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

Woman is equal to man in human dignity, and has her own right to enjoy as well as
duties to perform; and her own civil and financial independence, and the right to retain
her name and lineage. 58
It is significant that the Cairo Declaration subscribes to the principles of Shari’ah
as the operative human rights principles for enjoying rights. It provides that the
Declaration is subject to Shari’ah. 59 To this extent, the Declaration harbours
conceptions of equality and human rights that provide lesser protection than that
the protection under human rights standards emanating from United Nations
treaties and the African Charter-based system.
1.8 Sub-regional Economic Communities
[22] Organizations that have been established to facilitate and galvanise economic cooperation
at the African sub-regional level should also be regarded as an integral
part of the human rights institutional landscape of the African region. Though
the ultimate aim of such sub-regional economic organizations has generally been
the achievement of economic and political union through activities such as
increased trade and financial co-operation, to the extent that the objective of
achieving economic development and eradicating poverty impacts on human
welfare, the organizations are inextricable linked with human rights. 60 Indeed,
some organizations explicitly acknowledge the respect for human rights as one
of their foundational principles, and have, over time, adopted protocols and
declarations that are committed to protecting and promoting human rights,
including promoting gender equality and eradicating discrimination. To this
extent, some of the founding treaties can be used to provide a rationale for
developing rights-based approaches to economic and political integration that
has implications for sexual health. 61
Ultimately, however, much depends on whether the sub-regional bodies that
have the responsibility to implement the treaties and to monitor the
accompanying states obligations, are conscious of the human rights implications
of the treaties, and have the political or judicial willingness to give human rights
obligations a concrete expression. The jurisprudence of the European Union
demonstrates that an organization that is primarily established to foster
economic and political union can end up making a considerable contribution
towards the development of human rights jurisprudence.
58 Ibid.
59 Article 24 ibid.
60 F Viljoen ‘The Realisation of Human Rights in Africa Through Sub-Regional Institutions’ (2001) 7
African Yearbook of International Law 186.
61 Ibid.
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