MAPUTO
PROTOCOL - INTERNATIONAL
News:
What is Maputo Protocol?
What's
in the news?
● To
mark the 20th anniversary of Maputo Protocol to promote the continued
adaptation and implementation of its progressive provisions, a landmark report
has been prepared by the Solidarity for
African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR), Equality Now and Make Every Woman
Count (MEWC), titled 20 years of the Maputo Protocol.
● The
protocol to the African Charter on Human
and People’s Rights of Women in Africa, known as Maputo Protocol is an
international human rights instrument established by the African Union.
Adoption:
● It
was adopted by the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique in 2003 in the form of a
protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
● It
went into effect in 2005.
Ratification:
● Of
the 55 member states, 44 have ratified
or acceded to the protocol on gender equality, becoming one of the most
ratified instruments in the AU.
● Full
domestication of the protocol in many of the states has been slow or
ineffective.
● Some
states of Africa are yet to ratify or accede to the protocol.
Mandate:
● It
guarantees comprehensive rights to women including the right to take part in
the political process, to social and political equality with men, improved
autonomy in their reproductive health decisions and end-to-end female genital
mutilation.
African
Women’s Rights under Maputo Protocol:
The Protocol provides extensive rights to African
Women and Girls and includes progressive provisions on:
● Harmful
traditional practices e.g child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).
● Reproductive
health and rights.
● Roles
in political processes.
● Economic
empowerment.
● Ending
violence against women.