Despite existing international and regional legal frameworks that provide standards and codes of conduct for police forces, many African states are not implementing them. This Institute for Democracy in South Africa paper summarises international, regional and donor standards, concepts and guidelines relevant to police work. States need to develop both the political will and the capacity to infuse internationally accepted conventions and guidelines for law enforcement into their police management structures.
This resource database is intended primarily for Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) police officials, civil society activists and multilateral and donor organisation staffs. However, it can be used in other police reform contexts, particularly in Africa.
The paper summarises international legal instruments, beginning with the United Nations (UN) Declaration of Human Rights, including rights to prevent state abuse of power and personal liberties affected by policing. It also includes, inter alia, the UN law enforcement code of conduct and principles on the use of force. Other codes and protocols adopted by international and regional organisations, including the African Union (AU), and donors are included.
While the DRC and other African states have signed declarations and ratified or acceded to international legal covenants and protocols, they have not implemented them. Furthermore, they have not ratified or acceded to those adopted by the AU and the Southern African Development Community. This is because:
- Many states have insufficient resources to implement such obligations, including lack of government finance and human resources capacity.
- There is a lack of domestic interest groups that could advocate and lobby for implementation of international and regional conventions and codes of police conduct.
- In some instances, domestic political risks outweigh the risk of any international criticism of lack of implementation.
- In order to survive in domestic politics, politicians either postpone domestic implementation or simply pay lip service to them. While they may sign a declaration, they will not ratify international protocol which contains obligations.
- Coordination in the domestic arena is lacking in some countries, which often leads to duplication of efforts and a waste of resources.
- While some countries resort to international aid to fulfil international obligations, such funding arrangements are not sustainable.
In order to increase the implementation of international and regional standards for law enforcement, the following steps should occur:
- Regional organisations and donors should place adoption of these standards at the top of their security sector reform agendas.
- Donors should prioritise support for domestic interest groups, including civil society organisations, to provide them with the capacity to influence adoption of international police standards and protocols.
- Legal reform programmes should prioritise legislative reform to pave the way towards incorporating international law enforcement standards into national legal frameworks.
