We work with international & regional human rights mechanisms

Our insights and expertise drive systemic change

Global progress on gender equality is only possible when human rights bodies are informed by the legal and lived realities of women and girls.

Equality Now actively contributes to the work of international and regional human rights mechanisms – including but not limited to the  United Nations, the African Union, the Council of Europe, and the Inter-American System – by providing expert legal submissions, evidence-based recommendations, and survivor-informed insights.

We use our legal expertise, as well as national and regional partnerships, to help shape global standards, support state accountability, and amplify underrepresented voices in key forums.

How we engage with human rights organisations

Legal submissions

Legal submissions to international and regional treaty bodies informed our global network of local partners

Multilateral engagement

Multilateral engagement in moments like the UN General Assembly 

 

Technical inputs

Technical inputs to shape emerging human rights frameworks like the Global Digital Compact

 

Delivering legal reform through global influence

From the UN Commission on the Status of Women to international and regional treaty body reviews, our inputs help shape legal frameworks that hold countries accountable.

In 2024, we made 78 legal submissions covering 38 countries to UN, regional, and national bodies and authorities. So far, over half have directly shaped official recommendations.

We engage with:

  • Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
  • Treaty body reviews (CEDAW, HRC, CRC, CAT, etc.)
  • Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, digital rights, and trafficking
  • Regional mechanisms, including:
    • African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
    • Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

 

Learn.

Use our women’s rights around the world resource to explore legal gaps 

Connect.

Explore.

Browse our Legal Submissions & Recommendations

Explore more resources

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Ibero-American Model Protocol for the investigation of sexual violence cases

A regional protocol offering practical guidance to investigate sexual violence cases with a consent-based, victim-centred, and intersectional approach.

Statement by Equality Now (Observer Status No. 281) on Agenda Item 5 of the 87th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR

As the African Commission adopts a new Advocacy Framework to strengthen implementation of the Maputo Protocol, a parallel effort to introduce a regressive Charter risks undermining decades of progress. Equality Now calls for decisive action to safeguard existing protections, ensure accountability from Member States, and work collaboratively with community leaders to advance a future where the rights of women and girls are fully realised.

Intervention on the Activity Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Internally Displaced Persons

Equality Now’s shadow report calls for urgent reform of discriminatory nationality laws across Africa that deny women equal rights to confer citizenship to their children and spouses. These laws heighten the risk of statelessness, poverty, family separation, and violence, undermining the fundamental right to nationality.

Grounded in regional advocacy and human rights standards, the report urges African Union Member States to enshrine gender equality in nationality laws, centre affected communities in reform processes, and sign and ratify the AU Nationality Protocol without delay.

Latest News & Insights

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11th May 2026

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