Barriers to fulfilling reporting obligations in Africa under the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa

Abstract

SUMMARY The state reporting process is one of the important means through which human rights compliance is monitored. Pursuant to article 62 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and article 26(1) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, state parties are required to provide a detailed report on the human rights situation in their respective countries to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The state report should be submitted every two years, and should outline the steps, the progress made, and challenges encountered in realising the rights provided for in the African Women's Protocol. Unfortunately, only a handful ofstates have fulfilled this reporting obligation. Consequently, this article identifies and investigates barriers to fulfilling reporting obligations under the African Women's Protocol. Specifically, it interrogates why some African governments have failed to fulfil their reporting obligations after showing significant commitment by their ratification of this instrument. It is acknowledged that while there might be a myriad of barriers that could be advanced, the article identifies specific barriers to non-reporting on the African Women's Protocol. It concludes with some form of optimism, arguing that the difficulties to fulfilling the reporting obligations on the African Women's Protocol notwithstanding, African governments should be held accountable and made to see the value that could be derived from reporting on human rights compliance. The African Commission's need to take up proactive steps to facilitate increased seriousness to the reporting process itself, which would then encourage and compel state parties to begin to take their reporting obligations seriously and fulfil the obligations therein, is underscored. Finally, to overcome these barriers, recommendations are proffered to critical stakeholders such as the African Commission, African governments and civil society organisations. Key words: African Charter; African Women's Protocol; women's rights; state reporting; African Commission