African Union urged to back women's rights

The human rights group Amnesty International (AI) has called on the African Union (AU) to back plans to boost and protect the rights of women on the continent. The call comes as a high level AU ministerial conference meets in Addis Ababa on Monday to discuss plans for strengthening women’s rights. “The meeting must send an important message to African governments that the human rights of women are an inalienable, integral, and indivisible part of internationally recognised human rights,” Amnesty International said in a statement. A draft protocol on women's rights is expected to be adopted by the Assembly of Heads of the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique, in July. Amnesty said that many women still face appalling abuse on a daily basis such as female genital mutilation, forced marriage, domestic violence and rape. “These abuses result from, and are compounded by, women's social and economic inequality; lack of access to education, land, financial resources and health care; and their inequality within the family,” Amnesty added. The African Union ministerial meeting, which is taking place from 24 to 28 March, aims to strengthen the human rights framework for the protection and promotion of women's rights in Africa. Click here for full report