The heads of the Organization of African Unity  adopted the African Charter on Human Rights (also known as the Banjul Charter) on 17 June 1981. The Charter came into effect on 21 October 1986. As of 2016, all the 54 member states of the African Union have ratified the Charter. This is the first human rights document that has emphasized the peoples’ rights (Arts. 19- 24), i.e., the “third generation” rights, viz., right to self-determination, right to development, the right to freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources etc.