The transformation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU) has been the subject of some, albeit limited, debate. The role that the promotion and protection of human rights will play in the AU appears, on the face of the various documents, to be an important consideration, yet which organs will have responsibility in ensuring their implementation is still not clear. This article aims to discuss the framework of and relationship between the institutions established under the auspices of the OAU and how these have changed since the transformation to the AU. It argues that insufficient attention has been paid to ensuring a coherent and integrated approach to human rights across the Union. Organs such as the African Commission and the new African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights, however, have huge potential to influence the way forward.