July 16, 2023
Africa: Africa's Groundbreaking Women's Rights Treaty Turns 20 - the Hits and Misses of the Maputo Protocol
2023 marks two decades since the adoption of the Maputo Protocol. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo… Read more »
June 29, 2023
South Africa: National Health Insurance Bill Has Noble Aims but Leaves Too Much Uncertain - It Needs More Work
South Africa's National Health Insurance (NHI) bill has passed the first hurdle towards becoming law, getting the country closer to its vision of achieving universal access to… Read more »
June 22, 2023
Uganda: U.S. Talks Sanctions Against Uganda After a Harsh Anti-Gay Law
Uganda recently signed an anti-gay bill into law. Called by some the "worst of its kind in the world," the law imposes life imprisonment for same-sex relations while using colonial… Read more »
June 21, 2023
South Africa: Bathrooms Are Political - How Gender-Inclusive Toilets Can Combat Indignity and Violence
A new hate crimes bill is inching closer to the possibility of becoming law in South Africa. The bill entrenches human dignity as a foundational value of the country by providing… Read more »
June 20, 2023
Sierra Leone: African Leaders in Sierra Leone Played a Key Role in Ending the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone on the west African coast, was named for the freed slaves who were returned to Africa by British members of the movement to end slavery.… Read more »
June 18, 2023
Uganda: Ugandan Church Waged Rebellion Against Tradition - Today's Homophobic Views Are At Odds With History
On 26 May Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, assented to the "anti-homosexuality bill" of 2023. The bill's aim is to protect the "cherished culture of the people of Uganda, (and… Read more »
June 13, 2023
Senegal: Senegal's Internet Shutdowns Are Another Sign of a Democracy in Peril
Senegal's government began blocking several digital platforms - including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and YouTube - in certain areas on 1 June. Days later, it extended… Read more »
May 31, 2023
Uganda: Anti-Homosexuality Law Is a Patriarchal Backlash Against Progress
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni assented to the anti-homosexuality bill on 29 May 2023. The new law legislates, among other things, a five-year jail term for "promoting… Read more »
May 02, 2023
Kenya: Supreme Court Ruling On Gay Rights Triggers a New Wave of Anger Against the LGBTIQ+ Community
The Kenyan supreme court recently struck down a government decision to ban the registration of an LGBTIQ+ community rights organisation, sparking new homophobic rhetoric in the… Read more »
April 29, 2023
Uganda: African Psychologists Warn of Its Dangers of Anti-Gay Bill
Mental health professionals from across Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa, have signed a declaration against conversion practices that are used to… Read more »
April 25, 2023
South Africa: South Africa Is Scrapping Special Work Permits for Zimbabweans - Migrants Will Be Left Exposed
Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have flocked to South Africa to escape economic hardship since the 1990s. The South African government has, since 2010, granted the migrants a… Read more »
April 18, 2023
Africa: Europe Outsourcing Asylum to African Countries Is a Terrible Idea - There Are Alternatives
For 40 years, western governments have entertained ideas of outsourcing asylum processing and refugee hosting to the global south. It is not a new idea. And neither are the… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya Should Decriminalise Homosexuality - 4 Compelling Reasons Why
Kenya has recently seen the increasing visibility of sexual and gender minorities. However, this has been met with a growing backlash. Read more »
April 16, 2023
Ghana: Juvenile Offenders Aren't Prepared for Rejoining Society - How the System Is Failing Them
Globally, about one million children are held in police custody annually; 410,000 of them are held in detention and remand centres. On any day, it is estimated, remand homes around… Read more »
March 28, 2023
Uganda: Uganda's New Anti- LGBTQ+ Law Could Lead to Death Penalty for Same-Sex 'Offences'
People in same-sex relationships in Uganda now face the possibility of life in prison after the country's parliament unanimously passed its 2023 anti-homosexuality bill. The… Read more »
March 20, 2023
Africa: Air Pollution Can Increase the Risk of Covid Infection and Severe Disease #AfricaClimateCrisis
The early part of the COVID pandemic led to a significant reduction in air pollution in many parts of the world. With lockdowns, travel restrictions and decreased economic… Read more »
Africa: LGBTQ+ Rights - African Union Watchdog Goes Back On Its Own Word
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… Read more »
March 13, 2023
Nigeria: Child Victims of Sexual Violence Aren't Heard or Understood - Nigerian Study
Violence against children is a global problem. A 2020 Global Status Report revealed that every year, almost one billion children globally encounter some form of violence, such as… Read more »
March 05, 2023
South Africa: LGBTIQ+ Migrants and Asylum Seekers - Major New Study Identifies a Diverse, Wide-Spread Community
Since 1998, South Africa has recognised persecution based on gender and sexuality as legitimate grounds for asylum. This makes it the only African country to formally extend… Read more »
March 01, 2023
Africa: Race and Erasure - Why Africa's Humanitarian Crises Don't See the Same Response As Ukraine
With the war in Ukraine now in its second year, nearly a third of the country's population has been displaced, including 8 million people who have sought refuge beyond its borders. Read more »
South Africa: Sex Work in South Africa - Why Both Buying and Selling Should Be Legal
It is illegal to buy or sell sex in South Africa. But this may soon be a thing of the past if a recently published draft bill to decriminalise sex work is passed. Researchers and… Read more »
February 03, 2023
Africa: Nipple Ban On Instagram and Facebook Reveals How Bizarre Our Attitude Is Towards Different Genders
Some women consign themselves to breastfeeding in public toilets to prevent their apparently sexually explosive nipples causing offence. On hot days, meanwhile, males of all ages,… Read more »
February 02, 2023
Ghana: Water ATMs Are Changing the Way People Can Access This Vital Resource
Universal, safe and reliable water access is a pressing need in the global south. One-quarter of the world's population don't currently have access to clean drinking water. In… Read more »
January 25, 2023
South Africa: Adriaan Vlok - the Case for Accepting the Late South African Politician's Apology for Apartheid
The recent death of Adriaan Vlok, the prominent South African apartheid-era law and order minister, brought the issue of political apologies for past wrongs back into the public… Read more »
January 13, 2023
Western Sahara: The Six-Decade Struggle to Liberate Africa's Last Colony
Western Sahara is the territory in north-west Africa bordered by Morocco in the north, Algeria and Mauritania in the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. A former Spanish… Read more »