As we went to press, news cam through that the requisite 15 countries
have ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and
Peoples' Rights, and the Protocol enters into force in 30 days.
The following press release was issued today by Solidarity for
African Women's Rights.
VICTORY FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN AFRICA
AFRICAN PROTOCOL ON RIGHTS OF WOMEN ENTERS INTO FORCE
Nairobi, Kenya -- 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
