The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has called for the withdrawal of reservations by Alegeria, Cameroon, Kenya and Uganda to article 14 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol).
The call came in a submission to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) on the 28th of January 2026 in response to the ACHPR call for inputs on a draft Advocacy Framework .
Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol, guarantees women’s right to health, including sexual and reproductive health, and obliges States to authorize medical abortion in limited circumstances.
“Reservations that restrict women’s access to sexual and reproductive health services, including safe abortion, strike at the heart of the Maputo Protocol”, said Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, Director of the ICJ’s Africa Programme.
The ICJ submission stresses that the reservations are incompatible with the object and purpose of the Protocol, in contravention of Article 19(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and must be withdrawn if States are to meet their obligations to protect women’s lives, dignity and equality.
“This limitation is particularly important in the context of human rights treaties, which protect the rights of individuals. Reservations that impair the essence of protected rights, including the right to health, are therefore impermissible,” added Ramjathan-Keogh.
The ICJ stresses the critical importance of strengthening the implementation of the Protocol and reaffirm Africa’s collective commitment to protecting the dignity, equality and wellbeing of women and girls across the continent.
Background
The ICJ submission highlights that Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol is central to the protection of women’s reproductive rights in Africa. By guaranteeing access to medical abortion in cases of rape, incest, sexual assault, or where pregnancy endangers the life or health of the woman or the foetus, the Protocol seeks to eliminate discrimination, violence and harmful practices against women and girls.
As regards specific States, the ICJ notes that:
- Algeria’s broad reservation to Article 14 effectively excludes it from obligations relating to women’s health and reproductive rights and undermines related protections against child marriage and harmful practices.
- Cameroon’s interpretative declaration, while lacking legal effect, signals a restrictive approach to Article 14 and suggests the continuation of practices that undermine women’s rights.
- Kenya’s reservation to Article 14(2)(c), justified on grounds of inconsistency with national law, is undermined by Kenya’s own Constitution and jurisprudence, which recognize sexual and reproductive health as part of the right to health and allow abortion in defined circumstances.
- Uganda’s purported reservations, framed as interpretative rejections, deny women autonomy over fertility regardless of marital status and reject access to abortion even in circumstances expressly permitted by the Protocol.
Download
ICJ submission to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) can be downloaded here.
Contact
Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, Africa Regional Programme Director, e: Kaajal.Keogh@icj.org
Adv. Lerato Khutlang, Associate Legal Advisor, e: lerato.khutlang@icj.org
Additional Resources
