Every shadow report on the Maputo Protocol has a natural reader inside the African Commission: the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa. RFLD’s manual, Reporting on the Maputo Protocol: a manual for shadow reports, recommends copying this mechanism on every submission. It also looks ahead to a new African Union treaty that will widen what shadow reports can cover.
A mandate created in 1999
The Commission created the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa through Resolution 38, adopted at its 25th Ordinary Session in May 1999. That was four years before the Maputo Protocol itself was adopted. The mandate is held by a member of the Commission and has been renewed regularly, most recently by Resolution 601 in November 2024.
What the mandate covers
As summarised on the Commission’s website, the mandate includes:
- acting as focal point for women’s rights within the Commission
- assisting governments to develop policies in line with the Protocol
- carrying out promotion and fact-finding missions
- monitoring implementation of the Charter and the Protocol, and reporting with recommendations
- drafting resolutions on the situation of women for adoption by the Commission
- carrying out comparative studies
- helping define reporting guidelines on women’s rights in State reports
- working with governments, intergovernmental bodies, NGOs, national human rights institutions and other rapporteurs
Resolution 601 also refers to the mandate’s work on the ratification, domestication, implementation and reporting of the Maputo Protocol. It names themes such as digital violence, sexual violence, femicide and obstetric violence, as well as the situation of displaced women.
Why shadow reporters should engage
Several parts of the mandate connect directly to shadow reporting. The Special Rapporteur monitors implementation of the Protocol and works with NGOs. The manual therefore recommends sending shadow reports to the Special Rapporteur as well as to the Country Rapporteur Commissioner for the State concerned, and requesting meetings with both before the review.
The mandate is also active between sessions. Its intersession report to the 87th Session described a promotion mission to Zimbabwe from 30 March to 2 April 2026, letters to States, a regional consultation on withdrawing reservations on 25 November 2025 and more than 45 engagements with partners. One letter commended a High Court ruling in Malawi on access to abortion for survivors of sexual violence. Shadow report evidence can feed into this kind of work.
At each public session, the Special Rapporteur presents an activity report. Organisations with observer status can respond under the agenda item on activity reports, which was item 7 at the 89th Session. The manual offers a 350-word template for such a statement.
The AU Convention on ending violence against women
The African Union Assembly adopted the Convention on Ending Violence against Women and Girls in February 2025. At the launch of the AU’s strategic roadmap in May 2026, eight States had signed it: Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Gambia, Angola, Liberia, Burundi, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea. None had yet ratified. The Convention needs 15 ratifications to enter into force.
Monitoring of the Convention will sit with the African Commission, led by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa. Progress reporting will be folded into the Commission’s existing reporting cycle.
What this means for shadow reports
The manual includes a forward-looking note on this. Once the Convention is in force, States that ratify it will report on it through the same cycle as the Charter and the Maputo Protocol. Shadow reports will then be able to address violence against women under both the Protocol and the new Convention in a single submission.
For women’s organisations, this is a reason to build strong evidence on violence now. Data and documented cases gathered for a Maputo shadow report today will be directly useful when the Convention’s monitoring begins. The skills are the same, from ethical documentation to SMART recommendations.
It is also a reason to advocate for ratification. Organisations can use their engagement with the Commission, and with national parliaments, to press States to sign and ratify the Convention. Each ratification brings the 15-ratification threshold closer.
A relationship worth building
Special mechanisms work best when they hear regularly from the people they serve. Organisations that share evidence with the Special Rapporteur regularly, between reviews as well as before them, become trusted sources. The manual encourages RFLD’s members to see the mandate as a long-term partner in their work on the Protocol.
RFLD’s research on violence against women, including its report on online violence against women in West and Central Africa, is one example of evidence that can inform this relationship.
About the report
This article draws on RFLD’s report Reporting on the Maputo Protocol: a manual for shadow reports, published on 4 October 2026. Read the summary, download the English edition or the French edition.
