In a commendable move to advance gender equality, the Central African Republic (CAR) has officially ratified the Maputo Protocol (http://apo-opa.co/45AWRPn), becoming the 46th African Union Member State to join this groundbreaking African treaty to protect and promote the rights of women and girls.
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa – commonly known as the Maputo Protocol – is one of the world’s most comprehensive legal frameworks on women’s rights. Adopted in 2003 by the African Union (AU), this treaty outlines clear obligations for African governments to end violence against women and girls, ensure reproductive rights, eliminate harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation, and promote equal participation in economic, political, and public life.
The human rights situation in CAR has been dire, with women and girls disproportionately affected by conflict, insecurity, and weak governance. Communities continue to face cycles of violence, displacement, and widespread sexual and gender-based abuse, often leaving survivors without justice or support.
By formally depositing the Protocol’s instruments of ratification on 29 July 2025 (http://apo-opa.co/4lK01VO), CAR’s government has made a powerful public commitment to ending legal discrimination against women and girls. This milestone reflects a clear intent to enhance the country’s legal protections, enact and fully implement laws and policies to uphold human rights, and forge a future where women and girls can live safely, freely, and with equal opportunity.
The Maputo Protocol embodies the power of partnership
CAR’s ratification of the Maputo Protocol is a potent demonstration of progress in advancing gender equality by aligning with the AU’s collective vision of equality, justice, and dignity for all. Across the continent, the Protocol has enabled African countries to achieve meritorious legal and policy advances, with governments strengthening protections for women and girls in partnership with regional and grassroots organisations and activists driving bold, transformative change.
CAR’s laudable move forward marks the culmination of sustained and productive endeavors by civil society actors and regional partners. Central to this accomplishment has been the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR) (www.SOAWR.org), a network of over 70 women’s rights organizations based in 33 African countries dedicated to advocating for women’s and girls’ rights by advocating for the universal ratification of the Protocol (http://apo-opa.co/41hYlvm).
On June 25, 2025, a ratification mission to CAR was spearheaded by two SOAWR Coalition members, led by Jacques Bandji from Women’s Counselling and Information Centre (WCIC), based in Cameroon, and Dr. Tom Mulisa from the Great Lakes Initiative for Human Rights and Development (GLIHD) based in Rwanda.
The CAR government made a welcome commitment to ratify the Protocol at this high-level gathering. Attended by over 40 participants – incorporating civil society, development partners, and government officials, including Dr. Marthe Augustine Kirimat, CAR’s Minister for Gender Promotion, Women’s Protection, Family and Children – the convening played a pivotal role in laying the foundations for a successful follow-up trip in July with an AU Commission-led mission including SOAWR.
Barrister Yveline Ntanfai from WCIC reflected, “An effective collaborative advocacy, depending on who you surround yourself with, leads to successful goal achievement as with the CAR mission. Today, the Central African Republic stands tall as the 46th AU Member State to ratify the Maputo Protocol. This milestone is the result of considerable efforts by government leaders, women’s rights advocates, and regional partners. It is a powerful testament to what we can achieve through collaboration to advance the rights of women and girls.”
Dr. Mulisa expanded, “The CAR mission demonstrated the resilience and strength of women and girls to advocate for their rights. It proved that civil society can effectively engage government institutions to achieve a shared goal. Women’s rights organizations in the Central African Republic played a crucial role, speaking with one voice to push for state compliance and the submission of the instruments of ratification.”
Upholding women’s legal rights across Africa
The Maputo Protocol explicitly affirms the right of women and girls to live free from violence, and African governments are obligated to adopt strong legislative and policy measures that prevent and respond to all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, guarantee access to justice, and hold perpetrators accountable.
Beyond legal reform, the Protocol mandates survivor-centered support services, including access to legal aid, and promotes public education to eliminate harmful practices and challenge discrimination. Furthermore, it encourages international cooperation and collaboration on research, capacity building, and the exchange of best practices.
The power of the Protocol is evidenced by SOAWR founder member and secretariat Equality Now in Breathing Life into the Maputo Protocol: Jurisprudence on the Rights of Women and Girls in Africa – 2nd Edition (http://apo-opa.co/45wGymA), a case digest by Equality Now legal experts that illustrates how the Protocol has been increasingly referenced in national and regional court decisions to uphold women’s and girls’ rights. Between 2019 and 2024, courts across 11 African countries applied the treaty in 26 landmark judgments, showing its growing importance in strategic litigation that set legal precedents.
