Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women, 2003
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol)
Posted By lanbuk.com
- Body
- African Union
- Adopted
- 11 July 2003, Maputo, Mozambique
- In force
- 25 November 2005
- Sierra Leone: signed
- 9 December 2003
- Sierra Leone: ratified
- 3 July 2015
- Sierra Leone: instrument deposited
- 30 October 2015
Source for Sierra Leone's status: African Union, status list of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa.
About this treaty
A protocol to the African Charter, adopted by the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, on the rights of women in Africa. It supplements the Charter's guarantees of non-discrimination and equality.
Read the official text
How it is arranged
The subjects of its articles, in the order of the headings in the official text.
- Definitions
- Elimination of discrimination against women
- Right to dignity
- The rights to life, integrity and security of the person
- Elimination of harmful practices
- Marriage; separation, divorce and annulment of marriage
- Access to justice and equal protection before the law
- Right to participation in the political and decision-making process
- Right to peace; protection of women in armed conflicts
- Right to education and training; economic and social welfare rights
- Health and reproductive rights; right to food security; right to adequate housing
- Right to positive cultural context; right to a healthy and sustainable environment; right to sustainable development
- Widows' rights; right to inheritance
- Special protection of elderly women, women with disabilities and women in distress
- Remedies; implementation and monitoring; interpretation; final provisions
Applied by the ECOWAS Court in cases against Sierra Leone
- Adamsay Kabia & Anor. v Republic of Sierra Leone · 25 June 2026 · Violation found
Sierra Leone violated the first applicant's right to protection against child marriage (Article 21, African Children's Charter), her right to freedom from gender-based discrimination and violence (African Charter, Maputo Protocol and CEDAW), and her right to an effective remedy.
Cite this page
Lanbuk. (2026, November 7). Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). Retrieved November 10, 2026, from https://www.lanbuk.com/laws/regional/maputo-protocol-rights-of-women