This brief is addressed to non-governmental organisations, human rights institutions (HRIs), activists and political actors advocating for the universal ratification of the Maputo Protocol and the lifting of reservations. It maps the current landscape of non-ratification and reservations; analyses their legal and human consequences; and draws on what has worked, including Rwanda’s withdrawal of its reservation to Article 14(2)(c) in 2012 and SOAWR’s ratification missions, to make the case for urgent action. It calls on non-ratifying states to ratify without delay; on reserving states to initiate formal processes to withdraw their reservations, beginning with Article 14(2)(c); on the AU and regional bodies to reinstate accountability mechanisms and accelerate the implementation of the African Commission’s Advocacy Framework for Withdrawing Reservations; and on civil society, HRIs and activists to intensify strategic litigation, coalitionbuilding and public advocacy to hold governments to their commitments.
