Abstract:
The overarching goal of the Protocol to the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the
Rights of Women in Africa (Women’s Protocol or
Protocol) is to bring about gender equality in Africa,
the converse of which is fuelling the spread
of HIV on the continent. The Protocol includes
corresponding and comprehensive measures to be
taken by states in order to promote, protect, and
fulfil women’s human rights in Africa. It addresses
many of the root causes of the disproportionate
spread of HIV among young women in Africa,
such as sexual violence and early marriage, as
well as factors that exacerbate the effects of HIV
infection on the enjoyment of human rights, such
as the denial of inheritance rights (article 21).
Description:
This contribution is loosely based on a report
by Karen Stefiszyn, Mmatsie Mooki and
Yohannes Tesfagabir, entitled ‘Realising the
right to health in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights after 60 years: addressing the
reproductive health rights of women living
with HIV in Southern Africa’.
