By Lebone Rodah Mosima
African feminist groups, women’s rights organisations, survivors, legal advocates and civil society movements have called on the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to subject the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU CEVAWG) to further scrutiny before recommending it for ratification by African Union member states.
The coalition said it plans to protest outside the Pan-African Parliament in Midrand, on Saturday, warning that gains made in advancing women’s rights are increasingly under threat across Africa and globally.
In a statement issued this week, the groups said organised anti-rights movements were challenging established human rights standards, weakening gender equality protections and restricting the rights of women and girls.
“The threat is no longer only the failure to implement good laws. Increasingly, the threat comes from the use of law itself as a tool of regression,” the coalition said.
It argued that any new legal instrument affecting women and girls must be subjected to rigorous review to ensure it strengthens, rather than weakens, existing protections.
The movement said Africa could not afford legal ambiguity or reforms that create opportunities to dilute rights secured through decades of advocacy.
“This is why African feminists are speaking out. This is why we are protesting. And this is why states must listen,” the statement said.
The groups raised concerns about the convention’s current wording, citing possible inconsistencies with existing African human rights standards, weak accountability mechanisms and provisions that could create legal uncertainty.
They also questioned whether the convention offers stronger protections than those already contained in the Maputo Protocol and other regional frameworks.
“The Maputo Protocol remains Africa’s most comprehensive and progressive instrument for the protection of women’s rights. Any new convention must strengthen this foundation, not create uncertainty around it,” the coalition said.
The movement called on the Pan-African Parliament to delay any recommendation for immediate ratification of the convention and instead facilitate broader consultation with women’s rights organisations, survivors, legal experts and civil society groups.
It also urged an independent and transparent review of the convention, addressing concerns around legal coherence, accountability and the protection of existing rights standards.
According to the coalition, the convention should complement and reinforce the Maputo Protocol and Africa’s broader human rights framework rather than duplicate or weaken existing protections.
Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) executive director Sibongile Ndashe said the convention was not only substantively weak but risked undermining decades of progress in combating violence against women and girls.
“The convention is not only substantively weak, conceptually flawed and structurally incoherent; more seriously, it risks dismantling the hard-won gains achieved over the past four decades by displacing well-established legal frameworks,” Ndashe said.
She cautioned that ratifying the treaty would not automatically improve protections in countries with weaker legal frameworks.
“Member states must clearly understand the obligations they assume in protecting women and girls from violence. Political momentum and misplaced solidarity are no substitute for coherent, effective legal instruments,” she said.
The coalition said it would continue opposing any attempt to fast-track the convention without adequate public participation and legal review.
“African women are speaking. Parliament must listen,” the statement said.
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