Abstract
Africa has experienced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialism, the Cold War and its neo-colonialism events that have brought issues such as terror attacks, internal conflicts, as well as the corruption that has emanated from lack of good governance. These events have caused inequality and marginalisation, poverty, hunger and manipulation that have affected economic development and growth. All over newspapers, the television, and social media, African countries speak out their need and ambition to achieve economic growth that enables the achievement of development. However, this ambition has remained in theory rather than practice. This is because there can be no development or peace without human rights protection. From the Northern region all the way to the Southern region, through the central, from the Western region to the Eastern region, Africa faces human rights violations that have affected the ambition of the continent to achieve sustainable development. This study shows that corruption, inequality, hunger, poverty, marginalisation, lack of good governance, weak healthcare system and conflicts are factors that intensify human rights violations in Africa and thus retard the achievement of sustainable development on the continent. The study reveals that good governance enhances human rights protection, and human rights protection enhances the achievement of development. This is because good governance promotes inclusive democratic institutions, delivery of basic services, rule of law and anti-corruption measures that help promote development. The study adopted a qualitative research design and used exploratory and explanatory approaches to arrive at these assertions.
Key words: Development, Human rights, Good governance, the African continent, and Peace and security