Africa throughout its postcolonial history has been plagued by human rights abuses ranging from intolerance of political dissent to heinous crimes such as genocide. Yet this book argues that the continent has also been pivotal in helping shape contemporary human rights norms and practices. This is a book that needed to be written. It joins a small but growing list of historical studies of human rights from the perspective of the non-Western world. It offers a bold new interpretative perspective on human rights history and unique insights into our understanding of the place of Africa and the 'Third World' in the development of modern human rights.