20 African Nations Advance Charter Targeting LGBTQ+ and Abortion Rights as AU Vote Looms in February
Updated
Updated · LGBTQ Nation · Jun 14
20 African Nations Advance Charter Targeting LGBTQ+ and Abortion Rights as AU Vote Looms in February
1 articles · Updated · LGBTQ Nation · Jun 14
Summary
Participants from 20 African nations advanced a new “Family, Sovereignty and Values” charter in Ghana, with organizers aiming to bring it to the African Union General Assembly for a vote next February.
The draft defines only two sexes, recognizes family solely through heterosexual marriage, and would bar comprehensive sexuality education—changes activists say would help roll back abortion access, women’s protections and LGBTQ+ rights.
ISLA and other rights groups say the charter repackages sovereignty and anti-colonial language to justify an illiberal agenda, calling it a vehicle to refuse or reverse existing commitments on sexual and reproductive health.
Activists and researchers say U.S. and European Christian nationalist groups helped shape the effort, naming Family Watch International and Christian Council International; FWI denied backing the latest conference but said it supports the charter’s restrictions.
Is a new 'family values' charter a defense of African sovereignty or a trojan horse for foreign ideological influence?
From Africa to Europe, is a global anti-rights movement successfully erasing protections for women and LGBTQ+ people?
The 2026 African Charter on Family, Sovereignty and Values: Conservative Push, External Agendas, and the Future of LGBTQ+ Rights
Overview
The June 2026 African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty marked a major step for the draft African Charter on Family, Sovereignty and Values, reflecting a growing movement across Africa to define and protect traditional family values and national sovereignty. This charter, shaped by encouragement from conservative figures in the US and Europe and gaining momentum after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, calls for restrictions on Comprehensive Sexuality Education and urges governments to use a 'family lens' in all policies. While aiming to reinforce the family unit, the charter’s push for more restrictive laws targeting LGBT people has sparked significant debate and public engagement across the continent.