Capacity Building Workshop on State Reporting under the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa

The mechanism of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, in collaboration with the Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria, organised a three-day capacity building workshop, from 21 to 23 August 2013, on State reporting under the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol). 

The workshop brought together representatives of Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Ministries responsible for the promotion of women's rights, National Human Rights Institutions and Non-Governmental Organisations working for the rights of women in the following countries:

- Burkina Faso;

- Cameroon;

- Mali;

- Mauritania; and

- Senegal.

The workshop, following the one organised in Pretoria, South Africa, from 10 to 12 June 2013, was aimed at raising the awareness of the major stakeholders on the urgency to assess the situation regarding the status of implementation of the Maputo Protocol ten years after its adoption in July 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique, as well as familiarize themselves with the Guidelines developed by the African Commission. 

The workshop laid emphasis on the Guidelines for State Reporting under the Maputo Protocol that was adopted by the Commission in November 2009 at its 46^th Ordinary Session. The Guidelines enabled participants to build their capacity in report writing techniques. In addition, experts presented, among others, the African system for protecting human rights, the situation of women's rights in Africa: challenges, achievements and perspectives, as well as the analysis of the provisions under the Maputo Protocol.

Following the exchanges and discussions, participants congratulated the organisers of the workshop for the lessons learned and the wealth of shared experiences. They pledged to organise dissemination workshops and strengthen the capacities of members of inter-ministerial committees in charge of drafting periodic reports in their countries. They also committed to ensure integration in future periodic reports, of legislative and other measures taken to give full effect to the provisions of the Maputo Protocol, in accordance with the Guidelines prescribed by the African Commission.

                                                                                                            Banjul, 30 August 2013