GivingTuesday is 1 December: help end violence against women in Africa. Give now
Skip to main content
NGOsource 501(c)(3) Equivalent ACHPR Observer · N°553Observateur CADHP · n° 553 Co-Chair · SEA-T Advisory CouncilCoprésidence · Conseil consultatif SEA-T TransparencyTransparence Candid Platinum Seal 2026Sceau Platinum Candid 2026
Human Rights PUBLICATIONS ET ARTICLES Women's Rights

Lifting the Reservations: nine country briefs on the Maputo Protocol

RFLD publishes nine advocacy briefs on the States that still limit the Maputo Protocol through reservations, built on the African Commission’s 2026 Advocacy Framework.

RFLD Team 1 min read
Updated
Lifting the Reservations: Nine Country Briefs on the Maputo Protocol

Ahead of the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission in Dakar, RFLD publishes nine country briefs on the reservations that still limit the Maputo Protocol.

Forty-six African States have ratified the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. Nine of them, Algeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, the Sahrawi Republic, South Africa and Uganda, maintain reservations or declarations. In March 2026 the African Commission adopted an Advocacy Framework for Withdrawing Reservations. RFLD’s briefs turn that framework into a country-by-country agenda.

What you will find

  • For each State: the dates of ratification, the provisions reserved and the reasons given.
  • Why each reservation can be lifted now, with the relevant national law.
  • What the African Commission has already recommended.
  • A concrete ask for government, parliament, the national human rights institution and civil society.

The reports of Mauritius and Cameroon are examined at the 89th session on 15 and 17 October 2026. The briefs give Commissioners and civil society ready-made questions.

Download the country briefs (PDF, English)
Download the French edition (PDF)
SharefXinWA
R
Published by
RFLD Team · RFLD

Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement, a pan-African network for gender equality and development advancing women's rights, SRHR, civic space and climate justice across 35+ African countries since 2013.

Partner with us → Support our work →
§ Related stories

For funders and partnersPour les bailleurs et les partenaires

Fund the women who defend rights in Africa, nowFinancez maintenant les femmes qui défendent les droits en Afrique

Aid to women’s organisations is falling. RFLD moves funding fast to women-led organisations and defenders, in French and English, through a network of 1,143 member organisations in more than 35 African countries.L’aide aux organisations de femmes recule. Le RFLD achemine vite les financements vers les organisations de femmes et les défenseures, en français et en anglais, grâce à un réseau de 1 143 organisations membres dans plus de 35 pays africains.

RFLD currently serves as Co-Chair of the SEA-T Programme Advisory Council, mandated to ensure the programme’s direction, priorities, and resources are meaningfully aligned with the visions of African women-led civil society. The SEA-T Programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.Le RFLD assure actuellement la coprésidence du Conseil consultatif du programme SEA-T, chargé de veiller à ce que l’orientation, les priorités et les ressources du programme soient réellement alignées sur les visions de la société civile africaine portée par les femmes. Le programme SEA-T est financé par le ministère fédéral allemand de la Coopération économique et du Développement (BMZ) et mis en œuvre par la Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. See the partnershipVoir le partenariat

  • 1,143member organisationsorganisations membres
  • 35+African countriespays africains
  • N°553ACHPR observer statusstatut d’observateur CADHP
  • CandidPlatinum Seal of Transparency 2026Sceau de transparence Platine 2026

DonateFaire un don Partner with RFLDDevenir partenaire See our financialsVoir nos états financiers

Stay close to the movement.
Field notes, data releases and calls for proposals, in English or French. No more than one email a month.

Across all our workDans tout notre travail

Economic justice and climate justiceJustice économique et justice climatique

Women cannot be safe or equal without land, income and a voice in climate decisions. Economic and climate justice run through every RFLD programme, from ending violence to political leadership and health.Les femmes ne peuvent être en sécurité ni égales sans terre, revenus et voix dans les décisions climatiques. La justice économique et climatique traverse chaque programme du RFLD, de la fin des violences au leadership politique et à la santé.

Economic justiceJustice économiqueLand, work and the care economyLa terre, le travail et l’économie des soinsInheritance and land rights, decent work, credit for women and gender-responsive budgets.Droits successoraux et fonciers, travail décent, crédit pour les femmes et budgets sensibles au genre. Climate justiceJustice climatiqueWomen leading adaptationLes femmes à la tête de l’adaptationWomen-led adaptation, land rights, climate finance that reaches grassroots groups and a just transition.Adaptation menée par les femmes, droits fonciers, finance climatique qui atteint les groupes de base et transition juste. ProgrammeProgrammeRFLD Climate ActionRFLD Climate ActionOur programme for women’s leadership in the climate transition across sub-Saharan Africa.Notre programme pour le leadership des femmes dans la transition climatique en Afrique subsaharienne.
Stand with African women. Your support moves resources to the frontline.Partner with usDonate