Advancing Protection for the Rights of Women and Children in Mali: the Ruling of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights against the provisions of the Family Code

The present paper aims at highlighting the main contents and features of the decision Association pour le Prog rès et la Défense des Droits des Femmes Maliennes et al v. Republic of Mali of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The two NGOs asked the Court on the basis of the non-compliance of the Family Code with international human rights standards, requesting the Court for eliminating those provisions which created prejudice towards women and children. The alleged violation concerned the establishment of the minimum age for girls’ marriage at 16, the right to consent to marriage, the right to inheritance for women and children born out of wedlock and the continuation of practices or traditions harmful towards women and children.