A significant conference in Accra, Ghana, has brought to the fore a contentious draft charter that challenges established international human rights standards concerning sexual and reproductive rights. Spearheaded by Ghana’s parliamentary speaker, Alban Bagbin, the initiative seeks to assert African sovereignty against perceived foreign influences, but it has drawn widespread condemnation from human rights organisations and advocates.
The Charter’s Contentions
At the heart of the draft African charter is a claim that African cultural values are under siege from “foreign ideologies.” It calls for nations to rescind their commitments to international agreements, including the pivotal 2003 Maputo Protocol, which champions gender equality and the reproductive rights of women. This charter, which prioritises moralistic principles over rights-based frameworks, brands sexual and reproductive rights as threats to the African family unit. Furthermore, it inaccurately asserts that policies promoting these rights encourage unrestricted access to abortion.
The draft also dismisses comprehensive sexual education, labelling it as detrimental to children, and rigidly defines gender as binary—male or female. In a notable shift, it places parental rights above those of children, especially regarding decisions about sexuality and discipline. This perspective has been met with alarm from legal experts and advocates for reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ communities, who argue it represents a dangerous regression.
Criticism from Legal Experts and Activists
Gilbert Mitullah, a Kenyan legal expert and member of the Queer African Network, expressed grave concerns regarding the charter’s implications. He noted its potential to undermine existing commitments to sexual and reproductive health and rights, stating, “It is a licence to oppose, regress on or refuse to implement existing commitments… even before any signature is placed on it.”
The charter was developed by a select group of African legislators, predominantly led by Ugandan officials, during the annual inter-parliamentary conference on family values—a gathering often linked to the promotion of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. This year’s conference, held in Ghana, aimed to cultivate support for the charter ahead of its anticipated presentation to the African Union’s general assembly in February 2026.
Critics highlight that the charter’s narrow definition of family, centred solely on heterosexual marriages, fails to account for the diverse array of family structures present across the continent’s 54 countries. An extensive review by the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) cautioned that prioritising familial interests could legitimise the oppression of women and children, rendering them vulnerable within the context of family dynamics.
The Influence of Foreign Ideologies
The ISLA report further critiques how the charter manipulates legitimate concerns about sovereignty and colonialism. It suggests that the language used reflects the strong influence of conservative Christian groups from the United States and Europe, who oppose abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. This rhetoric frames progressive policies as forms of neocolonialism or cultural imperialism, a sentiment echoed by Famia Nkansa, communications lead at Purposeful, an organisation advocating for girls’ rights in Sierra Leone.
According to Ipas, an international reproductive rights group, the annual conferences promoting this charter have received backing from Family Watch International, a Christian lobbying group that campaigns against abortion and comprehensive sex education. The organisation’s co-founder, Sharon Slater, has accused the UN and Western donor nations of imposing a radical sexual rights agenda on African states.
Mitullah emphasised that the charter is not merely a regional initiative but rather a product of a transnational network that leverages African signatories to lend it an appearance of indigenous legitimacy. He pointed out that documents like the Geneva Consensus Declaration, crafted by former Trump adviser Valerie Huber, have been cited within the text, emphasising the charter’s alignment with global anti-rights movements.
The Response from Supporters
In a statement, Family Watch International distanced itself from the Ghana conference, asserting that the draft charter is solely an African initiative. While they endorse its provisions that limit the dissemination of sexual education viewed as harmful, they also expressed support for a family-oriented approach to governance and policy-making.
Why it Matters
The proposed African charter represents a critical juncture for human rights in the region, as it threatens to undermine years of progress towards gender equality and reproductive rights. As nations grapple with issues of sovereignty and cultural identity, the charter’s implications could reverberate across Africa, potentially fostering environments that tolerate discrimination and violence against vulnerable populations. The international community will be watching closely as this debate unfolds, with the potential to shape the future of human rights on the continent for generations to come.
