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14 Nov | Women's rights in Africa: Launch event of General Comment No. 6 on Art. 7 (d) of the Maputo Protocol (FR)

14 Nov | Women's rights in Africa: Launch event of General Comment No. 6 on Art. 7 (d) of the Maputo Protocol (FR)

14 Nov | Women's rights in Africa: Launch event of General Comment No. 6 on Art. 7 (d) of the Maputo Protocol (FR)

 

This Saturday 14 November 2020, a high-level panel convened by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of women in Africa and gathering State Delegates, NHRIs, civil society organisations, media and academics, will officially launch General Comment No. 6 on Article 7 (d) of the Maputo Protocol. This soft law instrument aims to enhance the protection of the rights of women in cases of separation, divorce or annulment of marriage, and in particular, the woman’s right to an equitable sharing of the joint property deriving from the marriage in such circumstance.

The event particularly aims at raising awareness generally on the rights of women as provided under the Maputo Protocol, publicizing the immense contribution of the Commission in this regard including the development of soft law instruments including General Comment No. 6, and encouraging all stakeholders to make effective use of General Comment No. 6 and other soft law instruments developed by the Commission on the Rights of Women.

The panelists/speakers will make brief presentations touching on various aspects relating to the history, process, output and content of the final product. This will be followed by an interactive discussion on the General Comment. Thereafter, the participants will be invited to join the Commission in launching General Comment No. 6.

Read more on the history and background of the General Comment at the bottom of this page.

The panelists

  • Commissioner Zainabo Sylvie Kayitesi  – Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa

  • Commissioner Lucy Asuagbor – Former Commissioner and Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa

  • Sylvia Noagbesenu, Initiative for Gender Equality and Development in Africa (IGED – Africa)

  • Patience Mungwari, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (CHR)

  • Marie Saine, Legal Officer to the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women

Moderator

  • Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso – Chairperson

Civil Society Representative

  • Mayra Gómez, former Co-Executive Director of GI-ESCR, will be participating in the official launch in representation of the group of Civil Society Organizations that were engaged in the development of the General Comment.

Date and time

Saturday 14 November 2020, 11.15am GMT

Background

The General Comment further develops regional human rights standards, specifically looking at women’s rights to property in cases of separation, divorce, or annulment of marriage. In it, the ACHPR recognizes that separation, divorce or annulment of marriage, have specific economic consequences for women, and that many countries in Africa continue to apply discriminatory laws, policies and practices which continue to systematically disadvantage women. 

Organizations working globally and throughout Africa advocated for several years in support of the General Comment, hoping that it will lead to the clarification of various legal issues pertaining to women’s rights to property and in turn to the improvement of the ways in which women are treated across the continent. 

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Open the General Comment in  Arabic - Portuguese

The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights would like to acknowledge and express deep gratitude to Mayra Gómez, former Co-Executive Director of GI-ESCR for her decade-long leadership and advocacy work on the crucial question of women’s equal rights and the advancement of gender justice. Her legacy allows us to be celebrating today the achievement of the General Comment No. 6, a tool that will certainly contribute greatly to improve the status of all women across Africa.

 "The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has ushered in a landmark norm for the rights of women across Africa with the adoption of this General Comment.  The African Commission has sent a clear message that African women cannot be discriminated against at the time of divorce or separation, and that they have an equal right to marital property. The General Comment itself could not have been achieved without the ongoing commitment and perseverance of a range of partners and women's rights advocates, from all across the Continent. It took literally years of dedicated work.  It is our sincere hope that African women, and African girls born today and into the future, will have a brighter future because of this watershed achievement."   

Mayra Gómez, Former Co-Executive Director of GI-ESCR.

History and BACKGROUND

At the 38th Ordinary Session held from 26 April to 5 May 1999, in Bujumbura, Burundi, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) adopted Resolution ACHPR/Res.38 (XXV) 99 designating a Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa.  The objective of this resolution was the Commission’s resolve to place particular emphasis on the problems and rights specific to women in Africa. This was also supported by the existence of regional and International instruments such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which seek to protect the rights of women.

Given the mandate to focus specifically on the problems and rights of women, the Special Rapporteur has over the years worked with the Commission as a collegiate body, its stakeholders and partners to effectively implement the mandate in line with Article 45 of the Charter. In doing so, the Commission has through the work of the Special Rapporteur contributed immensely in promoting and protecting the rights of women and key amongst these is the development of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). It has also adopted several thematic resolutions touching on issues affecting the rights of women in Africa, developed specific guidelines, General Comments and conducted studies to better protect the rights of women in Africa an carried out, or participated in many promotional activities on the rights of women.

Despite the important work of the mandate over the years, the Commission recognizes the fact that Women in Africa are still grappling with many issues that continue to have a negative impact on the enjoyment of various human rights for women such as lack of access to land and other productive resources. The Commission is also concerned that regional and international legal and policy instruments have not been sufficient in setting out a clear foundation for women’s rights to access to, use of and control over land and other productive resources. Therefore pursuant to its mandate under Article 45 of the Charter, the Commission felt the urgent need to clarify various legal issues pertaining to women’s property rights and equality in marriage, particularly in cases of separation, divorce or annulment of a marriage; including clarity on the legal obligations of States so as to establish a continent-wide standard based on human rights principles.

