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In view of assisting and strengthening the mechanism of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (SRRWA), on the 8 and 9 June 2016, the Gender Unit of the Centre for Human Rights organised and convened a workshop in Cote d'Ivoire on state reporting under the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Women’s Protocol). The workshop was held on the 8 and 9 June 2016.

Workshop participants came from relevant government departments, civil society organisations and gender equality commissions from francophone countries in West Africa; Benin, Cote d' Ivoire and Togo. Fifteen key government, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and civil society stakeholders involved in the state reporting process in these three countries attended this workshop.

The main objectives of the workshop were to disseminate and popularise the Guidelines on State Reporting on the Women’s Protocol, to build and strengthen the capacity of the key stakeholders in the three respective countries on state reporting under the Women’s Protocol and to ensure that their respective governments comply with state reporting obligations under the Women's Protocol.

Presentations were given on the African human rights system and the Women's Rights Protocol. A presentation was also given highlighting good practice by countries like Malawi and South Africa that have followed the guidelines when reporting under the Maputo Protocol. This presentation was particularly beneficial as it showed good practice of states following the guidelines when fulfilling their reporting obligations. A delegate from each of the three participating countries also provided an overview of the situation of women's human rights, highlighting the progress and challenges in their countries.

The workshop was highly interactive and participatory. After sharing the status of reporting and the challenges faced by those tasked with state reporting in their respective countries, participants worked in groups to draft a report on the Women's Rights Protocol and presented it in a moot session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. (African Commission). This session provided an opportunity for the representatives to have constructive engagement with the African Commission’s procedures. At the end of the workshop, it was felt that the objectives of the workshop had been significantly achieved as participants expressed an increased understanding of their countries obligations under the Maputo Protocol.