The sexual minority rights conundrum in Africa: Contextualising the debate following the Coalition of African Lesbians’ application for observer status before the African Commission

Abstract

Although the African human rights legal system boasts of many treaties,1 the most relevant in the context of sexual minority rights2 is the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter),3 which agreement enjoys near unanimous ratification by members of the African Union (AU).4 As Vincent Nmehielle justly noted, ‘the African Charter is the primary normative instrument of the African human rights system.’5 It thus may easily be regarded as the ‘regional bill of rights.’