At its 24th Extraordinary Session held  from 30 July to 8 August 2018, in Banjul, The Gambia, the Commission adopted  resolution ACHPR/Res. 401 (EXT.OS/ XXIV) 2018 on the development of General Comments on Article 7 (d) of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa mandating the Special Rapporteur to elaborate General Comments on Article 7 (d) of the Maputo Protocol which would among other things, require State Parties to enact appropriate legislation to ensure that women and men enjoy the same rights in case of separation, divorce or annulment of marriage, and that women and men shall have the right to an equitable sharing of the joint property deriving from the marriage in such circumstances. The Resolution also mandated the Special rapporteur to collaborate with relevant stakeholders working on issues of land and property rights in executing the assignment.

The Special Rapporteur joined forces with some of its stakeholders and partners including the Initiative for Gender Equality and Development in Africa (IGED-Africa), Global Initiative for Economic Social and Cultural Rights, (GI-ESCR), Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) and FIDA-Kenya in developing General Comment No. 6 which was adopted by the Commission at its 27th Extraordinary Session held from 19 February to 4 March 2020 in Banjul, The Gambia.

 

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Climate and Environmental Justice

We have advanced rights-based and gender-transformative transition frameworks through research that centres the lived experiences of women and marginalised communities on the frontlines of extractive energy policies, promoting climate and energy frameworks attentive to the social and care-related impacts of transition pathways. We have developed a clear vision for a gender-just transition, firmly rooted in gender and human rights norms, establishing both the legal basis and the direction for the transformative changes our planet and societies urgently need. In particular, the ‘Guiding Principles for Gender Equality and Human Rights in the Energy Transition’, a collective effort built through online consultations, an in-person workshop and multiple rounds of revision with activists, practitioners and experts from around the world, outline a transformative vision for reshaping global energy systems through a human rights and gender equality lens.

Our work recognises that the climate emergency is both an existential threat and an opportunity to reimagine societies built on social, gender, economic and environmental justice. We ground our advocacy in feminist and intersectional principles, prioritising the agency and perspectives of communities in the Global South who have contributed the least to the climate emergency yet face its most devastating consequences. Central to our approach is the understanding that energy is not merely a commodity but a fundamental human right; essential for dignity, health, education, work and the realisation of countless other rights. We challenge approaches to the energy transition that risk replicating the harmful patterns of fossil fuel extraction and, instead, advocate for transformative policies that ensure human rights and gender equality as central to building climate-resilient societies rooted in dignity, justice and planetary well-being.

What's next?

We will continue to challenge approaches that treat energy transition as merely a technical shift, instead positioning it as an opportunity to reimagine economies and societies rooted in dignity for all, with particular attention to communities in the Global South who have contributed least to the climate emergency yet are most exposed to its worst effects.

We will connect community-level evidence and the lived experiences of those on the frontlines of extractive policies to national reform and global norm-setting, breaking down silos between human rights, gender, and climate movements, and advancing a shared vision that recognises just transitions as not only fundamental to achieving climate-resilient and sustainable societies, but as transformative pathways that advance social and gender equality, redistribute power and resources equitably, and ensure that energy systems serve the public good rather than profit.

We will mainstream rights-based and genderjust transition priorities in key multilateral spaces (particularly, within the Just Transition Work Programme and the to-be-developed Just Transition Mechanism, within the UNFCCC) to guarantee that just transitions are advanced at all levels.

We will also translate our work, through strategic advocacy, into at least two concrete policy wins, whether promoted, adopted, implemented, or scaled, in priority countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, or Kenya), ensuring these policies align with human rights standards, centre gender equality, and reflect the needs and views of affected communities.

We will build momentum for the progressive recognition of the right to sustainable energy to shift dominant narratives away from purely extractive solutions that sideline gendered impacts, community participation, and Global South perspectives.

Economic Justice and Climate Finance

Our work has transformed the global discussion on fiscal policy in a more just, emancipatory and sustainable direction. Our approach has combined both high-level, expert contributions within decisionmaking circles, with bold, impactful work on narrative change with the general public.

We have been instrumental in the inclusion of human rights as a guiding principle of the future United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, a multilateral instrument with the potential of raising approx. USD 492 billion per year in public revenues currently foregone to global tax abuse. In the process leading to the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ decided at FfD4, we proposed and succeeded in creating a specific human rights workstream within the Civil Society Financing for Development Mechanism, which was critical to ensure that explicit commitments on the matter were included in the negotiating outcome. In a context of cutbacks in multilateral institutions, we have amplified the capacities of technical experts, providing rigorous technical support and leveraging our influence to ensure the enactments of groundbreaking standard-setting instruments, such as the 2025 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Statement on Fiscal Policy and Human Rights, and the first ex oficio hearing on the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on Fiscal and Economic Policies to Address Poverty and Structural Inequality, leading to an upcoming thematic resolution on the matter. We have also bridged the silos between multilateral tax discussions and climate finance debates, promoting ambitious financing commitments to increase international and domestic resource mobilisation during COP 28, 29 and 30.

