PACFV Declaration On Family Values In Africa

We, the delegates of the Pan-African Conference on Family Values (PACFV), representing national governments, civil society organizations, academic institutions, religious bodies, and allied international partners, convened in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme “Promoting and Protecting Family Values in Challenging Times.” In full recognition of the pressing global dynamics confronting the natural family, we hereby adopt and issue this Declaration as an official expression of our united resolve to defend the sanctity, integrity, and constitutional protection of the family in Africa.

We reaffirm that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society, entitled to protection by society and the State, as affirmed in Article 16(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Article 45 of the Constitution of Kenya, along with similar legal provisions across numerous African national constitutions. Furthermore, we affirm that parents have the prior right to direct the upbringing and education of their children, particularly in moral and religious matters, as safeguarded under Article 18(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

We underscore that Africa’s legal, cultural, and moral heritage has long recognized and upheld the family as the foundational institution for national development, social order, intergenerational continuity, and moral formation. It is within this institution that children are nurtured, educated, and socialized into responsible citizenship. The disintegration of the family unit threatens not only individual well-being but the collective peace, sustainability, and governance of African societies.

AREAS OF GRAVE CONCERN

Having undertaken detailed, consultative deliberations and regional assessments, we hereby express serious concern regarding the following:

1. Ideologically Driven Foreign Policy Interventions: The imposition of values that are inconsistent with African cultures and constitutional frameworks through development aid conditionalities, trade negotiations, and diplomatic engagement.

2. Digital and Media Encroachment: The proliferation of harmful content targeting African youth via digital platforms, social media algorithms, and entertainment programming, which undermine traditional values and parental authority.

3. Promotion of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE): The widespread advocacy for CSE in schools, often without the informed consent of parents or alignment with national educational standards, threatens to erode moral foundations and disrupt age-appropriate learning.

4. Advocacy of Gender Identity Ideologies: The push to normalize gender fluidity and non-biological sexual identities in law, education, and healthcare, contrary to established biological, cultural, and religious norms.

5. Normalization of Abortion as a Right: Attempts to reinterpret existing human rights instruments to promote abortion on demand, in disregard of the right to life as protected in African constitutions and customary norms.

6. Undermining of Parental Rights: Legal and policy proposals that reduce or override parental responsibilities in matters of moral, religious, and sexual education.

7. External Manipulation of National Legislative Processes: Covert or overt efforts to influence or bypass national parliaments in the adoption of legal instruments that redefine family, life, and gender.

DECLARATION AND COMMITMENTS

In response to these concerns, we, the delegates of PACFV, do hereby solemnly adopt this Nairobi Declaration on Family Values and commit to:

• Protect and promote the right to life from the moment of conception, and reject all legal or policy frameworks that seek to diminish human dignity or normalize abortion;

• Affirm the family as the foundational institution of African society, critical for child development, national cohesion, and cultural preservation;

• Establish, strengthen, and coordinate pro-family advocacy platforms and multi-sector coalitions at national, regional, and continental levels to engage with policy, legislation, and public education;

• Advance legal protections for parental rights and responsibilities, ensuring parents retain the primary authority over their children’s upbringing, particularly in moral, religious, and educational domains;

• Guard against the digital exploitation of children and ideological indoctrination, including within school curricula, health systems, and media content;

• Resist the imposition of external values under the pretense of development aid, international agreements, or donor partnerships that conflict with national laws and cultural integrity.

CALL TO ACTION

We call upon African governments, the African Union, national parliaments, and regional economic communities to take urgent, coordinated, and resolute action to:

1. Engage proactively in international forums—including United Nations agencies, human rights bodies, and treaty negotiations—to assert Africa’s sovereign voice in shaping global policy on family, life, and cultural identity;

2. Undertake legislative reviews and reforms to ensure all national laws align with constitutional protections for the family, life, and parental rights;

3. Reject policy frameworks and donor conditions that undermine the moral, cultural, and legal values of African societies;

4. Invest in civic education programs and curricula reforms that promote family integrity, youth character formation, and national values;

5. Support national institutions, faith communities, and civil society actors working to strengthen family systems and counter harmful social ideologies.

We affirm that the family is not a flexible or negotiable construct, but a biologically and socially rooted institution essential to Africa’s survival, peace, and development. We reject the cultural relativism and ideological coercion that threaten to erode the moral and legal foundations of African nations. Accordingly, we adopt this Declaration as a binding expression of intent and commit to translating its contents into enforceable laws, public policies, institutional programs, and regional partnerships.

SIGNED BY

DELEGATES LEADERS AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION LEADERS PAN-AFRICAN CONFERENCE ON FAMILY VALUES (PACPV)
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