Human Rights and African Women: A Comparison of Protection Under Two Major Treaties

One strategy for dealing with the problem of discrimination against women in Africa has been through state ratification and enforcement of treaties that establish internationally applicable standards of performance for the ratifying states and obligate those states to submit regular reports for public scrutiny and expert comment about steps they have taken or should take. This paper addresses the issue of the effectiveness of these agreements and reports in affecting the generally inferior status of women in Africa. In particular, have the establishment and functioning of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women significantly ameliorated the obstacles African women confront? The answer this paper suggests is "not yet", however, the weaknesses of these international regimes should not lead us to overlook their potential significance as one of the many means of diminishing the sexual inequalities that characterize Africa and, for that matter, the rest of the world.