Law, Nature Conservation and Sacred Natural Sites under Resolution 372 of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

The interaction across law, rights and nature has led to a resurgence in the significance of sacred and natural sites to nature conservation. In Africa, this turn was marked by the adoption of the Resolution on the Protection of Sacred Natural Sites and Territories by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2017. However, this resolution remains entangled in the Anglo-German heritage of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Given the expansive mandate of the African Commission under the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, this article argues that the African Commission might consider formulating an Africa-focused characterization of sacred and natural sites, away from its reference to the IUCN’s definition, and in accordance with Africa’s needs within the context of the leading role of the Charter and related Africa-centred nature-specific treaties.