The Maputo Protocol is key to safeguarding the rights of women and girls
However, Africa’s progress on securing legal rights for women and girls must not be taken for granted. Amid a growing global pushback against gender equality involving attempts to repeal existing legal protections – such as in The Gambia, where anti-rights activists have filed a case with the Gambian Supreme Court seeking to repeal the country’s law prohibiting female genital mutilation (http://apo-opa.co/47ebCJc) – it is more important than ever to both build upon and defend the gains accrued.
The Protocol stands as a critical shield against regression. As a legally binding framework to “ensure that the rights of women are promoted, realised and protected (http://apo-opa.co/45NY8RL) in order to enable them to fully enjoy all their human rights,” the treaty provides a clear roadmap for governments to establish robust legal protections, address systemic discrimination, and turn the aspiration of gender equality into a lived reality.
Crucially, it also empowers civil society, legal practitioners, and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence to challenge harmful laws, resist the rollback of rights, and demand justice through national and regional mechanisms.
With just five years remaining to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the ratification and full implementation of the Protocol by every AU Member State is more urgent than ever for SDG 5 – achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
It is imperative that each African government takes concrete action to ratify the treaty and incorporate its provisions wholesale into national legislation. This must include doing so without reservations (http://apo-opa.co/4mxnavN) that allow states to opt out of specific commitments and, in doing so, dilute the treaty’s protections.
In practice, reservations can undermine fundamental human rights, such as by restricting access to reproductive healthcare and weakening protections against child marriage, marital rape, and sex discrimination in family laws (http://apo-opa.co/45Op3gf) governing divorce, inheritance, child custody, and nationality.
“This is a defining moment for Africa,” explains Esther Waweru, Senior Legal Advisor at Equality Now. “The Central African Republic’s ratification of the Maputo Protocol sends a powerful message that progress on women’s rights continues. But it must not stop here. Over the past two decades, the treaty has driven significant legal advances across the continent. Yet, challenges remain, and sustained effort is needed for its promises to be entirely realised in every African country.”
“While we celebrate the Central African Republic’s ratification of the Maputo Protocol, we keep in mind all the African Union Member States that have not yet prioritised full ratification, domestication, and implementation of the treaty, leaving millions without the comprehensive legal protection they are entitled to. We urge these governments to act without delay to uphold their obligations under the Protocol and ensure no woman or girl is left behind – not in law, not in practice, and not in progress.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Equality Now.
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About Equality Now:
Equality Now (www.EqualityNow.org/) is a worldwide human rights organisation dedicated to securing the legal and systemic change needed to end discrimination against all women and girls, everywhere in the world. Since its inception in 1992, it has played a role in reforming 120 discriminatory laws globally, positively impacting the lives of hundreds of millions of women and girls, their communities and nations, both now and for generations to come.
Working with partners at national, regional, and global levels, Equality Now draws on deep legal expertise and a diverse range of social, political, and cultural perspectives to continue to lead the way in steering, shaping, and driving the change needed to achieve enduring gender equality, to the benefit of all.
For more details, go to www.EqualityNow.org, Bluesky http://apo-opa.co/47dGPfp, Facebook https://apo-opa.co/45UvLSc, Instagram https://apo-opa.co/47dGUjd, and LinkedIn https://apo-opa.co/3JvBs1k.
About Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR):
Established in 2004, Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) (www.SOAWR.org/) is a coalition of over 70 organisations working on women’s rights based in 33 countries in Africa. SOAWR was formed with the principal objective of advocating for the ratification, domestication, and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol), adopted 22 years ago.
For more details, go to www.SOAWR.org, Twitter/X: https://apo-opa.co/4mx5aS9, Facebook: https://apo-opa.co/3HNDtFu, LinkedIn: https://apo-opa.co/46dtZfd, TikTok: https://apo-opa.co/3HSCx2C, Spotify: https://apo-opa.co/4mxm2Io
About The Women’s Counselling and Information Centre (WCIC):
The Women’s Counselling and Information Centre (WCIC) is a non-profit NGO in the process of becoming, declared as an association at the prefecture of Wouri on March 3, 2005. WCIC is part of the diverse landscape of associations and NGOs working for the protection and promotion of women’s rights in Cameroon.
WCIC is above all a group of professional volunteers who have accepted to share their knowledge and also to devote part of their time to the legal support of women. This structure gathers professional jurists, in particular lawyers who are passionate about the defense of women’s rights.
For more information, visit: https://WomenCIC.wordpress.com/