2016: African Year of Human Rights with Particular Focus on the Rights of Women”.
This is the theme chosen for the 26th AU Summit that has been running from the 21st of January 2016 and will go on until 31st January 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The year 2016 has been declared the year of human rights for Africa.
The AU chose the theme because the year 2016, “marks a veritable watershed in the continental human rights trajectory:
2016 marks the 35th Anniversary of the adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1981.
It also marks the 30th Anniversary of the entry into force of the African Charter in 1986 as well as the 29th Anniversary of the operationalisation of the Commission in 1987 (in 2016, the Commission will be one year shy of its 30th anniversary);
Celebrating a year of human rights in Africa is thought to provide further opportunity to consolidate the gains already made over the years, ensure better coordination of human rights bodies on the continent, and move towards the establishment of a true human rights culture on the continent.
Earlier on CCTV’s Beatrice Marshall spoke to the AUC Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security Madam Bineta Diop and she shares more on why the theme.
Watch…
CCTV’s Girum Chala also sat down with AU Commission Chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and discussed this theme and more.
