The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has built a body of standards on the right to water over the past decade. Few people outside specialist circles know them. RFLD’s policy brief, Women, Water and Article 15 of the Maputo Protocol, argues that governments and women’s organisations should read these standards alongside Article 15. This article explains what they say.
The starting point: the African Charter
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted in Nairobi on 27 June 1981, does not mention water by name. But it protects rights that depend on it. Article 16 gives every individual “the right to enjoy the best attainable state of physical and mental health”. Article 24 gives all peoples “the right to a general satisfactory environment favourable to their development”.
The Commission has used these provisions, together with the Maputo Protocol, to develop clearer standards on water.
Resolution 300 (2015)
In February 2015, at its 17th Extraordinary Session in Banjul, the Commission adopted its Resolution on the Obligations on the Right to Water. The resolution recalls Article 15 of the Maputo Protocol. It asks States to consider “the needs of vulnerable persons, in particular women and children”.
This was an important signal. It placed women at the centre of the Commission’s thinking on water from the start.
The Guidelines on the Right to Water in Africa (2019)
The Commission adopted its Guidelines on the Right to Water in Africa at its 26th Extraordinary Session, held in Banjul in July 2019. A press statement marked their publication on 30 June 2020. The Guidelines give States practical direction on how to meet their obligations.
Several provisions speak directly to women and girls:
- Guideline 22.1: “States shall take action to reduce the disproportionate burden and amount of time women bear in water collection.”
- Guideline 22.2: States should “guarantee safe access to water for women and girls at any time of the day”.
- Guideline 21.2: schools should have separate sanitation facilities for girls and boys.
- Preface: water for menstrual hygiene is “a necessary precondition for the right to education of women and girls”.
These provisions turn the general words of Article 15 into specific duties. A government can be asked what it has done to reduce the time women spend collecting water. It can also be asked whether women and girls can reach water safely after dark.
A gap the Commission has recognised
The Guidelines are a strong start, but the Commission itself has said they need more work on gender. In March 2026, at its 86th Ordinary Session, it adopted Resolution 658. The resolution finds that the 2019 Guidelines’ “gender-specific provisions, while present, require further elaboration”.
Resolution 658 tasks the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa and the Commission’s Working Group on ESC Rights with developing Guidelines on the Right to Sanitation in Africa, “with a specific focus on women and girls”, within two years. It recalls several articles of the Maputo Protocol, including Article 15.
Why these standards matter now
2026 is the African Union’s year of water and sanitation. In February, Heads of State endorsed the Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy. RFLD’s brief argues that neither will deliver for women unless they are read together with Article 15 and with the Commission’s Guidelines on the Right to Water.
The reason is simple. Continental water strategies speak the language of investment and infrastructure. The Commission’s standards speak the language of rights and duties. Women need both: the pipes and the guarantee that those pipes will reach them safely.
What RFLD asks of the African Commission
The brief makes four requests of the Commission. It should ensure that the Guidelines on the Right to Sanitation address menstrual health, safety, women’s participation and financing, through open consultations with women’s organisations in all regions. It should consider a General Comment on Article 15. It should ask specific questions on Article 15 when it examines State reports, and include water in its concluding observations. And it should encourage the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa to undertake a thematic study on women and water in a changing climate.
Women’s organisations can help by citing the Guidelines in their own submissions. RFLD’s manual on shadow reports explains how to bring these standards before the Commission when it examines a State.
About the report
This article draws on RFLD’s report Women, Water and Article 15 of the Maputo Protocol, published on 4 October 2026. Read the summary, download the English edition or the French edition.
