Cameroon did not list specific articles when it ratified the Maputo Protocol. It made a general interpretive declaration instead. RFLD’s report Lifting the Reservations: nine country briefs on the Maputo Protocol explains why that declaration still limits the treaty, and what Cameroon can do about it as its report goes before the African Commission in Dakar.
Key facts
Cameroon ratified the Protocol on 13 September 2012. Its declaration states that acceptance of the Protocol “does not mean that it endorses, encourages or promotes homosexuality, non-therapeutic abortion, FGM, prostitution or any other practice which is not consistent with universal or African ethical and moral values”.
The combined 7th to 9th periodic report of Cameroon is scheduled for the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in Dakar, on 17 October 2026. Its previous report, the combined 4th to 6th, was examined at the 67th Session.
Why a declaration can act as a reservation
States sometimes call their statements “declarations” or “interpretations”. The African Commission’s Advocacy Framework applies the test of the UN Human Rights Committee: if a statement, whatever its name, purports to exclude or modify the legal effect of a treaty provision in its application to the State, it is a reservation.
The brief finds that Cameroon’s broad wording “creates uncertainty about how Cameroon applies Article 14(2)(c)”, the provision that requires States to authorise medical abortion in cases of sexual violence and where the pregnancy puts the mother’s health or life in danger. The declaration also touches Article 5, which prohibits female genital mutilation.
Why it can be lifted
Cameroon’s own law already goes some way towards the Protocol. Section 339 of the Penal Code of 2016 allows abortion to save the mother from serious danger to her health, and in cases of rape. A declaration that casts doubt on Article 14(2)(c) therefore sits uneasily with Cameroon’s own legislation.
The part of the declaration on female genital mutilation is also redundant. The Protocol itself prohibits the practice, so there is nothing in the treaty for Cameroon to guard against on that point.
The brief also points to child marriage as a continuing concern. It notes that “30 per cent of girls are married before 18”. Article 6(b) of the Protocol sets 18 as the minimum age of marriage for women, and the brief asks when that age will apply to girls and boys alike.
Questions for the dialogue
- Does the general declaration restrict Article 14(2)(c) in any of the cases it lists?
- How are Section 339 cases applied in practice, and how long does authorisation take?
- When will a minimum marriage age of 18 apply to girls and boys alike?
- Would Cameroon consider withdrawing the declaration, given the Protocol’s own prohibition of female genital mutilation?
The ask
The brief addresses four actors. The government is asked to confirm that the declaration does not restrict Article 14(2)(c) in the cases covered by Section 339, and to consider withdrawing it. Parliament is asked to align the minimum age of marriage at 18 for both sexes.
The national human rights institution is invited to publish an opinion on the legal effect of the declaration. Civil society is encouraged to brief the Country Rapporteur Commissioner before the examination and to follow up on the concluding observations afterwards. RFLD’s manual on shadow reports gives practical guidance for organisations that want to make a submission.
A timely opportunity
The Advocacy Framework, adopted by the African Commission at its 86th Ordinary Session in 2026, asks the Commission to call for the withdrawal of reservations in its concluding observations. Cameroon’s examination in Dakar is one of the first chances to do so since the framework was adopted.
RFLD will raise Cameroon’s declaration during the 89th Ordinary Session and share the brief with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa and the Country Rapporteur Commissioner. A withdrawal would require no consent from other States. It would only need a written notification to the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, which takes effect on receipt.
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.
