Confronting Digital Hate: Africa’s Legal and Ethical Response to Hate Speech
Posted: 18 June, 2025 Filed under: Hlengiwe Dube | Tags: #NoToHate, AI, Artificial intelligence, communication landscapes, Countering Hate Speech, cyber-harassment, cyberstalking, Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, discrimination, freedom of expression, gender equality, gender-based violence, gender-sensitive enforcement mechanisms, hate speech, hateful messages, hostility, human dignity, interconnected digital age, International Day for Countering Hate Speech, new technologies, peacebuilding, printed propaganda, sexist hate speech, UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, violence, vulnerable groups 1 Comment
Author: Hlengiwe Dube
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Every year on June 18, the world comes together to observe the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, a solemn reminder that words can wound deeply and sometimes irreparably. Hate speech is not a new problem. Throughout history, language has been weaponised to demean, divide, and destroy, but today, in our interconnected digital age, the scale, speed, and sophistication of hate speech’s spread are unprecedented. This is especially true in Africa, a continent marked by extraordinary diversity in ethnicity, religion, culture, and language, where hate speech can quickly inflame tensions and threaten peace. The devastating consequences of hate speech in Africa are not merely theoretical. The 1994 Rwandan genocide stands as the darkest example, where incendiary radio broadcasts and printed propaganda dehumanised the Tutsi minority, turning words into deadly action. This tragedy also became a powerful lesson in the importance of vigilance, legal safeguards, and coordinated responses to hateful rhetoric.
Harnessing Data for Human Rights and Sustainable Development: A Call to Action from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Posted: 23 January, 2025 Filed under: Hlengiwe Dube | Tags: abuse in data usage, accessible data, ACHPR, advancing human rights, Africa, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, data access, digital age, digital transformation, discrimination, economic growth, education, election processes, gender equality, governance, harnessing data access, health, human progress, poverty eradication, Privacy Concerns, privacy violations, Resolution ACHPR/Res.620 (LXXXI) 2024, sustainable development, The Africa We Want, unequal access to information, United Nations’ SDGs 1 CommentAuthor: Hlengiwe Dube
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
In a world increasingly shaped by the digital revolution, data has become one of the most valuable resources for economic growth, governance, and human progress. From enhancing public service delivery to promoting political participation, the transformative potential of data is undeniable. However, the rapid advancements in technology also bring significant challenges, including privacy concerns, unequal access to information, and the potential for abuse in data usage. Considering these complexities, during its 81st Ordinary Session in November 2024, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), adopted Resolution ACHPR/Res.620 (LXXXI) 2024, which seeks to promote and harness data access as a tool for advancing human rights and sustainable development in Africa.
The Intersection of Gender Equality and Sustainable Development in African Communities
Posted: 12 August, 2024 Filed under: Elim Shanko, Keten Abebe | Tags: African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), Agenda 2063, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), egalitarian involvement, environmental degradation, gender discrimination, gender equality, gender parity, international treaty, labour exploitation, mitigation, National climate change policies (NCCPs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), natural resources, Paris Agreement, policy, poverty, quality of life, sub-Saharan Africa, sustainable development, United Nations’ (UN) Paris Agreement (PA), women's rights Leave a comment |
Author: Keten Abebe Intern, RA Consulting |
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Author: Elim Shanko Sustainable development consultant, RA Consulting |
Introduction
As of 2019, approximately 60% of employed women within Sub-Saharan Africa worked in agriculture, a field gravely impacted by corporations’ exhaustive use of natural resources. The financialisaton and depletion of natural resources within these African communities leads many women to experience poverty and destitute living conditions. Approximately 62.8% of women worldwide who live in extreme poverty reside in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, the reality of worsening environmental conditions exacerbates the deterioration of women’s quality of life. According to the UN Women’s Organisation, African women often overly endure labour exploitation within capitalist markets, leading to environmental degradation and unsustainable development practices to persist among financially driven corporations. Similarly, a brief submitted to the 2015 Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) emphasises the impracticality of achieving sustainable development within African communities if the alienation of half of the population (women and girls) persists socially, economically and politically. Ultimately, sustainable development within African communities cannot be achieved without gender parity.
