Article 5
Political parties shall co-operate in the expression of suffrage. They shall be formed and shall
freely exercise their activities under conditions determined by the Charter of Political Parties.
They must respect the principles of national sovereignty, of democracy, of territorial integrity and
of the secularity of the state.
Article 6
Suffrage shall be universal, equal and secret. The electors shall be, under the conditions
determined by law, all Beninese nationals of both sexes over the age of eighteen and in full
possession of their civil and political rights.
TITLE II: RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL
Article 7
The rights and duties proclaimed and guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples'
Rights adopted in 1981 by the Organization of African Unity and ratified by Benin on January 20,
1986 shall be an integral part of the present Constitution and of Beninese law.
Article 8
The human person is sacred and inviolable. The state has the absolute obligation to respect it
and protect it. It shall guarantee him a full blossoming out. To that end, it shall assure to its
citizens equal access to health, education, culture, information, vocational training, and
employment.
Article 9
Every human being has a right to the development and full expansion of his person in his
material, temporal and intellectual dimensions, provided that he does not violate the rights of
others nor infringe upon constitutional order and good manners.
Article 10
Every person has a right to culture. The state has the duty to safeguard and promote the national
values of civilisations, as much material as spiritual, as well as the cultural traditions.
Article 11
All communities comprising the Beninese nation shall enjoy the freedom to use their spoken and
written languages and to develop their own culture while respecting those of others. The state
must promote the development of national languages of intercommunication.
Article 12
The state and public authorities shall guarantee the education of children and shall create
conditions favourable to this end.
Article 13
The state shall provide for the education of the youth by public schools. Primary education shall
be obligatory. The state shall assure progressively free public education.
Article 14
Religious institutions and communities shall be able to co-operate equally in the education of the
youth. Private schools, secular or parochial, may be opened with the authorisation and control of
the state. The private schools may benefit from state subsidies under conditions determined by
law.
Article 15
Each individual has the right to life, liberty, security and the integrity of his person.

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