Assembly/AU/Decl.1(XXVII)Rev.1 Page 1 DECLARATION BY THE ASSEMBLY ON THE THEME OF YEAR 2016 We, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), meeting at the 27 th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union in Kigali, Rwanda, from 17 to 18 July 2016, and after having debated the theme of the year, namely, ‘The African Year of Human Rights with Particular Focus on the Rights of Women’; Recalling the Decision EX.CL/Dec.842(XXV), which was endorsed by the 25th Ordinary Session, held from 20 to 24 June, 2014, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, which decided to “…declare 2016 as the African Year of Human Rights with Particular Focus on the Rights of Women…” Inspired by Africa’s continued quest for the promotion and protection of human and people rights as well as Africa’s contribution to the universal principles of governance, democracy, and human rights; Reiterating our commitment made in the Banjul Declaration on the 25 th Anniversary of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights adopted during the 7 th Ordinary Session of the Assembly to ensure respect for human and peoples’ rights as a prerequisite for the attainment of our common vision of a united and prosperous Africa; Re-affirming our commitment to the African Shared Values embodied in the Constitutive Act of the African Union, which, amongst others, emphasise the significance of democratic governance, popular participation, the rule of law and human and peoples’ rights; Re-committing ourselves to the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights in Africa as part of the African Shared Values, which is one of the pillars of the AU Agenda 2063, through which the Member States, through the technical support of the Commission of the African Union seeks to implement the vision of the Union; Cognizant of the critical role of women, youth and civil society in the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights and the importance of securing and enhancing their participation in the popularization and domestication of these values; Determined to protect and promote women’s human rights as embodied in the Protocol on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa which specifically addresses rights that are particular to women in Africa and rooted in the Constitutive Act of the African Union; Desirous of the need to continue to promote and encourage democratic practices, good governance and the rule of law, promote and protect human and peoples’ rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for the sanctity of human life and international humanitarian law, as part of the efforts to prevent conflict on the Continent;