Reservations are best raised at the moment a State reports to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. RFLD’s report Lifting the Reservations: nine country briefs on the Maputo Protocol includes a reporting calendar for the nine States that still hold reservations or declarations. It shows when each State was last examined and when the next opportunity arises.
Why the reporting cycle matters
States Parties report periodically to the African Commission under Article 62 of the African Charter and Article 26 of the Maputo Protocol. After examining a report, the Commission adopts concluding observations, which the report’s glossary defines as “the recommendations adopted by the African Commission after it examines a State report”.
The Commission’s Advocacy Framework, adopted in 2026, asks it to use this procedure to call for withdrawal of reservations. A reservation does not stop the Commission from asking questions during the examination. The reporting cycle is therefore the most regular, predictable point of leverage that advocates have.
The calendar, State by State
- Algeria: last examined at the 57th Session in 2015, on its combined 5th and 6th reports. No report yet under the Protocol. Next moment: its first report under the Protocol.
- Cameroon: last examined at the 67th Session, on its combined 4th to 6th reports. Next moment: the 89th Session in Dakar, on 17 October 2026, for its combined 7th to 9th report.
- Ethiopia: examined at the 83rd Session in 2025. Initial report under the Protocol submitted in January 2024. Next moment: follow-up of the 2025 concluding observations.
- Kenya: 14th periodic report examined at the 87th Session in 2026. Next moment: publication of the concluding observations at the 88th Session.
- Mauritius: 11th periodic report, covering 2019 to 2024. Next moment: the 89th Session in Dakar, on 15 October 2026.
- Namibia: last examined at the 69th Session, with concluding observations in 2022. Next moment: its next periodic report.
- Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: combined reports, with its initial report under the Protocol, before the 87th Session in 2026. Next moment: the concluding observations.
- South Africa: last concluding observations adopted in 2016, and no later report found. Next moment: its overdue periodic report.
- Uganda: examined at the 77th Session in 2023, with concluding observations in March 2024. Next moment: its 9th periodic report, which was due in February 2026.
Reading the calendar
The nearest opportunities are in Dakar, where Mauritius and Cameroon present reports at the 89th Ordinary Session in October 2026. RFLD will raise both States’ reservations there. These are among the first reviews since the Advocacy Framework was adopted, which makes the wording of the resulting concluding observations especially important.
For Kenya and Ethiopia, the work now is follow-up. The same will apply to the Sahrawi Republic once its concluding observations are adopted. Concluding observations only have an effect if they are known and used at national level. Kenya’s brief, for instance, asks the national human rights institution to monitor implementation of the observations that follow the 87th Session.
For Algeria and South Africa, the gap is the report itself. Algeria has not yet reported under the Protocol, and South Africa’s next periodic report is overdue. Both briefs ask the government to submit its report, since without a report there is no formal dialogue on the reservations.
Namibia and Uganda sit in between. Their next reports are expected, and advocates have time to prepare evidence and shadow submissions.
How to use a reporting moment
The report’s twelve-month advocacy plan places the shadow report in months nine and ten, before the State report is examined. At that stage, advocates are asked to submit a shadow report paragraph and to brief the Country Rapporteur Commissioner, the member of the Commission responsible for following the State. In months eleven and twelve, the focus shifts to following up the concluding observations.
The report notes one limit: some concluding observations adopted in 2025 and 2026 were not yet published when the briefs were finalised. The reporting information is accurate as of October 2026. For guidance on preparing a submission, see RFLD’s manual on shadow reports under the Maputo Protocol.
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.
