Honourable Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, Vice Chairperson of the Commission & Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, All Protocol Observed:
Equality Now commends your mandate for the excellent work done during the inter-sessional period despite the many difficulties curtailing the advocacy of women’s rights in Africa.
1. The adoption of the Resolution on Lifting Reservations
We are concerned that several Member States have demonstrated limited commitment to fully implement the provisions of the Maputo Protocol. This is most evident in the reservations entered against the Protocol. Of the 45 Member States that have ratified the Protocol, nine—namely Algeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, South Africa, and Uganda—have entered reservations on various provisions. Notably, Article 6 on marriage has 12 reservations, and Article 14 on sexual and reproductive health, including access to safe abortion, has 8 reservations. Such reservations significantly limit the legal protections guaranteed under the Protocol, leaving women and girls vulnerable to human rights violations and adversely impacting their quality of life.
Equality Now congratulates the Special Rapporteur and the African Commission on the adoption of Resolution 632 (LXXXII) 2025 on the Need to Raise Awareness for States to Withdraw Reservations on Some Provisions of the Maputo Protocol, on 11th March 2025. We are particularly encouraged by the Commission’s directive to develop a “Framework for Advocacy to raise awareness for lifting Reservations on some provisions of the Maputo Protocol” in collaboration with relevant partners and stakeholders. Equality Now is fully committed to supporting and collaborating with the Special Rapporteur in fulfilling this directive. We believe that through collective efforts, we can advance towards an Africa where the rights of all women and girls are fully realised.
2. Highlights of the Africa Rape Laws Report
Under its Ending Sexual Violence program in Africa, Equality Now advocates for laws and policies that protect women and girls from sexual violence and for justice systems that work to secure justice for victims and survivors. Equality Now advocates for proper investigations, prosecutions, and accountability for governments and perpetrators. Related to this program area is the Justice for Girls project, which ensures that girls and their communities are educated on girls’ rights (agency) and that girls can get justice when their rights are violated. In 2024 Equality Now published a report scrutinising rape laws across Africa titled “Barriers to Justice: RAPE IN AFRICA, LAW, PRACTICE AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE”. The report revealed key gaps in rape laws in 45 African Countries that result in routine denial of justice to survivors of sexual violence including children. We call upon your mandate to urge the Member States of the African Union to effectively implement their commitments and obligations to combat sexual violence and its consequences as enshrined in the various AU instruments. Specifically: Strengthen Legal and Policy Frameworks; Improve Law Enforcement and Judicial Response; Enhance Survivor Support Services; Promote Public Awareness and Education; Empower Communities and Grassroots Organizations, and Leverage Technology and Innovation.
3. Highlights of the Africa Family Law Report
Equality Now joins the global community in marking the upcoming International Day of Families on 15th May 2025 under the theme “Family-oriented Policies for Sustainable Development: Towards the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025.” In May 2024, Equality Now published a report titled “Gender Inequality in Family Laws in Africa: An Overview of Key Trends In Select Countries” (the Africa Family Law Report). The findings of the Report illustrated that discrimination in the context of the family continues to be institutionalized in law, practice, and policy in many countries in Africa despite only 45 of the 55 Member States ratifying the Maputo Protocol. While success is visible in positive trends such as the introduction of the age of marriage at 18 without any exceptions in several countries; setbacks continue through negative trends such as; exceptions to 18 as the minimum age of marriage; lack of criminalization of marital rape; recognition of polygamy without protections for women in polygamous marriages; retrogressive jurisprudence on the distribution of matrimonial property, and disproportionate restrictions on the rights to inheritance and rights of widows. The setbacks have been compounded by backlash from the anti-rights movement through efforts to reverse positive gains on laws to end FGM and child marriage. Equality Now is working to advocate for family law reform in Africa and is a founding member of the Africa Family Law Network. We commend your mandate for supporting the launch of the Africa Family Law Report and the AFLN panel on the impact of sexual and gender based violence in the family on education at the NGO forum on the margins of the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission. We call upon your mandate to collaborate with the AFLN to develop Guiding Principles on Family Law Reform in Africa to offer guidance and accelerate momentum on reforming discriminatory family laws in the continent.
4. Call for accelerated efforts to end Female Genital Mutilation
Female Genital Mutilation continues to be an urgent critical area of concern, with significantly limited prevalence data, legal protection, and support mechanisms for survivors. Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, and Somalia remain some of the few countries in the continent with high FGM prevalence which have yet to pass laws banning the practice. In Liberia, bills that would prohibit FGM have remained pending in Parliament since 2023. The three-year temporary moratorium on FGM issued by the Liberian Government in 2022 expired in February 2025. Hence, women and girls are now without any legal protections from FGM; and it is critical for a law banning FGM to be urgently passed in Liberia. Meanwhile, in Mali, disappointingly, provisions to ban FGM and child marriage were removed at the last minute from the amendments to the Penal Code which were adopted in late 2024. We call on your mandate to implore Member states to defend existing laws and to enact and enforce comprehensive laws and national policies to prohibit FGM; and put in place comprehensive multi-sectoral measures in accordance with the recommendations of the ACHPR-ACERWC Joint General Comment on FGM.
5. Issues of Concern on General Reporting on Part B of the Maputo Protocol
Equality Now expresses concern that, out of the 45 African States party to the Maputo Protocol, only 21 have provided Part B reports on the Maputo Protocol contrary to the provisions of Article 62 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights as read together with Article 26 of the Maputo Protocol and the State Reporting Procedures and Guidelines. We commend the 21 Member States who have submitted Part B reports on the Maputo Protocol. We call upon your mandate to urge the 24 Member States who have not provided an initial report on the status of implementation of the Maputo Protocol to forthwith submit the initial reports so as to make it possible to evaluate the extent of the promotion and protection of the rights of women at the national level.
Done in Nairobi on 15th April 2025