African countries need to attract Multinational Corporations (MNCs) for their development. But at the same time, many MNCs operating in these countries have been accused of involvement in human rights abuses and their victims face many obstacles to accessing remedies in domestic jurisdictions. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to explore the potential of the African regional and sub-regional mechanisms to fill that gap in human rights protection. Its main research question is focused on the actual and potential capabilities of African regional and sub-regional mechanisms of human rights protection to address human rights violations committed by MNCs in African Union member states.

It is also important to mention that currently, many research in the area of business and human rights in Africa generally focus on domestic jurisdictions, either in African host states or in the MNCs’ home states. By focusing on the regional and sub-regional mechanisms of human rights protection available on the continent, this research thus aims to fill a gap in knowledge and scholarship.