The Women’s Protocol is a complementary legal document to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which was adopted by the African Commission in 2003 and entered into force in 2005. Its main aim is to expand the substantive protection of women’s rights in Africa by enumerating the rights of women and the corresponding obligations of state parties.

The General Comments was adopted in order to clarify the specific meas­ures that states should take in order to fulfill their obligations under Article 14(1)(d) which pro­vides for the right to self-protection and to be protected against sexually transmitted infec­tions including HIV/AIDS and  Article 14(1)(e) which provides for the right to be informed on one’s health status and on the health status of one’s partner.

This guide simplifies the content of the general comment for advocacy purposes and was compiled by students of the LLM/MPhil (Human Rights and Democratisation in Af­rica) 2013. 

Download the Guide to the General Comments on article 14(1)(d) and (e)of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa