The Office of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (SRRWA) of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has announced a call for contributions to the upcoming edition of its Newsletter.
The edition will focus on two central themes: “Lifting reservations to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol)”; and “Ratification of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU Convention on EVAWG)”.
SRRWA noted that the Maputo Protocol has significantly advanced the rights of women across Africa, adding that some State Parties have entered reservations that limit its full implementation.
The Commission also stressed that the AU Convention on EVAWG, adopted in 2023, “marks a landmark commitment to ending violence against women and girls, but its ratification process is still at its initial stages and remains slow.”
The Newsletter seeks to highlight the urgency of lifting reservations to the Maputo Protocol and advancing ratification of the AU Convention. The objective is to raise awareness on the reservations made to the Maputo Protocol and their implications, promote advocacy for lifting such reservations, promote and encourage the timely ratification and entry into force of the AU Convention on EVAWG, and provide a platform for stakeholders to share insights, country experiences, and strategies related to the themes.
On Lifting Reservations to the Maputo Protocol, contributors are invited to submit articles on suggested topics, including the overview and impact of reservations on women’s rights, the implication of reservations in the States that made them, case studies on successful withdrawal of reservations, advocacy strategies for engaging states to lift reservations, and the legal analysis of compatibility of reservations with the Protocol’s object and purpose.
On Ratification of the AU Convention on EVAWG, articles may address emerging and persistent challenges in the protection of women and girls that the AU Convention seeks to address, such as digital violence, the added value of the AU Convention in enriching the African women’s rights discourse and strengthening the normative framework, status and challenges of ratification by Member States, and the role of civil society in promoting ratification.
The call is open to human rights practitioners, academics and researchers, civil society organisations, State actors and policy makers, media professionals, and legal experts. Submissions should be written in English, between 800 and 1000 words, in Word format, font Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 line spacing, in clear, concise, accessible language, and references and sources should be cited appropriately. The use of images is encouraged.
Submissions should be sent by September 11, 2025, to MbengueI@AfricanUnion.org, meroneshetu34@gmail.com, and NareM@AfricanUnion.org.
Selected articles will be published in the Fourth Edition of the SRRWA Newsletter, which will be widely disseminated through the Commission’s communication platforms, and only contributors of selected articles will be notified.