Search
  1. Home
  2. East Africa
  3. Ethiopia

African Union urged to back women's rights

The African Union flag. Anthony Mitchell/IRIN
The African Union flag: Member states are making plans to implement the Kampala convention on the protection of internally displaced people (file photo)
    ADDIS ABABA

    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

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join