On the second anniversary of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa, Marren Akatsa-Bukachi reflects on the challenges faced in the past year.

It was an appealing sunny day in mid November 2005, Sarah Mukasa then of Akina Mama wa Afrika and I were geared for a higher and more important level of gender activism. I represented the Eastern African Sub Regional Support Initiative for Women (EASSI), and Sarah Akina Mama both members of the Coalition on Solidarity on African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) and were conducting a workshop in Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala Uganda.

We had co-organized the workshop to unpack the outcome of a previous workshop that was organized by SOAWR in conjunction with the African Union in September 2005 in Addis Ababa. The workshop was called to discuss domestication and implementation strategies of the Protocol. Sarah and I both energized, were eager to share the good news with a large constituency of Uganda civil society.

The Protocol was about to come into force on November 25th following the 15th ratification by Togo. The Protocol’s significance lies in the fact that it is the only regionally generated document specifically on the rights of African women and that relates to the context specific violations of African Women’s Human Rights. Coincidentally this date would coincide with the beginning of 16th Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. I felt elated. This was prophetic. To add to the “high,” Uganda was on the verge of ratification. This confidence was buoyed by the revelation by the government representative that the Protocol had passed through all the necessary stages and was only awaiting Cabinet approval. We were assured this would take place speedily before the matter of the General Elections, scheduled to take place in February 2006 would get in the way.

With reenergized spirits, we discussed strategies for domestication and ratification as if we already had won the prize. Little did we know that dark forces were lingering in the shadows. Even as we spoke, there was a double page spread in the local dailies vilifying the Protocol. The article was sponsored by the Catholic Bishops and was specifically speaking to Article 14 on Health and Reproductive Rights. The Article states inter alia, that “Protect the rights of reproductive rights of women by authorizing medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, and where the continued pregnancy endangers the mental and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother or the foetus”.

‘The Protocol for Women’s Rights in Africa supports Abortion,” screamed one headline. “Catholic Bishops decry abortion”, shrieked another. It seemed our celebration was turning into battle. We had already identified the ratification platform as a basis for deeper advocacy for the passing of the stalled Domestic Relations Bill whose content was more or less reinforced by the Articles in the Protocol, when the Bishops came up with their bombshell. In an election year everyone with power to influence a significant voting constituency becomes a darling and the Bishops had stirred a hornet’s nest. In Uganda where almost 50% of the populations (read voters) are Catholics, this constituency cannot be ignored. The Protocol was placed into cold storage and stayed there to date.

Two years after coming into force, seven more countries have ratified the Protocol, bringing the total to twenty two, twenty four countries have signed but not ratified while seven have not signed at all.

Advocacy by SOAWR

SOAWR can be credited with contributing to the respectable level of achievement of almost 50 percent ratification by the fifty three African Union Member States.

Its strategy of using the African Union Summits of Heads of States as a lobby platform has elicited tremendous levels of success.

Since January 2005 members of the SOAWR Coalition have attended the African Union (AU) Summits to ensure that the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa remains on the agenda of policy makers and to urge all African leaders to safeguard the rights of women through ratification and implementation of the Protocol. Members have consistently produced policy-briefs, launched books and held press conferences during the Summits to keep the Protocol at the forefront of policy-makers’ concerns. Members have also directly met with at least 10-15 Ministers over the last six Summits. Since January 2005, SOAWR has used the opportunity of the Summits taking place in different countries to press on the host to either ratify or move to implementation.

The latest addition to the countries that have ratified the Protocol is Ghana, host of the last AU Summit that deposited its instruments of ratification in July 2007 almost two weeks after hosting the Summit. This is a testimony to SOAWR’s. tenacity and lobbying skills. This brings ratification countries to 22.

During the Summit, a team drawn from national coalitions and the steering committee met and committed to the following:-

1. Prepared and circulated to Ministers a short policy brief on the status of the Protocol and the implications of Continental Government proposal for women’s rights and gender equality
2. Participated in CSO pre-Summit activities planned with a view to raising visibility for women’s rights and gender equality issues and participating in the Grand Debate
3. Maintained relationships with key Government delegations
4. Co-convened with Ghanaian women’s coalition, a university based seminar on the Protocol.

