Mauritius is the most recent African State to withdraw a reservation to the Maputo Protocol. It still keeps seven others. RFLD’s report Lifting the Reservations: nine country briefs on the Maputo Protocol devotes a brief to Mauritius, timed for the examination of its periodic report by the African Commission in Dakar on 15 October 2026.
Key facts
Mauritius ratified the Protocol on 16 June 2017. On 10 April 2023 it withdrew its reservation to Article 6(b), which sets 18 as the minimum age of marriage for women. The 11th periodic report of Mauritius, covering 2019 to 2024, is scheduled for the 89th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The brief lists the provisions Mauritius still reserves:
- Article 4(2)(k), on equal access to refugee status and protection for women
- Article 6(c), on monogamy as the preferred form of marriage, reserved where incompatible with domestic law
- Article 9, on women’s political participation, including affirmative action
- Article 10(2)(d), on the protection of refugee women
- Article 11(3), on protecting displaced women and women seeking asylum against violence
- Article 12(2), on positive action for women’s education and training
- Article 14(2)(c), on medical abortion, reserved where a pregnancy has exceeded 14 weeks
What the reservations do
The reasons given differ from one provision to another. On Article 12(2), Mauritius states that its Constitution does not recognise positive discrimination. On Article 6(c), it reserves the preference for monogamy where this is incompatible with domestic law. Several other reservations are described by the African Commission’s Advocacy Framework as vague, which makes it hard to know the exact scope of the obligation that Mauritius has set aside.
Why they can be lifted
The brief starts from a strength. Mauritius “has already shown leadership by withdrawing its reservation to Article 6(b) on the minimum age of marriage in 2023”. It ratified in 2017 and withdrew six years later. That shows a State can revisit its position at any point and can withdraw part of its reservations while it reviews the rest.
On abortion, the Mauritian Criminal Code, as amended in 2012, permits termination of pregnancy where the woman’s life or health is at risk or in cases of severe foetal malformation. It also permits it in cases of rape or incest up to 14 weeks. The reservation to Article 14(2)(c) follows that 14-week limit. The brief asks whether Mauritius would narrow it, so that a woman whose life or health is in danger after 14 weeks is covered by the Protocol’s guarantee.
On Article 9 and Article 12(2), the question is whether temporary special measures for women would be acceptable. These provisions ask for positive action in public life and in education.
Questions for the dialogue in Dakar
RFLD proposes four questions that Commissioners and civil society can raise during the examination:
- Following the 2023 withdrawal on Article 6(b), which reservation does Mauritius intend to review next?
- Would Mauritius consider temporary special measures for women in public life, in line with Article 9?
- What is the scope of the reservations the framework describes as vague?
- Would Mauritius narrow its reservation to Article 14(2)(c) where a woman’s life or health is in danger after 14 weeks?
The ask
For the government, the brief asks Mauritius to announce a timetable during the dialogue at the 89th Session for reviewing its remaining reservations, starting with Articles 12(2) and 14(2)(c). For Parliament, it recommends an examination of temporary special measures for women’s political representation.
For the national human rights institution, the brief proposes an advisory opinion on each remaining reservation. For civil society, it recommends briefing Commissioners before 15 October 2026 and following up the concluding observations once they are adopted. Organisations preparing a submission can use RFLD’s manual on shadow reports under the Maputo Protocol.
What RFLD will do
RFLD will raise the reservations of Mauritius during the 89th Ordinary Session in Dakar. It will share the brief with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa and with the Country Rapporteur Commissioner for Mauritius. Any further withdrawal will be tracked on the Maputo Protocol Hub of RFLD’s DƆNÙESÈ Data Center.
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.
