The primary human rights watchdog in Africa recently made a decision that departed from its existing practice. The African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights, an independent expert body within the African Union (AU) framework, used sexual or gender identity as the reason it rejected applications for observer status from three non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The commission said that “sexual orientation” was not an “expressly recognised right” in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It also said that protecting and promoting sexual and gender minority rights was “contrary to the virtues of African values”.
