This Digest aims to promote the use of one of the world’s most comprehensive and progressive human rights instruments – the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol or the Protocol). The Maputo Protocol was adopted by member States of the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique on July 2003, with the aim “to ensure that the rights of women are protected in order to enable them to enjoy fully all their human rights”. The Protocol builds on existing international human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), but also goes beyond these instruments to address the unique human rights challenges faced by women and girls in the African context.
CSO Guide: Engaging AU Member States on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
Download the Guide (ENG) Background to the Guide The adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo