assign countries.
·
The assignments supposed to be done with a
computer not a mobile phone.
You will have yourself to blame for failure to upload documents due to
compatibility issues.
·
Apart from earning your participation
points, the online assignments will help you hone your research skills and help
you appreciate the similarities and diversities in Human Rights across various
countries.
·
Although you are free to select your
country of research, you have to sign up by the indicated date. Your selection
would be confirmed online by another date.
·
For each country, the first six (6) people
who sign up for each assignment will be permitted to proceed with research on
their preferred countries.
·
Plagiarism will not be condoned. In cases
where it is obvious that two students copied, both students will have to
re-submit.
·
Your explanations/assignments should not
exceed one A4 sheet (single space) or two pages (double space); and should be
of font size 12, regardless of the font style.
·
Presentation
Format: Presentations may be in the form of
slides/slideshows, pictures, videos, sound recordings, or any material which
will sufficiently include implicit Human Rights themes. You are also welcome to
combine several materials for your presentations. You are to provide a brief
explanation which relates concepts/issues discussed in class to your
information.
·
All assignments should be submitted online
by the due date. Students can upload assignments before the deadline indicated
on the course outline. Assignments
uploaded after the deadline would not be accepted.
·
Grading
Scale
|
Indicator
|
Maximum
Points
|
Explanation
|
|
Relevance/
Explanation
|
10
|
Every presentation
should have a paragraph explaining the reason why the information presented
was chosen. Student should demonstrate a sound understanding of how relevant
the material is to the course. Your ability to explain with terms and
concepts associated with this course will attract higher points. The use of
current statistics and tables to strengthen your arguments will be an
advantage.
|
|
Currency
|
5
|
Higher marks will
be awarded to students to present the most current information. No source
should be older than five (5) years.
|
|
Originality/
Creativity
|
5
|
Higher marks will
be awarded to students who address human rights issues which previous
respondents (in this class) have not addressed in the same country.
|
|
Presentation
|
2
|
This looks at the
visual attraction of the work.
|
|
Mechanical
Structure (Grammar/Spelling, Citations)
|
3
|
Sources should
properly be cited in APA format and grammatical and spelling errors should be
avoided.
|
|
Total
|
25
|
|
Schedule
for Assignments
|
Date
|
Sign Up
|
Portal
|
|
February
12
|
Sign
up for all sub-regions
|
Link
to Google Sheet will be provided on Easyclass
|
|
February
19
|
Confirmation
of sub-regions
|
Link
to Google Sheet will be provided on Easyclass
|
|
February
26
|
Submission
of First Assignment
|
Easyclass
|
|
March
5
|
Submission
of Second Assignment
|
Easyclass
|
|
March
12
|
Submission
of Third Assignment/Assign mid-term project in class and on Easyclass
Question for mid-term will be provided
in class/online
|
Easyclass
|
|
March
19
|
Submission
of Mid-term Assignment
|
Easyclass
|
|
March
26
|
Submission
of Fourth Assignment
|
Easyclass
|
|
April
2
|
Submission
of Fifth Assignment
|
Easyclass
|
|
April
16
|
Deadline
for submitting mid-term grades
|
Link
to Google Sheet will be provided on Easyclass
|
|
April
22
|
Total
class grades online
|
Link
to Google Sheet will be provided on Easyclass
|
|
April
26
|
Deadline
for reporting all omissions in tallying of class participation grades
|
Easyclass
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
Readings:
Abdullahi Ahmed A-Na’m and Francis M. Deng (editors),
Human Rights in Africa, Cross-Cultural Perspectives, the Brookings Institution,
Washington, DC,1990.
African Charter of the Rights and Welfare of the Child
(1990)
African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (1981)
Annual Report: CHRAJ
Annual Report: Ghana Police Service
Annual Report: Ghana Prisons Service
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (1979)
Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities
(2006)
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
Declaration on the Rights to Development (1986)
Ghana Human Development Report
Human Rights Clauses of Charter of United Nations
(1945).
International Convention on Civil and Political Rights
(with the optional Protocols) (1966)
International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (1996)
Protocols on the Establishment of an African Courts on
Human and Peoples Rights (1998)
Report of Ghana’s National Reconciliation Commission
Reports on Ghana’s Constitutional Review Commission
Rome Statue of the International Criminal Courts
(1998)
The 1992 Ghana Constitution
The African Peer Review Mechanism: Country Report on
Ghana
The American Declaration of Independence
The Constitution of USA
The Constitutive Act of the African Union
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1945)
The Vienna Declaration and Programme of the Action on
Human Rights (1993)
UN Human Rights Commission: Country Reports on Ghana
US State Department: Human Rights Country on Ghana
Useful
Web Links
Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights,
Geneva: www.ohchr.org
ILO, Geneva: www.icj-cij.org
ICJ, The Hague: www.icj-cij.org
UN Treaty database: https://treaties.un.org/
Official Documents of the UN: http://documents.un.org/
Amnesty International: www.amnesty.org
Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org
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