Regional legal and policy instruments for addressing LGBT exclusion in Africa Posted on 04/11/2021 by David Waiganjo PUBLICATIONS RESOURCES // PUBLICATIONS Journal Articles Regional legal and policy instruments for addressing LGBT exclusion in Africa Population Dynamics and Sexual Reproductive Health and Right November 2021 The vulnerability of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in Africa to public health and other risks is heightened by their exclusion from socio-economic opportunities and services. We analysed existing regional-level legal and policy instruments and treaties for the opportunities they offer to tackle the exclusion of LGBT persons in Africa. We identified seven key living legal and policy instruments, formulated and adopted between 1981 and 2018, by the African Union (AU) or its precursor, the Organization of African Unity. These treaties and instruments do not only highlight the region’s challenges related to inclusion, most of them are binding and enforceable, and all enshrine the responsibility of AU member-states to safeguard and ensure the inclusion and protection of citizens, their gender or sexual orientation notwithstanding. The instruments set forth strong and ambitious agendas of inclusion and recognise and affirm the rights of the region’s citizens to sexual and reproductive health (SRH), equality, freedom and opportunities, regardless of their sexual orientation. Their language is generally universalist and their rejection of discrimination, criminalisation, and denial of socio-economic opportunities and services to the region’s sexual minorities is forthright. However, the instruments do not explicitly mention LGBT persons and lack clear and effective mechanisms for answerability among member-states. Accountability and commitment among member-states towards these instruments and policies will improve national legal and policy environments and propel forward the agenda of LGBT inclusion, SRH and wellbeing in the region. Download CONTRIBUTORS Associate Research Scientist Frederick Murunga Wekesah Frederick Murunga Wekesah is an epidemiologist and a researcher. He… View Profile SIMILAR PUBLICATIONS Journal Articles Who are the male sexual partners of adolescent girls and young women? Comparative analysis of population data in three settings prior to DREAMS roll-out Journal Articles Who Are the Male Sexual Partners of Adolescent Girls and Young Women? Comparative Analysis of Population Data in Three Settings Prior to Dreams Roll-Out Briefing Papers What it takes: Meeting unmet need for family planning in East Africa Factsheet Understanding the Lived Experiences of Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents in Burkina Faso’s Central Region (English) Factsheet Understanding the Experiences of Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents in Blantyre, Southern Malawi Briefing Papers Understanding the Experiences of Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents in Blantyre, Southern Malawi Technical Reports Understanding the Experiences of Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents in Blantyre, Southern Malawi Journal Articles Timing of Sexual Debut among Unmarried Youths aged 15–24 years in sub-Saharan Africa Briefing Papers The Status of Post-Abortion Care in Kenya