VICTORY FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN AFRICA AFRICAN PROTOCOL ON RIGHTS OF WOMEN ENTERS INTO FORCE

Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR), a coalition of groups across Africa campaigning for the popularization, ratification and domestication of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, welcomes the 15th ratification by Togo of the Protocol on 26 October. The Protocol will now come into force within 30 days, marking a milestone in the protection and promotion of women’s rights in Africa and creating new rights for women in terms of international standards.

The other countries that have ratified the Protocol are Cape Verde, The Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Benin.

For the first time in international law, this groundbreaking Protocol explicitly sets forth the reproductive right of women to medical abortion when pregnancy results from rape or incest or when the continuation of pregnancy endangers the health or life of the mother. In another first, the Protocol explicitly calls for the legal prohibition of female genital mutilation, and prohibits the abuse of women in advertising and pornography. The Protocol sets forth a broad range of economic and social welfare rights for women. The rights of particularly vulnerable groups of women, including widows, elderly women, disabled women and “women in distress,” which includes poor women, women from marginalized populations groups, and pregnant or nursing women in detention are specifically recognized.

“The 19 national, regional and international organizations of SOAWR have been working tirelessly since July 2003 when the Protocol was adopted for ratification,” said Muthoni Wanyeki of FEMNET, a coalition member. “This moment is a testament to their work and the work of other civil society groups working across Africa for ratification.” The coalition delivered to heads of state a petition for which signatures were collected from across Africa by pen, email, online and by text messaging (SMS) from people encouraging their governments to ratify the Protocol. “To our knowledge, this is the first time that SMS technologies were used on a mass scale on the African continent in support of human rights,” said Firoze Manji of Fahamu, the SOAWR member that developed the technique.

“The protocol should not be viewed in isolation,” added Hannah Forster of the African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies. “It would be prudent to approach its domestication and implementation in consonance with other relevant international instruments.” Added Gladys Mutukwa of coalition-member WiLDAF, “There are 38 member states of the African Union that have not yet ratified the Protocol. Our work will not end until they too show their commitment to women’s rights in Africa and become party to the Protocol.”

“The coming into effect of the Protocol is just the first step in securing the protection of the human rights of African women,” explained Faiza Jama Mohamed of Equality Now, another coalition member. “However our task remains incomplete until state parties exercise the political will to protect, promote and respect these rights.”

For more information contact:
Equality Now – SOAWR Secretariat
Tel +254-20-2719832; +254-722-805539
Fax.+254-20-2719868
Email: [email protected]
www.equalitynow.org

________________________________________________

Dear Faiza, Muthoni, and Friends at SOAWR,
Warm greetings from the Global Fund for Women! At the end of last week, we learned that Togo has become the 15th African country to ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, finally making the Protocol official. All of us at the Global Fund send you our warmest congratulations for your tireless work towards making these ratifications a reality!
We have been following the Protocol closely in the news and while we realize that much work remains to be done in achieving recognition and protection of women’s rights across Africa, your work and dedication deserve to be celebrated and recognized! We are inspired and reinvigorated in our own work by your efforts to help women take charge of their own lives. In this exciting time, we hope that the ratification of the Protocol will be useful to you in your struggles to lobby governments to respect and promote the rights of African women.
With all of our solidarity and congratulations,
Muadi Mukenge
Program Officer for Africa
Marlene Dehlinger
Program Associate for Africa
Global Fund for Women

_____________________________________________________

Amnesty International Public Statement

On 26 October 2005, Togo became the fifteenth state to ratify the
Protocol. As a consequence, the Protocol will enter into force on 25
November 2005, 30 days after the deposit of the fifteenth instrument
of ratification.

The Protocol fills a major gap in the regional human rights system
by providing a comprehensive framework for the promotion and
protection of women’s human rights.

The Protocol recognizes and guarantees a wide range of women’s civil
and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights.
These rights include the right to life, integrity and security of
person; protection from harmful traditional practices; prohibition of
discrimination; and the protection of women in armed conflict.

Furthermore, the Protocol guarantees to every woman the right to
respect as a person and to the full development of her personality;
prohibition of exploitation or degradation; access to justice and
equal protection before the law; participation in the political and
decision making process. The Protocol also guarantees the right to
health and reproductive rights of women; the right to food security,
and the right to adequate housing.

Amnesty International calls on:

African states that have ratified the Protocol to implement it by
reviewing all national laws, policies, practices and procedures to
ensure that they meet the obligations set out in the Protocol,
including by incorporating the rights enshrined in the Protocol into
their domestic legislation and take all other necessary measures to
implement the instrument in good faith.
All African states that have not yet done so to ratify the Protocol
on the Rights of Women in Africa without further delay and without
reservations.

Amnesty International also calls on African governments:

Publicly condemn all violations of women’s human rights and
refrain from engaging in such violations;
Take action to investigate all allegations of violations of women’s
human rights by members of the police, security and armed forces and
others acting with the acquiescence of the state and bring to justice
those suspected to be responsible;
Provide constitutional guarantees to prohibit discrimination and
ensure equality of men and women and review and amend discriminatory
laws and procedures

Background

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on
the Rights of Women in Africa was adopted on 11 July 2003 by the
Assembly of the African Union second summit in Maputo Mozambique.

As of 26 October 2005, the following fifteen states are parties to
the Protocol: Benin, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Gambia, Libya,
Lesotho, Mali, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa,
Senegal and Togo.

The following states have not yet ratified the Protocol: Algeria,
Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Gabon, Ghana,
Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique,
Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic,
Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sao Tome & Principe, Sudan,
Swaziland, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Protocol complements the African Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights in ensuring the promotion and protection of the human rights
of women in Africa. The implementation of the Protocol will be
supervised by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,
the body established to monitor compliance of states parties to the
African Charter, pending the establishment of the African Court on
Human and Peoples’ Rights. Also, states parties to the Protocol
commit themselves to indicate in their periodic reports to the
African Commission the legislative and other measures undertaken to
ensure the full realization of the rights recognized in the Protocol.
______________________

WOMEN IN LAW AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA (WiLDAF)

CONGRATULATIONS TO AFRICAN WOMEN AND THANKS TO THE 15 FIRST COUNTRIES WHICH HAVE RATIFIED THE PROTOCOL
The protocol on women’s rights in Africa will enter into force on 25th November 2005!

Togo is the 15th State to deposit its instrument of ratification!

Like we announced in an earlier press release, Togo, deposited really with the AU on the 26th October 2005 the instrument of ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the rights of women in Africa adopted in July 2003 in Maputo (Mozambique). Togo becomes then the fifteenth country to do it officially.

We have the right and the duty to celebrate the entry into force of the Protocol on November 25th 2005 which is 30 days after the 15th deposit of the instruments of ratification as it is expected by the text of the treaty.

We exhort our follow up committees and every women's rights organizations working on this matter to continue the good work of lobbying so all African States ratify it and implement it.

Again, thank you so much for the good work.

Yours sincerely,

Women in Law and Development in Africa/ Femmes, Droit et Développement en Afrique (WiLDAF/FeDDAF) West Africa sub-regional office
[email protected] / [email protected]