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”).

Child Labour – Where is Africa Missing It?

Hope Ndlhovu-ChandaFeb 21, 20237 min read
Street vendor

Do you ever buy fruits, vegetables, or other foodstuffs from children at your car or bus window or by the roadside on your way to…

Gender Mainstreaming in African Trade: From Conceptualization to Concretization

Dr Collins C. AjiboDec 21, 20226 min read
Gender Mainstreaming in African Trade: From Conceptualization to Concretization

Women play a vital role in cross-border trade in Africa and are explicitly recognized under the SDG 5 (gender equality) and Agenda 2063 of African…

Blind hopes for children’s participation in climate change

Gift Gawanani MaulukaDec 20, 20227 min read
Blind hopes for children’s participation in climate change

The 2021/2022 rainy season in Malawi will among other things be remembered by the devastating images of houses submerged in water, flooded rivers, and roads…

A study of female circumcision in Ethiopia in view of physical integrity: A human rights violation?

Zenash KellerDec 2, 202210 min read
A study of female circumcision in Ethiopia in view of physical integrity: A human rights violation?

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also known as Female Circumcision (FC) is a traditionally deep-rooted practice in East Africa. However, most countries in the world and…

Exhumed bodies of Ethiopian Migrants in Malawi underscore the rising dangers of cross-border trafficking in Southern Africa

Dr Mitterand M. OkorieNov 11, 20227 min read
Exhumed bodies of Ethiopian Migrants in Malawi underscore the rising dangers of cross-border trafficking in Southern Africa

Two mass graves were recently discovered in Malawi containing a total of 29 bodies believed to be Ethiopian migrants.[1] It’s a tragic discovery that underscores,…

Climate change and human rights – The significant action of Gabon in protecting human rights in a changing climate

Dr Cristiano d’OrsiNov 4, 202210 min read
Climate change and human rights – The significant action of Gabon in protecting human rights in a changing climate

In Africa, the significances of climate change include, among other aspects, the transformation of weather patterns, biodiversity destruction and wider occurrence of more infectious diseases.…