At the regional level, our engagement with fiscal cooperation platforms such as the Platform for Fiscal Cooperation of Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC), where we are member of its Civil Society Consultative Council, and the African Anti-IFFs Policy Tracker, for which we participated in the pilot mission in Ivory Coast together with Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), have been critical in cementing a growing engagement between tax administrations and ministries of finance with international legal experts, exploring actionable and transformative initiatives, such as the taxation of high-net-worth individuals, beneficial ownership registries and corporate countryby-country reports, to be implemented at the international level.

At the local level, our interventions in fiscal reform debates in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Nigeria have contributed to shaping legislative outcomes in a more progressive, rights-compliant direction.

As for our leadership in narrative change, we have a measurable track record in delivering tailored, innovative campaigns which have decisively expanded economic justice constituencies by appealing to a broader tent. In Latin America and the Caribbean, we created the ‘Date Cuenta’ campaign, coordinating over 40 organisations across civil society to deliver plain language, innovative messaging connecting progressive fiscal reforms to the financing of health, education and social protection. ‘Date Cuenta’ generated over 55 original campaign messages that were tailored to the realities of seven priority countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Honduras) and disseminated in Spanish, Portuguese and English. In doing so, we convened more than 65 online co-creation workshops with partners, coordinating a unified communications strategy which combined digital outreach, press and media coverage, and collaboration with influencers. Ultimately, ‘Date Cuenta’ resulted in more than 60,000 interactions on social media, coverage in major regional and international media outlets, including El País, Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg and France 24, and the participation of at least 63 social media influencers through 58 dedicated publications. In collaboration with Fundación Gabo and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, we also organised a two-day workshop in Bogota with 20 journalists from 13 countries, building a regional network trained in a human rights-based approach to fiscal policy that has since generated published media coverage on outlets such as La Diaria, Ciper, El Diario Ar and Milenio. Through ‘Date Cuenta’ and our regional advocacy, we strengthened civil society engagement in key processes, including the Financing for Development track and FfD4, co-organised highlevel dialogues with states and civil society from Latin America and Africa.

What's next?

We will shape the UN Tax Convention and its Protocols so they embed human rights principles, and we will stay engaged through follow-up processes (including the expected Conference of the Parties) to support effective implementation. We will keep linking tax and climate finance so that new resources mobilised through fiscal cooperation are channelled to adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage, in line with UNFCCC commitments.

Public Services for Care Societies

We have translated participatory research into accountability and policy outcomes.

In Ivory Coast, our work with Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains and affected communities since 2023 exposed how privatisation and lack of accountability restrict access to quality healthcare. It contributed to the closure of 1,022 illegal private health centres, an executive instrument strengthening the regulation of private hospitals across the country, and the creation of a permanent complaints management committee in healthcare through a bylaw issued by the prefect of Gagnoa. Partners engaged through this process also advanced concrete improvements at facility level: members of the Gagnoa Midwives Association who took part in the participatory action research pooled resources to renovate the neonatal unit of the Regional Hospital, and the Director of the Gagnoa General Hospital launched an action plan to expand services and improve patient reception, with the facility receiving the award for best hospital in the country in 2025.

In Kenya, our research with the Mathare Education Taskforce documented the absence of public schools and the expansion of private provision, evidencing impacts on households and caregivers and strengthening demands for free, quality public education. This work contributed to stronger community agency and collective organisation, alongside ongoing strategies ranging from communications to litigation to secure a public school in the area, some involving GI-ESCR and others led independently.

Across Africa, this work is complemented by a multi-country study examining the human rights implications of austerity in education and health, including how regressive fiscal policies, rising debt burdens and persistent underinvestment undermine the financing and delivery of public services.

In Latin America, from 29 November to 2 December 2021, over a thousand representatives from over one hundred countries, from grassroots movements, advocacy, human rights, and development organisations, feminist movements, trade unions, and other civil society organisations, met in Santiago, Chile, and virtually, to discuss the critical role of public services for our future. Following the meeting, the Santiago Declaration on Public Services was adopted to demand universal access to quality, gender-transformative and equitable public services as the foundation of a fair and just society.

We are currently advancing work on care systems, linking public services and fiscal justice through integrated research, advocacy and communications, including a regional campaign framing care as a collective responsibility requiring sustained public investment.

What's next?

In Ivory Coast, we will evaluate and strengthen the complaints management committee and position it as a replicable model for other health facilities. In Kenya, we will support the Mathare community to co-design a model public school for Mabatini and Ngei wards, grounded in human rights standards. Building on our multi-country austerity study, we will drive national advocacy on financing for education and health: advancing reforms in Ghana; launching a fiscal policy and public services financing agenda in Kenya through the CESCR process and targeted coalition work; and, in Nigeria, using the new tax acts in force since 1 January 2026 to catalyse a national accountability campaign for adequately funded, quality public services. In Latin America, we will amplify locally led care pilots across 8 countries and turn lessons into influence—advancing care policies that strengthen care organisations, protect care workers’ rights, support unpaid caregivers, include disability and family networks, and redistribute care more equitably.