What is ratification? 

Ratification is formal act of a State through which it establishes at the international level its consent to be bound by a treaty it has signed. At the national level it refers to an act prescribed within the law or constitution which a state takes to express intention and consent to be bound by an international instrument. Likewise, ‘accession’ is the formal act of a State accepting to become a Party to a treaty and to be bound by it.

Article 28 of the Maputo Protocol provides for countries to sign, ratify or accede to the Protocol in accordance with their constitutional procedures. The laws of a country determine how a treaty is to be ratified or acceded to by the executive or by parliament, and the procedure to be followed.

At the continental level, the instrument of ratification or accession to the Protocol must be deposited by a government with the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union. To that end, the African Union has embarked on sensitising Member States about the importance of signing, ratifying or acceding to the Maputo Protocol.