University of Pretoria

04/21/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/21/2025 01:30

Centre for Human Rights commemorates 25 years of Special Rapporteurs on the Rights of Women in Africa

The University of Pretoria's Centre for Human Rights (CHR) recently hosted a documentary screening marking 25 years of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (SRRWA) appointed by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

The screening was hosted by the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria (Javett-UP), and the documentary was produced by the CHR as part of the activities commemorating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the SRRWA.

"Events like these help us to speak to our advocacy and promote information about the Maputo Protocol and the rights of women in Africa," said Matilda Lasseko-Phooko, Programme Manager at the CHR's Women's Rights Unit.

The Maputo Protocol - formally known as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa - was developed in response to a growing recognition, in the mid-1990s, that women lacked a dedicated mandate holder or protocol within the African Commission. Civil society groups and mainstream organisations began pushing for the creation of a legal and institutional framework to protect and promote women's rights, particularly in areas the African Charter had not sufficiently addressed. The goal was to establish a comprehensive mechanism that would reflect and respond to the unique challenges faced by women across the continent.

With the support and collaboration of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, these early efforts laid the groundwork for what would eventually become the Maputo Protocol.

As the discussions evolved, there was growing consensus on the need for a dedicated rapporteur to oversee women's rights in Africa. This idea resulted in the establishment of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, which became official in 1999 when Commissioner Julienne Ondziel-Gnelenga of the Republic of the Congo was appointed as the first Special Rapporteur.

Translating treaty provisions into real change

"Events like this also help to also enlighten others how to use this as a tool to advance women's rights," Lasseko-Phooko continued. "It also helps us to bring together into one room students, donors and the community, as well as CSOs (civil society organisations) and government representatives to help us translate the treaty provision into what it means for women."

Prof Nkatha Murungi, Acting Director of the CHR, also addressed the event. "To really see change, we need a more serious and nuanced stocktaking of the progress happening around issues pertaining to women," she said. "Furthermore, we also need a system of regularly monitoring each and every right and entitlement for us to understand whether we are making progress or not. This is because you cannot engage at government or policy level without data."

Prof Murungi added that reaching equality can sometimes seem daunting, due to other overwhelming events occurring at the same time. "… in turn, marking areas of progress can be hard, because attention later goes to the more violating instances. However, there are notable areas that can be applauded. For instance, developing countries ensuring that women have access to proper and specialised healthcare."

25+ years of Special Rapporteurs

Speakers at the event emphasised that the establishment of the Special Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women in Africa in 1999 - the third rapporteurship to be established within the African Commission - was a significant milestone in the continent's human rights efforts.

The creation of this rapporteurship built on earlier initiatives such as the first two rapporteurships: one focused on extrajudicial killings and arbitrary executions - especially relevant to the Rwanda genocide of 1994 - and another addressing the conditions of prisons and detention across Africa.

However, the path to this establishment was not without debate. There were disagreements over whether the rapporteur should be an independent expert from outside the Commission or whether it should be one of the Commissioners themselves. Despite these debates, the Special Rapporteurship extended beyond the Maputo Protocol and became a broader platform to address the diverse rights and issues affecting women across the continent.

"Currently, it is difficult to have an objective reflection on the status of women's rights," Prof Murungi said. "This is because we are in an overwhelming moment. The grand narrative remains the same: women are not equally protected across the continent. However, there are areas of progression and successes."