Amongst other pre-summit activities carried out by SOAWR was the Public Forum which was titled “Is it possible to have a United States of Africa without Women?” and What form would be meaningful for African Women? The forum provided an opportunity for governments as well as African civil society to deliberate on the Grande debate on Continental Unity and also on issues of harmful traditional practices with special focus on the Trokozi practice in relation to the Protocol. Other activities included a Press Conference, SOAWR Planning and Evaluation Meeting and Direct Advocacy with the Permanent Representatives Council of the different African Countries in the African Union (see Appendixes 1- 5).

I was among those privileged to lobby the foreign Ministers and their representatives at the Summit venue. We gave out red cards to those countries that had not signed the Protocol, yellow cards to those that had signed and not yet ratified and green cards to those that had signed and ratified. We lobbied actively amongst the delegates during tea time and any time they stepped outside the conference hall. We congratulated those that had ratified and exhorted those that needed to ratify or deposit instruments of ratification to do so. We were elated to hear that Liberia only needed to deposit the instruments and expected to see it amongst the group of green cards within two weeks of leaving Accra. To date we are still waiting. It is sad but true, what is on paper is not necessarily put in practice!

Our lobbying strategies were very interesting but also revealed at times that those sent to represent their governments at these meetings are not always up to par with regard to issues such as the Protocol. Many a time we were informed that the person dealing with this matter was left behind in the capital city and there was nothing they could do about it. I remember on one of the days when we stood outside the meeting hall, our body language must have given us away as one of the delegates asked pointedly, “whom are you waiting to pounce on next?” It elicited laughter but at the same time showed that our seriousness was visible to all. Our strategy was to demand that none “signatory countries sign up, signed up countries move to ratification as speedily as possible, the “ratifiers” domesticate and implement. We found to our surprise that there was a gap in information with quite a large number of delegates not quite aware of the Protocol but also a good number supportive and willing to take some action back in their own countries. I realized that there is an information gap here that needs to be plugged if SOAWR is to achieve 100 per cent ratification. Government officials in key ministries such as foreign affairs need to be sensitized on the Protocol.

In some countries it is considered a gender issue and embedded in the ministry of Gender or Women’s Affairs. The Coalition may need to design a program specifically targeting policy makers to make them aware of the Protocol and its benefits to the country and to women’s rights. It should not be seen as threatening existing rights but as scaling up these rights, particularly social and cultural rights. I say this because when I was on a visit to Ethiopia and enquired from one of our partners why Ethiopia has not ratified the Protocol, the response was that the Ethiopian Constitution is very gender sensitive and already touched on the very issues propounded in the Articles in the Protocol. None the less, women’s organizations are fighting patriarchy and gender based violence, amongst them female genital mutilation that would benefit from ratification, domestication and implementation of the Protocol. As for Eritrea, it is still at the red card stage and has not signed the Protocol. However, after years of lobbying by the National Union of Eritrean Women, the government outlawed FGM in May 2007.

Even as SOAWR Coalition continues to lobby for total and unreserved ratification, it does not miss an opportunity to make demands on the member states. Using the opportunity afforded by the AU Summit in Accra and the discourse around an African Union Government, SOAWR came up with the following demands:

Specifically, the African Heads of States and Government meeting in Accra should show commitment to continental unity by embracing the following:

• Incorporation of gender equality in the values underpinning the Proposal of United States of Africa
• Instituting and making public during the next Summit a performance audit of the Directorates of the African Union Commission in terms of the incorporation of gender concerns (2004-2007)
• Prioritization of the rights and entitlements of refugees and displaced populations, particularly women and girls.
• Prioritization of full citizenship status for women in terms of rights, particularly women who marry across nationalities and lose their rights.
• Guarantee to women the freedom to trade and work across states’ borders. Women small traders manage a high degree of non-formal cross border trade
• Conduct analysis into the gendered implications of macroeconomic policy with respect to the ‘convergence criteria’.
• Enable total factor mobility—the free movement of all factors of production (labour as well as capital)—by addressing questions of African citizenship, including African women’s equal citizenship rights and freedom of movement at the continental level.
• Embedding the principle of gender parity in the election and appointment of persons to the continental institutions.
• Ensuring that the principle of appointing 50% women commissioners at the African Union Commission continues to be honoured.
• Increasing the minimum threshold for women MPs elected to the African parliament to at least two per country
• Review all recommendations (in the continental government proposal) in light of deficiencies already noted by the African women’s movement with respect to ensuring the equal representation of African women at the Abu’s highest decision-making organs—for instance, the Commission’s Chair could also have a Deputy responsible for gender mainstreaming across her/his ‘Cabinet’ and all Commissioners responsible for programs and projects under the strategic focus areas should ensure that gender implications are taken into account in their elaboration and implementation;
• Publicly censuring countries that have yet to ratify the Protocol on the Rights of African Women.
• Honor their commitment to deliver on the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa.
• Demonstrate greater commitment to the normative framework already established by the AU—particularly with respect to the promotion and protection of human rights (including women’s human rights), peace and security.

