Human Rights

This is an interdisciplinary platform for exciting insights, opinions, reviews, and critical analyses of human rights issues in Africa. A cross-section of contributors shares and cover human rights issues related to policy, advocacy, practice, and awareness. The insights shared unveil a wide spectrum where human rights principles and theories interface with lived realities of people and communities in Africa.

Besides the blog contributions, the africanlegalstudies.blog and the Chair of African Legal Studies at the University of Bayreuth are constantly developing new initiatives to exchange and engage with scholars and practitioners. These include research projects such as “Intractable Human Rights Issues” or debate series (e.g. “Everyone’s human rights”).

“To ensure that the disabled child has effective access to and receives education” – just a daydream or the reality?

Luisa SchlottererApr 21, 20236 min read
“To ensure that the disabled child has effective access to and receives education” – just a daydream or the reality?

During a volunteering project in the community Ekumpoano in Ghana, I encountered a man with a physical disability sitting alone in the sand. His infectious…

(No) News from Uganda: How Human Rights Defenders should address homophobic and transphobic politicking

Isabelle ZundelApr 17, 202311 min read
People on the street, LGBTIQ flag.

This article was first published on verfassungsblog.de on 14/04/2023.[1] In many countries across Africa, the promotion and protection of the rights of LGBTIQ+ citizens is…

Social Justice in South Africa – Country and Society

Nicole KroppenstedtApr 14, 202310 min read
Black and white picture of a crowd

The country they were fighting for In the context of World Social Justice Day on the 20th of February, Stellenbosch University streamed a lecture called…

Dangerous Hope: A film that highlights the risk of human trafficking faced by forcibly displaced people in Nigeria

Dr Mitterand M. OkorieMar 31, 20235 min read
Displacement camp

The anti-trafficking film Dangerous Hope[1] tells the story of forcibly displaced people in Nigeria who must stay alerted to fend off human traffickers or end up…

Effects of Covid on Human Trafficking in Africa with a special focus on sex trafficking

Antonia FriedleMar 21, 202312 min read
Effects of Covid on Human Trafficking in Africa with a special focus on sex trafficking

The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed many victims in the last three years. Hundreds of thousands of people died and millions lost their livelihoods which pushed…

Colonial looted art – a long way home

Janika KawelkeMar 17, 20237 min read
Colonial looted art – a long way home

According to the 2018 report “Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. Toward a New Relational Ethics” by Senegalese academic and writer Felwine Sarr and French art…