The Right to Research in Africa: Exploring the Copyright and Human Rights Interface

Description

This book formulates a human right to research in Africa based on an in-depth examination of the available international and regional human rights instruments as well as those relevant to the national contexts of African countries. The imbalances in the African copyright ecosystem regarding access to information for research and education became painfully apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. African libraries and knowledge curators found themselves ill-equipped to perform their role of enabling access to information. As teaching, learning and research are increasingly done on digital platforms, learners and researchers continue to grapple with the challenges of accessing materials owing largely to the protection of these resources under copyright law. Access to information, which is needed in order to exercise the right to science and culture, faces a significant challenge posed by the exercising of exclusive rights by copyright owners without a legal mechanism that properly balances copyright from a human rights perspective. To achieve such a balance, there is an urgent need to revise the African copyright system from the perspective of human rights law. Can it be done by establishing a human right to research? In view of the existing broad freedom of expression, and the right to science and culture, education, and property in global, national and regional human rights regimes, is a specific right to research in Africa necessary and justifiable? If so, what should its minimum core components be? Are there international and national regimes already in place that could support the formulation of a human right to research in Africa? This book offers a valuable resource for law- and policymakers in the fields of copyright and human rights, judges, lawyers, public interest groups, researchers and students, librarians and authors, as well as the general public. Foreword Preface Acknowledgement Contents Chapter 1: The Right to Research in Africa: An Overview of the Context and Issues for Consideration 1.1 Introduction: Research Context 1.2 Research Objective and Questions 1.3 Research Methodology 1.4 Structure of the Book References Chapter 2: Research and the Copyright Challenge to Access to Information in Africa 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Meaning of Research and Its State and Relevance in Africa 2.3 African Copyright System and Human Right 2.3.1 Challenge of Access to Information 2.3.2 Reasons for the Access to Information Challenge in Africa 2.4 Interface Between Copyright and Human Right 2.5 Conclusion References Chapter 3: Distilling the Right to Research from International and Regional Human Rights Frameworks 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Rights to Science and Culture 3.3 The Right to Property 3.4 The Right to Freedom of Expression 3.5 The Right to Education 3.6 Conclusion References Chapter 4: Sampling the Right to Research in National Constitutions and Bills of Rights in Africa 4.1 Introduction 4.2 The Right to Science and Culture 4.3 The Right to Property 4.4 The Right to Freedom of Expression 4.5 The Right to Education 4.6 Conclusion References Chapter 5: The Right to Research: Is It Necessary and Justifiable in the African Context? 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Is a Specific Right to Research in Africa Necessary? 5.3 Constructing the Human Right to Research in Africa 5.3.1 Normative Scope and Content of the Right to Research 5.3.2 Core Obligations of the Right to Research 5.4 Conclusion References