The debate on the Union Government is timely, but it will only be relevant in as far as it will recognize that the majority of the African people are women and girls; and that to win their confidence African Leaders need to seriously take up their concerns head on.

We came back full circle in Uganda on October 18th 2007; we were back in the same venue where we were in November 2005 once again with Akina Mama wa Afrika to again discuss the stalled ratification process in Uganda. This time the aim was to put in place a steering committee that over see different strategies to ensure ratification and implementation of the Protocol. The committee’s first task is to find out exactly where the protocol is stalled. Is it in the Attorney General’s Office or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? A video documentary made by Akina Mama to popularize the Protocol had one of the Christian Bishops proposing that the Protocol should be signed with reservations on Article 14 otherwise it will be a tough battle ahead..

Is this Uganda’s desire for her future?

* Marren Akatsa-Bukachi is the executive director of the Eastern African sub Regional Support Initiative for Advancement of Women (EASSI)

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

This article examines the emerging human rights issue of trafficking in humans, mainly women and children. In a protocol supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, trafficking has been defined as: "…the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.

Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practises similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."

Statistics about trafficking are unreliable for a number of reasons, including the clandestine nature of the activity. However, rough estimates suggest between 700,000 to 2 million women are trafficked across international borders annually. Adding domestic trafficking would bring the total much higher, to perhaps 4 million persons per year. Although slavery has been abolished from the world, the trade in human misery continues. Women are still considered property in some communities and may be sold into marriage. Men or women may be coerced into working in brothels, sweat shops, construction sites and fields. Many illegal immigrant workers may be subjected to sexual violence, horrific living conditions, threats against their families and dangerous workplaces. The majority of trafficked people are women and girls, most of who, according to experts, are sent from Africa and Eastern Europe for the sex trade in Western Europe. Thus, human trafficking is the fastest growing form of modern day slavery and our governments must play a concerted role to deal with it.

Although the problem is worldwide this paper will examine the problem as it affects Africa in particular.

The Dimensions of the Problem

Human trafficking has become a global business, generating huge profits for traffickers. New trafficking routes are regularly established and the market for fraudulent travel documents, clandestine transportation and border crossing has become increasingly well organised. Some victims are lured into subjugation by advertisements for good jobs. Others are sold into service by a relative, acquaintance or family friend. Traffickers target the most vulnerable and poor and may show up during a drought or before harvest, when food is scarce, to persuade poor families to sell their daughters for small amounts of money. According to a UNICEF study released in April 2004, about 80 percent of African countries researched, practice some form of human trafficking. The study also found that children were the most vulnerable to being exploited. Fifty-three countries were surveyed in this extensive research into the problem of human trafficking in Africa and analysis reported that although it was not possible to get reliable estimates on the actual number of people being trafficked, it continues to be a huge problem. The study found that in almost 89 percent of the cases, trafficking was conducted internally in Africa, meaning trafficking of women and children from African countries to African countries. The study also found that in 34 percent of the cases, there were cases of trafficking to Europe, and more interestingly, 26 percent of African countries were reporting trafficking directly to Middle Eastern and Arab countries. Trafficking is also increasing the HIV/AIDS scourge fuelled by the myth about curative powers of virginity of young girls. In some of the hardest hit countries, teenage girls are infected at five-to six times compared to that of teenage boys. Trafficking in children is a global problem affecting large numbers of children. Some estimates have as many as 1.2 million children being trafficked every year.[i] There is demand for trafficked children as cheap labour or for sexual exploitation. Children and their families are often unaware of the dangers of trafficking, believing that better employment and lives lie in other countries.

