CONSIDERING that Article 66 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights provides for special protocols or agreements, if necessary, to supplement the provisions of the African Charter, and that the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity meeting in its Thirty-first Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in June 1995, endorsed by resolution AHG/Res.240 (XXXI) the recommendation of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to elaborate a Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa;

CONSIDERING the role that youth have played in the process of decolonisation, the struggle against apartheid and more recently in its efforts to encourage the development and to promote the democratic processes on the African Continent;

3. States Parties shall: a) Encourage the media to disseminate information that will be of economic, political, social and cultural benefit to youth;

3. States Parties shall ensure that youth are not arbitrarily deprived of their property including inherited property.

1. Every State Parties shall develop a comprehensive and coherent national youth policy. d) Mechanisms to address these youth challenges shall be framed within the national development framework of the country;

6. State Parties should encourage youth to conduct research. In this regard, an African discoveries day should be established along with mechanism of awarding prizes at the continental level.

1. States Parties shall take the following steps to promote and protect the morals and traditional values recognised by the community: a) Eliminate all traditional practices that undermine the physical integrity and dignity of women;

1. Every State Parties shall develop a comprehensive and coherent national youth policy. g) A baseline evaluation or situation analysis shall inform the policy on the priority issues for youth development;

Every young person shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

States Parties shall prohibit and condemn all forms of harmful practices which negatively affect the human rights of women and which are contrary to recognised international standards. States Parties shall take all necessary legislative and other measures to eliminate such practices, including: creation of public awareness in all sectors of society regarding harmful practices through information, formal and informal education and outreach programmes;

2. States Parties shall take the following measures to promote active youth participation in society: They shall: g) Provide technical and financial support to build the institutional capacity of youth organisations;

Nothing in this Charter shall be taken as minimising higher standards and values contained in other relevant human rights instruments ratified by States concerned or rational law or policies.

1. States Parties shall: Recognise the right of young people to a standard of living adequate for their holistic development.

States Parties shall recognise the right of young people to live anywhere in the world. In this regard, they shall: a) Promote the equivalence of degrees between African educational institutions to enable the youth to study and work in State Parties;

1. States Parties acknowledge the need to eliminate discrimination against girls and young women according to obligations stipulated in various international, regional and national human rights conventions and instruments designed to protect and promote women's rights. In this regard, they shall: b) Ensure that girls and young women are able to participate actively, equally and effectively with boys at all levels of social, educational, economic, political, cultural, civic life and leadership as well as scientific endeavours;

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

States Parties shall recognise the right of young people to live anywhere in the world. In this regard, they shall: e) Promote and protect the rights of young people living in the diaspora;

1. States Parties acknowledge the need to eliminate discrimination against girls and young women according to obligations stipulated in various international, regional and national human rights conventions and instruments designed to protect and promote women's rights. In this regard, they shall: m) Develop programmes of action that provide legal, physical and psychological support to girls and young women who have been subjected to violence and abuse such that they can fully re-integrate into social and economic life;

Every young person shall have responsibilities towards his family and society, the State, and the international community. Youth shall have the duty to: g) Espouse an honest work ethic and reject and expose corruption;

2. The present Charter shall come into force thirty (30) days after the deposit with the Chairperson of the Commission of the instruments of ratification of fifteen (15) Member States.

State Parties shall recognize popular participation through universal suffrage as the inalienable right of the people.

1. Every young person shall have the right to gainful employment.

The objectives of this Charter are to: Promote gender balance and equality in the governance and development processes;

All electoral observer missions shall present the report of their activities to the Chairperson of the Commission within a reasonable time.

The objectives of this Charter are to: Promote best practices in the management of elections for purposes of political stability and good governance.

State Parties shall implement this Charter in accordance with the following principles: Promotion of gender equality in public and private institutions;

State Parties shall commit themselves to promote democracy, the principle of the rule of law and human rights.

State Parties shall institutionalize good economic and corporate governance through, inter alia: Preventing and combating crime;

State Parties shall institutionalize good economic and corporate governance through, inter alia: Prudent and sustainable utilization of public resources;

State Parties shall decentralize power to democratically elected local authorities as provided in national laws.