International Protection of Human Rights and the Family: African Variations on a Common Theme

The author argues that traditional African thinking has found its way into the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights via clauses insisting that reflections on the document should be animated by "traditional African values," and that this sets the stage for conflict in the area of family law: traditional values may be a sharp contrast with the more "modern" rights granted by the Charter. In particular, it is suggested that problems of marriage and the family in Africa cannot be dissociated from issues of women's rights and the protection for the latter is greatly reduced under a Charter dedicated to upholding traditional values. The article concludes with some proposals for resolving this conflict. [Descriptors: International, Africa]