States parties that have ratified the African Charter, as well as the Maputo Protocol, have given their consent to submit one state report every two years to the African Commission outlining the human rights situation in their countries. The report must contain comprehensive information on the legislative, policy and other measures the state party has taken to ensure that all persons in its country enjoy the rights guaranteed in the instruments.
Importantly this one report must be in two parts. The report must have a Part A that reports on the rights in the African Charter and then a Part B that deals with the rights in the Maputo Protocol. State Parties, therefore, need to be aware of these guidelines and use them in developing Part B of their state report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights..
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State Reporting Guidelines
General Comments
General Comments provide clarification and explanation on the effective implementation of particular provisions in a treaty. They are not legally binding but are authoritative in nature. Article 45(1)(b) of the African Charter authorises the African Commission to adopt General Comments. Therefore, since the Maputo Protocol supplements the African Charter, its provisions fall under the interpretive scope of the African Commission.
General Comment No 1 on Article 14 (1)(d) and (e) of the Maputo Protocol
The General Comment clarifies the steps that state parties must take in realising women's right to self-protection and the right to be protected from HIV and sexually transmitted infections.
General Comment No 2 on Article 14(1)(a),(b), (c) and (f) and Article 14(2)(a) and (c) of the Maputo Protocol
The General Comments offers interpretive guidance on the obligations of states parties towards ensuring the effective implementation of women's health and reproductive rights.
Joint general comment of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) on ending child marriage
In 2017, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights issued and adopted a joint General Comment on ending child marriage in line with Article 6(c) of the Maputo Protocol that clearly stipulates and sets the minimum marriageable age at 18 years. It is the first time that the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child will jointly issue a General Comment
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