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On 23 and 24 April 2025, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (the Centre), in collaboration with the Department of Women, Youths and Persons with Disabilities, South Africa (DWYPD) hosted a two-day Workshop on the monitoring of the implementation of the rights of women as under international treaties. The Workshop was the culmination of a project to strengthen South Africa’s compliance with obligations under the CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol. To this end, the Workshop sought to promote an understanding of the roles that government officials and civil society organisations (CSO’s) play in the state reporting process, and to contribute to a less sporadic and more coordinated implementation of the treaty recommendations, through the development of the Tool.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, cordially invites you to a documentary screening showcasing the mechanism of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa.
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As we commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025 on March 8th, the theme #AccelerateAction calls us to step forward with urgency and solidarity to tackle the systemic barriers that continue to hinder gender equality, especially in the digital age. In many parts of the world, the digital divide disproportionately affects women, limiting their access to opportunities and preventing them from fully participating in the digital economy. In Africa, these challenges are even more pronounced, with deeply entrenched inequalities in access, literacy, safety, and opportunity. This year, as we observe IWD 2025, it is important to not only reflect on the progress made but also intensify efforts to overcome the persistent barriers preventing women from fully benefiting from the digital world.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria is pleased to announce a groundbreaking judgment issued by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights today (5 February 2025), in Application No. 019 of 2018 Centre for Human Rights (CHR), Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) and Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) v. United Republic of Tanzania.
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On 12th and 14th of November 2024, the Centre hosted two pivotal meetings in Windhoek, Namibia, focusing on advancing the country’s human rights landscape under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). The two separate gatherings brought together civil society organisations (CSOs) and representatives of the State Reporting and Follow-up Inter-ministerial Committee of Namibia including representatives from the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Defence.
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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, in collaboration with the government of Côte d’Ivoire, Ministry of Women, the Family and Children, hosted a Francophone Regional Training on State Party Reporting under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). The training was held from 28 to 30 October 2024 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The training brought together government and civil society representatives from Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Guinea Conakry, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali. The workshop highlighted the importance of state party reports in assessing the progress made by African nations in fulfilling their commitments to human rights, specifically concerning women's rights under the Maputo Protocol.
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On 17 October 2024, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria collaborated with other stakeholders to commemorate 25 years of the Office of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (Special Rapporteur). The event was hosted on the side-lines of the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Africa taking place in Banjul, the Gambia. The other partners of the event were IPAS and Equality Now.
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The Centre for Human Rights (CHR), in partnership with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), hosted a Judicial Colloquium on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) of women and girls in Nairobi, Kenya, on the 2nd and 3rd of July 2024. The event brought together judicial officers from Southern and Eastern African Countries.
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The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria organized a webinar on 21 June 2024 to discuss and assess implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in South Africa. The aim of the webinar was to assess CSE delivery in South Africa through Life Orientation (LO) subject in schools.
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We, the undersigned organizations, write regarding the ongoing developments relating to the repeal of the Sections of the landmark Women’s (Amendment) Act of 2015, which criminalizes Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Gambia. We are deeply concerned that these developments threaten the protection of the human rights and dignity of women and girls in the country, as well as in the region.