Men are Human Too: Challenging Existing Perceptions and Definitions of Masculinities
Posted: 30 October, 2023 Filed under: Athini Magodla | Tags: crime levels, Fatherhood, Fatherlessness, gender equality, gender liberation, gender norms, identity, Masculinities, Men, mental health, quality of life, suicide, violence, youth 1 Comment
Author: Athini Magodla
Gender Programme Fellow, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR).
Although June was Men’s Mental Health Month, noticeably, very few people know about it. This speaks volumes and shows the general disregard by society, of the issues that men face. There are limited platforms for men to engage their mental health experiences as a result of fear that holding space for men negates feminism.
The South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) emphasises that suicide is one of the leading causes of death globally and the mortality rate amongst men is considerably higher compared to women. The death of local South African male celebrities such as Riky Rick, Patrick Shai and Jabu Christopher shone the spotlight on the prevalence of suicide amongst men, which sparked up debates on Twitter. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) reported that South African men are four times more likely to commit suicide than women – depression, anxiety and trauma are some of the contributing factors that lead men to suicide.
Women’s month: A time of reflection
Posted: 29 August, 2023 Filed under: Tsholofelo Nakedi | Tags: apartheid system, brutal killings, celebration of women, discrimination against women, femicide, gender equality, health and safety of women, imbokodo, injustice, Laws and policies, passbook, racial segregation, safe spaces for women and girls, sexual offences, South Africa, violence against women, Women’s Month 1 Comment
Author: Tsholofelo Nakedi
Community Advocacy Specialist
Throughout history, women have played a significant role in fighting injustices, with most of that role often downplayed by historians. Hence it is exciting to be part of a country like South Africa that has dedicated the month of August to celebrating women. Women’s Month marks the strength and resilience of women and their contribution to society. In addition, Women’s Month is an opportunity for South Africans to pay tribute to the generations of women also called imbokodo – the rock whose struggles laid the foundations for progress in empowering women and achieving gender equality. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on women’s and children’s experiences.
Forced marriage is a major concern for mental health of victims: Why are partners not doing enough? A case of Somalia
Posted: 15 August, 2023 Filed under: Bahja Hassan | Tags: CFM, child marriage, child mothering, economic gain, escaping poverty, forced marriage, fundamental rights of girls, gender equality, Girls Not Brides, health risks, Laws and policies, legal frameworks, mental health, mental healthcare, mental healthcare services, negative implications, ocial-cultural underpinning, political instability, poverty alleviation, right to education, rights to dignity, Somalia Leave a comment
Author: Bahja Hassan
Independent Somali Gender Analyst
Summary
This article points out why initiatives to address child and forced marriages in Somalia are inadequate at providing mental health services to survivors of child marriages. It proposes an urgent rethinking of current interventions and approaches to integrate mental healthcare services so that frontline workers are equipped with necessary skills to provide services to young mothers. It argues that failure to integrate mental healthcare services into programmes aimed at ending child and forced marriage would not provide any meaningful results. This is because child and forced marriage inevitably impact girls’ mental health so much as it violates their rights to dignity, education, and livelihoods.
The urgent need for more women representation in Africa: Why we do what we do
Posted: 30 March, 2023 Filed under: Maria Mulenga Kasoma, Mary Izobo | Tags: Africa, African Union (AU) Agenda, developmental agendas, exclusion of women, gender equality, gender gaps, gender inequality, global priorities, leadership, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, US-Africa Leaders’ Summit 3 Comments
Author: Mary Izobo
International Human Rights Lawyer
Author: Maria Mulenga Kasoma
Final-year law student
In December 2022, United States President Joe Biden hosted the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington, D.C. The Summit emphasised the importance of engagement with Africa on the world’s most pressing challenges and possibilities. The Summit also sought to demonstrate the United States enduring commitment to Africa, underscored the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities. “Women and Youth: Peace and Security” was one of the key themes of the Summit. Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf addressed the gathering on the role of women’s inclusion in African leadership. Under the theme, she highlighted the social and economic factors that push the exclusion of women. She further stressed the need to revise laws to ensure full gender equality.
The place of liberal feminism in the struggle for gender equality in Kenya.
Posted: 8 July, 2022 Filed under: Davis Thuranira | Tags: affirmative actions, Bill of Rights, equal participation, feminism, gender discrimination, gender equality, gender inequality, Gender Representation in the National Assembly and the Senate, gender rule, good governance, human rights, Kenya, legal framework, liberal feminism, non-discrimination, patriarchy, Rono v Rono, toxic masculinity, transformative jurisprudence Leave a comment
Author: Davis Thuranira
Student, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Major Premise
The framers of the constitution[1] provided adequate mechanisms to counter gender discrimination and foster equality among all sexes and gender in the country. As a matter of fact, several legal provisions incline to an ideology of equality that seeks to overhaul the existing societal structure which anchors discrimination and unequal treatment of women.
Equality, non-discrimination, inclusiveness and protection of the marginalized are among the key principles featured under Article 10[2]. The provision universally applies to all persons and demands compliance by the state, including its organs, while exercising its constitutional mandate. The state is required to invoke its authority by giving effect to the two-third gender rule. Additionally, these principles and others that support gender equality are emphasized in the constitution since such are the basis for any democratic society that the constitution envisions. The applicability of these principles is mandatory, and the courts have on several occasions emphasized that the principles are not aspirational as argued by critics but realistic, practicable and binding on everyone. In the case of Rono v Rono[3], the Court of Appeal authoritatively asserted that the Constitution shields women from customary succession laws that bar women from inheriting property. The Court held that both male and female children are treated equally before the law and that discriminatory rules are invalid and unconstitutional to the extent that it treats women as inferiors to men. Read the rest of this entry »
A new hope to Ethiopian Women’s Rights CSO’s?
Posted: 7 September, 2018 Filed under: Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn | Tags: Civil Society Organizations, Civil Society Proclamation, CSOs, CSP, Ethiopia, freedom of association, gender equality, women rights Leave a comment
Author: Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn
Human rights lawyer, Ethiopia
A number of scholars have discussed the implication of the Civil Society Proclamation (CSP) in terms of realizing human rights recognized under the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE). However, the quality of attention given to the direct implication of this proclamation on women’s rights organizations and on measures that are focused on gender equality is not significant.
This article argues that the CSP of Ethiopia is and has been unconstitutional and violates the rights of women to freedom of association that is recognized under the aspirations and provisions of the FDRE Constitution. It goes beyond the rhetoric and provides a practical overview of the myriad of challenges the women’s rights movement faced in its effort to tackle down gender inequality in the country.
Taking the right to adequate food seriously: Reflections on the International Agreement on Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems
Posted: 23 February, 2015 Filed under: Bereket Kefyalew | Tags: Africa, agriculture, CFS, Committee on World Food Security, development banks, food security, gender equality, global economic crisis, human rights, indigenous peoples' rights, PRIAF, Principles of Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food systems, right to adequate food, right to food, sustainable development, UN agencies, United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples Leave a comment
Author: Bereket Kefyalew
Freelance consultant and researcher in human rights and development
After two years of negotiations the Principles of Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (PRIAF) were approved by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) on October 15, 2014. This has been endorsed by some as a breakthrough for realising the right to adequate food and ensuring food security for all.
Since the 2007/2008 global economic crisis, agricultural investments, particularly large scale investments have flourished across the globe. Africa has become a major destination for large scale agriculture investors largely due to the cheap and fertile land, and poor protection of land rights. The investments are apparatuses of the market led agricultural trade liberalization model claimed to be the panacea for food insecurity in the world by hegemonic industrialized states.
It is evident that some of these investments have utterly affected the right to adequate food in Africa and elsewhere as the investments, for instance, displaced people from their land, or registered futile contribution to food security and nutrition. For this reason some practitioners proposed human rights based regulation of global and national food and nutrition related policies. Nevertheless the investors and host nations defended the investments and denied the adverse effects.
The PRIAF was born out of these competing views on agricultural investments. It brought together major stakeholders to come into consensus on common principles on how to conduct agriculture investments. It is an effort to regulate agriculture investments globally; and to strike a balance between investment promotion and protection of human rights and ensuring sustainable development.
AfricLaw 