The Centre for Human Rights in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria in South Africa will convene the 13th Annual Disability Rights in Africa Conference under the theme “The African Disability Protocol: Promise and Challenges.”
The conference will take place in a hybrid format on November 4 and 5, 2025, with participants gathering in Johannesburg, South Africa, and others joining virtually via Zoom.
According to the organisers, the conference “aims to critically engage with the substantive content of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa (African Disability Protocol) and to interrogate strategies for its successful implementation, to bring about the desired social change.”
The event will also explore the unique contribution of the African Disability Protocol in the context of other human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The organisers noted that “the annual disability conference is a flagship platform for convening dialogue among key stakeholders on disability rights and to spotlight pertinent and emerging disability rights concerns in the African region.”
The conference will bring together persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, scholars, policymakers, researchers, and other human rights defenders.
Participants who wish to attend in person will be required to cover their costs, including flight, accommodation, and transport, while the Centre will cover conferencing costs. Those attending virtually are requested to complete the Zoom registration form to receive the link. Presenters will be communicated with individually regarding logistical arrangements.
The deadline for in-person participation is Thursday, October 30, 2025, by email to Ms Thandi Mpopo (u18107207@tuks.co.za), copying Ms Sabeeha Majid (sabeeha.majid@up.ac.za). Virtual attendance should be confirmed by Friday, October 31. 2025, through the Zoom registration form.
Recall that the African Union adopted the African Disability Protocol in January 2018 pursuant to Article 66 of the African Charter, nearly a decade after the coming into force of the CRPD. At the time, 49 of 55 AU Member States had ratified the CRPD, with 53 having signed it. However, it was argued that the CRPD did not address issues unique to Africa, such as harmful practices that violate the rights of persons with disabilities, particularly persons with albinism.
The adoption of the African Disability Protocol was therefore welcomed as “a crucial step in creating an enabling legal framework for the adequate protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in Africa.”
The Protocol came into force on May 3, 2024, bringing renewed hope for a more disability-inclusive Africa. However, African States now face the challenge of translating the Protocol into real social change.
The organisers anticipate that papers presented at the conference will be reworked and submitted for publication in the 2026 volume of the African Disability Rights Yearbook (ADRY).