Most States that make reservations to a treaty explain them. Algeria did not. RFLD’s report Lifting the Reservations: nine country briefs on the Maputo Protocol describes Algeria’s reservations as among the widest in scope of the nine, and the hardest to assess, because the reasons behind them have never been stated.
Key facts
Algeria signed the Maputo Protocol in December 2003 and ratified it on 20 November 2016. It reserved complete articles instead of specific paragraphs. Article 6 covers the conditions of marriage, including free consent, a minimum age of 18, monogamy as the preferred form, and registration. Article 7 covers the end of a marriage, including divorce. Algeria also reserved Article 14 in full, the Protocol’s article on health and reproductive rights.
Algeria’s last report to the African Commission, its combined 5th and 6th periodic report under the African Charter, was examined at the 57th Ordinary Session in 2015. It has not yet submitted a report under the Maputo Protocol. As a result, the African Commission has never discussed the reservation with Algeria in a formal dialogue.
What the reservation does
The brief explains that the reservation removes entire articles on marriage and on health. The African Commission’s Advocacy Framework lists it among reservations that are “general and vague”. When a State gives no reason, neither the Commission nor citizens can know the exact scope of the obligation the State has set aside, or what change in law would allow it to be lifted.
Why it can be lifted
The core legal argument is about object and purpose. Article 19(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties forbids a reservation that is incompatible with the object and purpose of a treaty. The brief notes that a reservation to “whole articles that are central to the Protocol is difficult to reconcile with its object and purpose”. Marriage and reproductive health sit at the heart of a treaty on women’s rights.
The brief also looks at Algerian law. The Family Code, as amended in 2005, still permits a matrimonial guardian and polygamy. These are the matters that Article 6 of the Protocol addresses directly.
Finally, the brief draws on regional practice. The Advocacy Framework notes that at least eight States Parties with majority or significant Muslim populations apply the Protocol without reservations: Djibouti, The Gambia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia. Their experience shows that the provisions Algeria reserved can be applied in comparable legal and social contexts.
Questions for dialogue
- What are the reasons for the full reservation, which have never been stated?
- When will Algeria submit its initial report under the Protocol?
- Would Algeria consider a partial withdrawal, starting with Article 14(2)(c)?
- How does the Family Code protect women when a marriage is dissolved?
The ask
The brief starts with a step that costs nothing: an explanation. It asks Parliament to request a written explanation of the reasons for the reservation. It asks the government to submit its initial report under the Protocol and to review the reservation, starting with Article 14.
The national human rights institution is invited to advise on whether the reservation is compatible with the object and purpose of the Protocol. Civil society is encouraged to include the reservation in shadow reports and in its dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa.
A partial withdrawal is possible
A State does not need to lift every reservation at once. The Gambia withdrew its reservations to Articles 5, 6, 7 and 14 in 2006, covering harmful practices, marriage, divorce and health. Mauritius withdrew a single reservation in 2023 and kept others. The brief’s suggestion that Algeria begin with Article 14(2)(c), on medical abortion in specific cases, follows that logic.
The first report under the Protocol would also give the African Commission its first formal opportunity to discuss the reservation with Algeria and to address it in concluding observations. Organisations preparing to contribute can use RFLD’s manual on shadow reports under the Maputo Protocol. RFLD will share the brief with the Special Rapporteur and the Country Rapporteur Commissioner for Algeria.
About the report
This article draws on RFLD’s report Lifting the Reservations: nine country briefs on the Maputo Protocol, published on 4 October 2026. Read the summary, download the English edition or the French edition.
