The right of sexual minorities under the African human rights system

Abstract

"The protection of the rights of sexual minorities in many countries in Africa is a controversial issue. It is not unusual to find newspaper reports on gross violations suffered by this minority group. Gays and lesbians are victims of violence, sometimes resulting in death. Sexual minorities in Africa are often confronted with government actions such as those of the Nigerian government that recently submitted to the parliament a bill to make provisions for the prohibition of relationships between persons of the same sex, celebration of marriage, registration of gay clubs and societies, and publicity of same sex sexual relationships. On the other hand, on the same continent, the South African Constitutional Court recently held that the denial of legal recognition for same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. The question that begs here is: why this state of affairs? In view of the situtation described above, this study intends to highlight the factors that have brought the continent to this point and give an analysis of the challenges and prospects faced in the protection of the rights of sexual minorities. The issue that will be addressed, therefore, is whether the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights is interpreted to include at least some protection against discrimination of sexual minorities." -- Introduction.