STATEMENT BY THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL SAFE ABORTION DAY
Banjul, The Gambia, 28 September 2025 – On the occasion of International Safe Abortion Day, observed globally on 28 September, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) underscores the critical and urgent message of the 2025 theme: “Safe Abortion is Life-Saving Healthcare.”
Across our continent, unsafe abortion remains a devastating public health crisis and a grave violation of human rights. It is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity, robbing Africa of its women and girls, and leaving families and communities shattered. Each death and injury from an unsafe procedure is a preventable tragedy, reflecting a failure to uphold the fundamental rights to life, health, non-discrimination, and bodily autonomy as enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa (The Maputo Protocol).
The Maputo Protocol, a groundbreaking legal instrument, explicitly provides under Article 14(2)(c) for State Parties to “protect the reproductive rights of women by authorizing medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, and where the continued pregnancy endangers the mental and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother or the foetus.” This provision is not merely a suggestion; it is a legal obligation born from the recognition that denying safe abortion services has fatal consequences.
The theme “Safe Abortion is Life-Saving Healthcare” compels us to view this issue through the correct lens. Access to safe abortion is not a matter of political or ideological debate; it is an essential component of comprehensive reproductive healthcare. It is as life-saving as a blood transfusion, an emergency caesarean section, or treatment for malaria. When legal and medical frameworks restrict access to safe services, they do not eliminate abortion; they only force women and girls to seek perilous alternatives, perpetuating a cycle of suffering and death.
The ACHPR therefore calls upon all African Union Member States to:
1. Ratify, Domesticate, and Implement the Maputo Protocol: Appeals to the non-ratifying States to ratify immediately. For States that are parties, we urge the full domestication and effective implementation of Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol, requiring the concrete removal of all legal and policy barriers that deny women access to their guaranteed rights.
2. Withdraw reservations to Article 14 (2) (c) of the Maputo Protocol: Urge States that have placed reservations to Article 14 and specifically Article 14 (2) (c) to withdraw their reservations and fully implement the provision of the Maputo Protocol.
3. Enact Legal Reforms to Decriminalize Abortion: Urge States to take immediate steps to repeal laws that criminalize abortion, thereby ending the persecution and imprisonment of women, girls, and healthcare providers for seeking or delivering essential medical care.
4. Guarantee Access within Public Health Systems: Urge States to integrate comprehensive safe abortion and post-abortion care as core, accessible services within national health systems. These services must be affordable, confidential, and non-discriminatory, with a specific focus on reaching the most vulnerable, including adolescent girls, refugees, and women living in poverty.
5. Dismantle Stigma through Education and Information: Urge States to lead robust public health campaigns to combat stigma and dispel misinformation. This includes guaranteeing access to evidence-based, comprehensive sexuality education so that women and girls can make informed decisions about their bodies and health.
6. Safeguard Healthcare Providers: Urge States to protect healthcare professionals from intimidation, harassment, or legal retaliation for providing safe care. Urge States to provide legal abortion services with post-abortion care, as well as ensure a safe environment for both patients and providers.
On this day, the ACHPR honours the lost lives and the health-compromised due to unsafe abortion. We stand in solidarity with the courageous women, girls, and advocates across Africa who tirelessly fight for the right to safe healthcare. The ACHPR, through the mandate of its Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women and Girls, remains committed to working with Member States, National Human Rights Institutions, and civil society to ensure that every woman and girl in Africa can exercise her right to life, health, and dignity.
Safe abortion is healthcare. Healthcare is a human right!
Honourable Commissioner Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie
Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa and Vice-Chairperson of the ACHPR
