AU Monitor

SOAWR Coalition Book Launch

(AU Monitor)--The Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) Coalition launched its book ‘Advocating for Women’s Rights: Experiences from the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR)’ on the 24th January 2009 in Addis Ababa, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

The official launch was graced by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), his Excellency Jean Ping, who was the guest of honour, the Director of African Union Commission Gender Women and Development Directorate, Mrs. Litha Musymi Ogana, the Ambassador of Uganda to Ethiopia and to the African Union (AU), his Excellency Mull Katende, the Chairperson of the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), Mama Koite, representatives of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, an organisation that co-hosted the event and other members of African women’s organisations.


It was an opportunity for SOAWR Coalition members to share with others their experiences in developing innovative advocacy strategies for the ratification, popularisation and domestication of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa was adopted at the second ordinary summit of the AU heads of State and Government in July 2003. African heads of States and Government made a commitment a year later to ratify the Protocol by the end of 2004 and to ‘usher in an era of domesticating and implementing the Protocol’. It came into force on 25th November 2005 after the fifteenth ratification was deposited with the AUC and to date 26 out of the 53 AU member States have deposited their ratifications. 

The AUC Chairperson, on his part, mentioning that his presence at the launch demonstrated how much he supported the work and achievements of SOAWR, reiterated his commitment to supporting women’s rights and promoting gender equality in Africa. ‘There is no other continent that has done as much as Africa in ensuring gender equality even though we embraced this initiative much later than them’, he added.

SOAWR is a coalition of more than 31 civil society organisations that was formed four years ago with the objective of achieving universal ratification of the Protocol, its popularisation, implementation and its domestication into national laws. At the book launch, SOAWR was represented by Akina Mama wa Africa, Equality Now, Fahamu, FEMNET, Oxfam GB and Women of Liberia Peace Network (WiLDAF) among others.

Posted by on 01/26 at 11:26 AM

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