Golden Gate University School of Law GGU Law Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations Student Scholarship 11-3-2009 International Human Rights : the Protection of the Rights of Women and Female Children in Africa : Theory and Practice Eleazar Echezonachi Otiocha Golden Gate University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/theses Part of the Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, and the Law and Gender Commons Recommended Citation Otiocha, Eleazar Echezonachi, "International Human Rights : the Protection of the Rights of Women and Female Children in Africa : Theory and Practice" (2009). Theses and Dissertations. Paper 5. This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at GGU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of GGU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GOLDEN GATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND FEMALE CHILDREN IN AFRICA: THEORY AND PRACTICE BY REV. ELEAZAR ECHEZONACHI OTIOCHA SUBMITTED TO THE Golden Gate UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STUDIES, IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE CONFERMENT OF THE DEGREE OF SCIENTIAE JURIDICAE DOCTOR (S.J.D.) MEMBERS OF THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE (1)Professor Chris Okeke (Chairman, Dissertation Committee) (2) Professor Sompong Sucharitkul (Member) (3)Professor Jon Sylvester (Member) SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 3M 2009 INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND FEMALE CHILDREN IN AFRICA: THEORY AND PRACTICE BY © Rev. Eleazar Echezonachi Otiocha A clergy in Anglican Communion Nigeria and Convocation ofAnglicans North America (CANA); Barrister-at -Law, Solicitor & Advocate ofthe Supreme Court of Nigeria; S.J.D., LL.M, Golden Gate University, School ofLaw, San Francisco; MDiv. Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, B.L.Nigerian Law School; LL.B(Hons), University ofNigeria, Enugn Campus. DEDICATION I wish to dedicate this work to my mother, Naomi Otiocha.(Madam General) Mama, you have shown true love and dedication to all ofyour children. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to my God and Lord Jesus Christ, whose unfailing mercies and goodness have sustained me to this day. I am highly grateful and thankful to Professor Chris Okeke, chairman ofmy dissertation committee; your advice and direction has made it possible for the completion ofthis work. I wish to express my thanks and appreciation to my other committee members, Professor Sompong Sucharitkul and Professor Jon Sylvester, for their guidance and encouragement. My sincere thanks to Dr Aloy Onwuka and Dr (Mrs.) Mary Onwuka for their love and support to me when 1arrived in US as a foreign graduate student. I want to thank Dr Remigius Chibueze for his support and friendship. I wish to thank my sisters, brothers and all their family members for understanding and love. Finally, I am forever grateful and thankful to my wife Chioma, for her support and love. To my children, Ony, Kelechi, Mmeso and Amara, I say a big thank you for your patience as I worked on my dissertation. To all, both mentioned in this page and not mentioned, I say may God richly bless and reward all ofyou for your support and prayers. Rev. Eleazar E. Otiocha Abstract: The recognition ofwomen and female rights as a different concept in international law has fully been accepted in modem nation states. The fight for the protection and advancement ofwomen and female rights as an international human right has been an on going work. Women and female children allover the world have always enjoyed a lesser rights when compared with men and boys in every society whether primitive, developing or developed societies. The 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration "affirming the equality ofman and women has been considered a landmark in the quest for the universal equality ofall human beings. This declaration notwithstanding, women and female children allover the world have continued to suffer discrimination and inequality with their men and boys counterpart in most societies. The enactment ofthe convention on elimination ofall forms ofdiscrimination against women in 1979 was one ofthe first universal answers to this problem. In 1979, the United Nations general assembly adopted the conventionon elimination ofall forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW), thus recognizing some special rights for women. The treaty came into effect on 3rd ofSept 1981.This convention otherwise known as "women's bill ofrights" established a bench marks for judging and protecting women's rights worldwide. Africa followed the train ofpromoting women's right by adopting the Maputo Protocol on July 2003.The protocol came into force on 25thNovember 2005 after it had been ratified by 15 African countries. This protocol elevated the rights ofAfrican women to an unprecedented level. The coming into force ofthe African protocol on the rights of women in Africa was highly celebrated. Many governments allover the world have enacted laws and regulations to promote and protect the rights ofwomen and female children. A lot oflaws have been put in theory to give women equality with men. In reality or practice, many women all over the world still find it difficult to realize their rights. This study attempts to look at how far the laws on women rights, that is the law inbooks has become the law in practice/reality in many African states withNigeria as a case study. This study acknowledges that in theory many African states have tried to change the statue books to accord women some level ofequality with men but at the same time a look at the practice ofthe law in many African states shows a different pattern oflaw. There is a big disconnect between women's theoretical rights and the reality or practice ofthe theory. Table of Content (i) Abstract (ii)Table ofContent (iii)Acknowledgement (iv)Dedication Chapter I Introduction (IA)Origin and history ofhuman rights (1B) Rise ofhuman rights as international rights (IC) International human rights before creation ofUnited Nations (ID) United Nations and the birth ofmodern international human rights (IE) Universalism and cultural relativism ofinternational human rights (IF) Human Rights: United Nations and human rights protection I(ii) Africa: past, present and international community 1(iii) Africa and the rise ofmodern nation state: modern Africa, new world and international law: A clash ofvalues and ideas: A mixing ofoil and water. I(iv) The birth ofOrganization ofAfrican Unity as Africa attempts to meet up with the new world order 1(v) Africa and Human Rights levi) African legal system: The place ofcustomary law in the African legal system l(vii) Customary law and human rights in Africa: Is human right a new concept in Africa or new imperialism? 1(viii) Human rights in traditional African community 1(ix) Customary law and international human rights: can human rights be protected under customary law? Contradictions, clash ofcultures and conflicts oflaw I(x) Modem African states and international human tights. trends and issues l(xi) The coming into being ofAfrican Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, formation ofAfrican Union and Africa's latest attempts to keep up with world standard on human rights ofwomen and children 1(xii) Plight ofwomen and children in Africa. The place ofwomen and children in traditional African soCieties. Rights ofwomen and children in traditional African community and modem Africa l(xiii) A continent in crisis: Women and children rights problems in Africa Bibliography Chapter 2 (2) THE RIGHTS OF AFRICAN WOMEN AND THE FEMALE CHILDREN UNDER INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND INSTRUMENTS 2(1A) Introduction: International women's rights (lB)Meaning ofInternational Human Rights ofwomen (lC)The rights ofAfrican women and the female Children under customary International law. 2(2) The rights ofAfrican women and female children under International treaties and instruments Global Treaties and Instruments (i)The Vienna Convention on the Law ofTreaties (ii)The United Nations (iii)The 1948 Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights (iv)International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (v)International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) ( (vi)The Convention on the Elimination ofAll Forms ofDiscrimination against Women (CEDAW) (vii)The Declaration on the Elimination ofViolence against Women (DEVAM) (viii)Convention against Torture and other Cruel, inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Regional Instruments 3(a)Africa Charter (b)The African protocol on the rights ofwomen A 4(i) The Rights ofthe African Female Child under International Covenants & Instruments: (ii)History ofthe international law ofthe Rights ofthe Child. (iii)The Charter ofUnited Nations (iv)The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) (v)The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (1966) (vi)The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (vii)The Declaration ofthe Rights ofthe Child (1924) (viii)The declaration ofthe rights ofthe child (1959) (ix)The Convention on the Rights ofthe Child (1989) (x)The African Charter on the rights and welfare ofthe child. Bibliography Chapter 3 (3)HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURE: THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND CULTURE IN AFRICA (3a)Introduction: Human rights protection: context & culture (3b)Can