African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) member, Advocate Pansy Tlakula says the complaint and communications procedure of the commission has contributed immensely to human rights protection in Africa.

Ms Tlakula attributed this to a system of norm-clarification and standard-setting, also known as "quasi-judicial activism" developed the commission.

She was addressing the Africa Human Rights Day celebrations held on Saturday at University of the Free State at Phuthaditjhab, on the challenges and achievements of the commission.

The event was organised by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities in partnership with the Electoral Commission, the SA Human Rights Commission and the Commission on Gender Equality.

Ms Tlakula said the commission had addressed and elaborated on a wide range of substantive and procedural issues in its charter, which were otherwise vague.

"This way, the commission has largely reinvented the charter to bring the African human rights system in line with international human rights jurisprudence.

"We can boast of the most flexible and generous locus standi principle amongst all international and regional treaty bodies, allowing everyone the legal interest and capacity to file a communication, for its consideration," said Ms Tlakula.

The ACHPR was established to promote human and peoples' rights and ensure their protection in Africa.

It is the main human rights body on the continent and is regarded by many as crucial in accomplishing the objectives of the African Union's.

It was established in 1987 in terms of Article 30 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU in June 1981, in Nairobi Kenya.

The African Commission meets twice a year in ordinary sessions, each session lasting 15 days.

In addition, the promotional mandate of the commission involves education and sensitisation of people's rights.

It includes research and documentation, dissemination of information through workshops, seminars and symposiums, the formulation of principles to address legal problems of human rights and cooperation with African and international human rights institutions.

In this regard, the commission has embarked on a number of activities, including undertaking promotional missions to States Parties, organising seminars, symposiums, workshops, etc.

"To ensure effective discharge of their promotional mandate, the members of the commission have distributed the States Parties among themselves, and tasked themselves to undertake human rights promotion in these countries," she said.

To effectively promote human rights on the continent, the African Commission established special mechanisms-working groups, committees and special rapporteurs - to deal with thematic (specific) human rights issues of concern to the commission and the continent as a whole.

The working groups include one on specific issues relevant to the work of the African commission, on the death penalty and on the rights of indigenous populations in Africa.

The special rapporteurs include the one on Prison and Conditions of Detention in Africa and on the Rights of Women in Africa, among others.

She said the commission had succeeded in making human rights a permanent feature of the political discourse of African political leaders and civil society organizations.

"Our activities include bi-annual sessions, which attract attention from a wide section of the African population, not least African leaders," she said.

Also addressing the same event was IEC Deputy Chairperson Thoko Mpumlwana.

Ms Mpumlwana said the Africa was adopting 30 years of the adoption of Cultural Charter by the Organisation of African Unity in Mauritius on 5 July 1976.

She said the charter stated that it was imperative to ensure the promotion of African languages, as the mainstay and media of cultural heritage in its most authentic and essentially popular form.

"It further stated that the introduction of African languages at all levels of education should have to go hand-in-hand with literacy work among the people at large," she said.

She said in South Africa besides the 11 official languages the Constitution also made provision for the promotion and creation of conditions for the development and use of all official languages, including the Khoi, Nama, San and sign languages.

"We recommit ourselves as the IEC to improve our systems to ensure that all 11 languages at some stage receive equal treatment and exposure.

"We remember that our struggle for justice was also a struggle for our cultural dignity and the IEC cannot dehumanise people by not acknowledging their identity," she said.