Family as the leading figure of development. A comparative approach to African and European policies on the family

Abstract

[Abstract] The aim of this chapter is to examine the idea of the family embodied in the main regional conventions on human rights in Africa and Europe: the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter, or ACHPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (European Convention, or ECHR). Strictly speaking, this is not a study in comparative law, as it makes little sense to compare two documents, even of a similar kind, in isolation of other defining features of their respective societies, such as history, culture, traditions, and so on. The goal of this analysis is more limited: to study how the family is depicted and protected in these conventions, and to gain a better understanding of some of the family policies in the regions where they apply.