On the Road to Silent Guns: Examining the Regional Regulation of States' Use of Force during Counterterrorism Policing in Africa.

This article focuses on the use of excessive force by African states during counterterrorism policing and evaluates the legal and policy responses of the African regional system, particularly the African Union (AU) counterterrorism architecture and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR). It finds that while some progress has been made toward aligning counterterrorism practices with international human rights standards, significant gaps and inadequacies remain, especially regarding the regulation and oversight of force used by law enforcement. The article proposes a two-pronged regional framework combining clearer rules on the use of force with strengthened institutional actions, including scenario-based training for law enforcement, activation of AU counterterrorism bodies with human rights mandates, and the establishment of a dedicated ACHPR mechanism focused on human rights in counterterrorism. These measures aim to enhance compliance with human rights norms and reduce the cycle of violence linked to excessive force in counterterrorism efforts across Africa.