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Webinar on Combating Obstetric Violence in Africa: Human Rights, Dignity and Accountability in Maternal Health Care

The Socio-Economic Rights Project at the Dullah Omar Institute hosted a webinar to raise awareness and foster dialogue on the pressing issue of obstetric violence (OV) in Africa. Drawing from extensive research and cross-country experiences, the event aimed to unpack the definitions, manifestations, and structural drivers of OV, situate it within applicable human rights frameworks, and reflect on the use of litigation as a strategy for accountability and change. The webinar also sought to generate recommendations for advancing respectful maternity care and strengthening legal and institutional responses across the continent.

Applications Now Open: African School on Decentralisation 2025 Applications Now Open: African School on Decentralisation 2025

The theme for the Fifth African School on Decentralisation (ASD) is ‘Decentralisation and Finances’. The 2025 ASD will focus on how decentralisation governance in Africa is financed, and on the systems and rules for the prudent use of public finances at decentralised level.

Call for Applications for Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme – Academic Year 2025 Call for Applications for Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme – Academic Year 2025

"The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is an implementing partner of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme. Initiated in 2012, the Programme is a global initiative designed to develop the next generation of transformative leaders by enabling highly talented, service-oriented young people, primarily young Africans, to pursue their higher education and cultivate their leadership potential."

Call for contributions to the ESR Review: The Right to Food and Nutrition Through a Public Health Lens: What Does Food Justice Look Like? Call for contributions to the ESR Review: The Right to Food and Nutrition Through a Public Health Lens: What Does Food Justice Look Like?

The Socio-Economic Rights Project (SERP) at the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI), University of the Western Cape invites contributions for the ESR Review, a quarterly publication aimed at informing and educating politicians, policymakers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics, and legal practitioners about key developments in socio-economic rights at both national and international levels.

Call for Contributions to the Economic & Social Rights Review on Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Africa Call for Contributions to the Economic & Social Rights Review on Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Africa

Socio-Economic Rights Project (SERP) at the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI), University of the Western Cape invites contributions for the ESR Review, a quarterly publication aimed at informing and educating politicians, policymakers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics, and legal practitioners about key developments in socioeconomic rights at both national and international levels.

Call for Applications: Two Post-doctoral Research Fellowships (1) Children’s rights in an African context (2) Criminal justice and human rights

The Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights at the Faculty of Law (DOI), University of the Western Cape (UWC), is pleased to announce two one-year full-time post-doctoral fellowships (PDRFs) for 2024-2025. One post-doctoral fellow will be based in the Children’s Rights Project (CRP) while the other will be based in the Africa Criminal Justice Reform Project (ACJR).

New Publication: 'Constitutional Identity and Constitutionalism in Africa' New Publication: 'Constitutional Identity and Constitutionalism in Africa'

In its modern history, Africa has experienced different waves of constitutional ordering. The latest democratisation wave, which began in the 1990s, has set the stage over the past decade for what is now a hotly debated issue: do recent, new, or fundamentally revised constitutions truly reflect an African constitutional identity? Thoughtfully navigating a contested field, this volume brings to the fore a number of foundational questions about African constitutionalism.