Women and Disability in Africa: African Disability Protocol to the Rescue?
Posted: 18 July, 2022 Filed under: Farirai Sinothando Sibanda | Tags: abuse, Africa, African Disability Protocol, communication, disability rights, discrimination, exclusion, forced sterilisation, poverty, sexual and reproductive health rights, UNCRPD, women with disabilities 2 Comments
Author: Farirai Sinothando Sibanda
Master’s Candidate, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
It is a gross injustice that disability rights in Africa have previously not been prioritised given that 80% of persons with disabilities live in developing countries. However, this situation seems to be gaining some attention with most African states having ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) with the exception of three, namely Cameroon, South Sudan and Eritrea. Following this trajectory, in 2018, the African Union (AU) member states adopted the African Disability Protocol which will enter into force after ratification by 15 AU member states. Despite its potential to enhance persons with disabilities’ enjoyment of their rights, as of March 2022, the African Disability Protocol has only been ratified by three countries namely; Mali, Kenya, and Rwanda which is disappointingly low.
The UNCRPD is a key instrument in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities, but it lacks the specificity to the African context. Due to poverty and other issues in Africa, the situation of persons with disabilities, especially women, differs radically from that in other regions. Article 6 of the UNCRPD addresses women in two general provisions by obligating states to protect them from discrimination, ensure enjoyment of their rights and empower them. However, it does not specify the actions that states must take to fulfil these obligations. Resultantly, the UNCRPD does not adequately address the unique situation of persons with disabilities in Africa.
Read the rest of this entry »The Role of ICT in Promoting the Rule of Law in Ethiopia: The Impact of Social Media
Posted: 3 June, 2021 Filed under: Henok Kebede | Tags: accountable, anti-terrorism, civil society, communication, Ethiopia, good governance, hate speech, ICT, identifying crime suspects, Impact of Social Media, internet, law, mass atrocities, OECD, order, rule of law, tax laws, timeliness of information, transparent Leave a comment
Author: Henok Kebede
Lecturer, School of Law at Hawassa University, Ethiopia
The Role of ICT in Promoting the Rule of Law
Various scholars have defined the phrase from different perspectives, therefore, defining rule of law in a universally agreeable manner is not an easy task. The most known definition is the one provided by Aristotle: “Rule of law is an absence of rule of man”. But this definition is very general with the need for elaboration. A more elaborated, perhaps understandable, definition of rule of law is by Lord Bingham, essentially said that “…all persons and authorities within the state, whether public or private, should be bound by and entitled to the benefit of laws publicly and prospectively promulgated and publicly administered in the courts”.
AfricLaw 