The Impact of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa on Violence Against Women in Six Selected Southern African Countries: An Advocacy Tool (The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, 2009)

In 2003, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Women’s Protocol) became the first human rights treaty to be adopted by the African Union (AU). When the required number of AU member States (15) had become parties to the Women’s Protocol, it entered into force on 25 November 2005. Since then, more States have accepted the Women’s Protocol as binding, bringing the number of State parties to 27. In Southern Africa, nine States have become party to the Women’s Protocol: Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia. These States are also all members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Angola and Mozambique are not included in this study due to language difficulties, and Zimbabwe is omitted because it ratified the Protocol when the research had already been undertaken. However, formal acceptance of an international treaty means very little if the acceptance is not followed by ‘domestication’ – the process of giving effect to the treaty in national law and practice.

This advocacy tool presents the findings of research on adherence to the Women’s Protocol by six Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries: Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. The research focused specifically on the provisions of the Protocol dealing with violence against women. A synopsis is provided of the measures taken, best practices are identified and recommendations made. It is anticipated that the report would serve as a tool for advocacy, assisting civil society to hold these six States accountable for their failure to give effect to the Women’s Protocol.

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