As part of the African women’s movement, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, and the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) convened with other women’s rights organisations in Nairobi, Kenya for the Annual General Meeting on 9 July 2023. The SOAWR AGM took place ahead of a two-day celebration of the Maputo Protocol anniversary on 10 and 11 July 2023 in collaboration with the African Union and the Government of Kenya, as the host state. The Centre financially supported representatives of 5 member organisations based in the Southern Africa region to participate in the AGM and the pivotal anniversary celebrations on 10 and 11 July 2023.
SOAWR is a regional network of over 80 national, regional, and international civil society organisations based in over 30 African countries. The primary area of focus for SOAWR has been advocacy for African States to ratify, domesticate and implement the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). It remains the largest network of organisations working on attaining universal ratification of the Maputo Protocol. To date, 44 African states have ratified the Maputo Protocol.
The SOAWR AGM was an opportunity to collectively reflect on the gains, challenges, and gaps and plan for collective action going forward as a movement. The theme of the event was “accelerating the promise for African women and girls”. Recognition was made of the impact that the Maputo Protocol has had on the lived realities of women and girls on the continent and members reflected on the challenges that remain to be addressed to fully realise the potential of the Maputo Protocol to impact women’s lives. Future strategies were considered particularly in the context of internal conflicts, internal displacement and forced migration, democratic upheavals and the persistent cultural and religious norm that continue to undermine the full implementation of the Maputo Protocol.
A new Steering Committee was elected during the session to lead the coalition for the next four years. The Centre was elected, together with Akina Mama Wa Afrika and the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, to represent member organisations with an African continental mandate on the Steering Committee.
For more information, please contact:
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 4197
susan.mutambasere@up.ac.za
