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sexual health and human rights in the african region - The ICHRP

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1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY<br />

1.1 Introduction<br />

[1] Chapter 1, <strong>the</strong> present chapter, is <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>troduction to <strong>the</strong> study. It has <strong>the</strong><br />

follow<strong>in</strong>g aims <strong>and</strong> objectives:<br />

• to expla<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> territorial scope of <strong>the</strong> study <strong>in</strong> terms of <strong>the</strong> countries that<br />

comprise <strong>the</strong> African <strong>region</strong>;<br />

• to expla<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> criteria for select<strong>in</strong>g countries that form <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> sample of<br />

<strong>the</strong> African <strong>region</strong>al study;<br />

• to provide an outl<strong>in</strong>e of <strong>the</strong> African <strong>region</strong>al <strong>human</strong> <strong>rights</strong> systems <strong>and</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>ir relevance to <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>health</strong>-related <strong>human</strong> <strong>rights</strong> jurisprudence with a<br />

particular reference to <strong>the</strong> African Charter on Human <strong>and</strong> Peoples’ Rightsbased<br />

system;<br />

• to acknowledge <strong>the</strong> place <strong>and</strong> limitations of <strong>region</strong>al soft law to mapp<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>region</strong>al jurisprudence;<br />

• to acknowledge <strong>the</strong> place of legal pluralism <strong>and</strong> conflict of laws <strong>in</strong> <strong>sexual</strong><br />

<strong>health</strong>-related jurisprudence with a particular reference to customary law<br />

<strong>and</strong> religious law;<br />

• to acknowledge <strong>the</strong> limitations of this study generally; <strong>and</strong><br />

• to provide an outl<strong>in</strong>e of subsequent chapters of this study.<br />

1.2 Territorial Scope of <strong>the</strong> World Health Organization’s African<br />

Region<br />

[2] Africa, <strong>and</strong> more specifically <strong>the</strong> African Union, 1 is a geo-political entity that is<br />

made up of 53 states, namely: Algeria, Angola, Ben<strong>in</strong>, Botswana, Burk<strong>in</strong>a Faso,<br />

Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros,<br />

Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial<br />

Gu<strong>in</strong>ea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Gu<strong>in</strong>ea, Gu<strong>in</strong>ea-Bissau,<br />

Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,<br />

Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rw<strong>and</strong>a, Sahrawi Arab<br />

Republic, São Tomé <strong>and</strong> Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia,<br />

1 <strong>The</strong> African Union is established <strong>in</strong> accordance with <strong>the</strong> provisions of <strong>the</strong> Constitutive Act of <strong>the</strong> African<br />

Union of 2000. <strong>The</strong> African Union replaces <strong>the</strong> Organization of African Unity: F Viljoen International<br />

Human Rights Law <strong>in</strong> Africa (2007) 163-177.<br />

17

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