Root Causes and reasons for Trafficking in human beings

- Poverty and inequity are believed to be the root causes of trafficking;
- Conflict situations are a fertile environment for human trafficking;
- Gender discrimination within the family and the larger community, as well as a tolerance of violence against women and children, also come into play;
- Lack of appropriate legislation and political will to address the problem;
- Restrictive immigration policies;
- Globalisation of the sex industry; and
- The involvement of transnational organised crime networks is another causal factor.

The situation in Africa- A scan

In Africa, every country represents a different problem. Patterns of instability, oppression and discrimination may place women and children at greater risk, with social and cultural prejudices and the prevalence of gender violence presenting additional challenges to their effective protection from trafficking. The links between poverty, violence and trafficking have been compounded by the effects of HIV/AIDS. For many Africans trapped in the trade, it can be difficult to escape the clutches of traffickers. Often the victims' families boost their low income by tacitly cooperating with traffickers, which some see as the only option for leaving their countries and the accompanying problems. The only way out they have is to move, and since it is illegal in many instances to enter another border without proper authorisation, the only option they have is to go through trafficking patterns.

Trafficking is perceived as a particular problem among West and Central African countries, mainly because most of the countries in the region are origin countries.[ii] In West Africa, victims originating from war torn Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone, end up in Nigeria and Gabon, while individuals from countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, and Angola are taken to South Africa, one of the only countries with an anti trafficking programme. African governments have not ratified much in terms of international conventions. The laws are inadequate so that while traffickers are usually apprehended, they are rarely condemned. For example, in Benin there is no anti-trafficking law but the country does have decrees, issued in 1905 and 1920, which address international and transnational trafficking. A 1961 law addresses the movement of minors under the age of 18 across borders and a 1973 ordinance modified the penal code 'sur la traite des personnes et l'enlèvement des mineurs.' In Burkina Faso, trafficking is a serious problem due its geographical location at the centre of Africa. It has become a transit country that receives people from different parts of the continent. Burkina Faso subscribes to the definition of trafficking in the UN Trafficking Protocol. Cote D'ivoire is a country of destination, transit and origin. However, there is still no law expressly forbidding trafficking. Due to the political crisis in the country authorities have not been able to pay sufficient attention to human trafficking. Many African governments are yet to ratify the main international conventions outlawing the trade in humans. African countries need to increase efforts and work in close cooperation with one another to eradicate trafficking in humans. South Africa has become a major centre for the problem-simultaneously a destination, a trading point and a source of human sale. Human trafficking in South Africa is currently dealt with under a variety of laws such as those against kidnapping and prostitution, which government agencies say have proved inadequate in dealing with the crime. A new law to specifically criminalize trafficking for sexual purposes is currently being prepared for consideration by legislators. As recently as August 2004, Home Affairs Ministers from Southern African Countries meeting in Tanzania, ordered law enforcements in the region to intensify measures against human trafficking. The ministers also pledged to review legislation in their respective countries to ease the transfer of evidence for criminal prosecution of suspects.

UN and African Protocols

The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was adopted on 15 November 2000 by resolution A/RES/55/25 and came into force on 25 December 2003. Although the majority of African countries have signed the original protocol, (Transnational Organized Crime), those that have ratified it as of 18 September 2004 include, Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Gambia, Lesotho, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa but with reservations, and Tunisia. Countries such as Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, to mention but a few have not even signed the Protocol. Out of fifty-three African countries, the figure is dismal indeed.

At the Africa level, African governments have their own Protocol on the Rights of Women that is in African Women's eyes, the most wide-ranging and woman-friendly protocol ever adopted by African governments. The Protocol guarantees a wide range of women's civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights, thus reaffirming the universality, indivisibility and interdependency of all internationally recognized human rights of women. These rights include the right to life, integrity and security of person, protection from harmful traditional practises, prohibition of discrimination and the protection of women in armed conflict. Moreover, the Protocol guarantees the right to health and reproductive rights of women; access to justices; equal protection before the law, and prohibits exploitation or degradation of women. In sum, the Protocol obligates state parties to integrate gender perspectives in their policy decisions, legislation, development plans and to ensure the overall well being of women. African governments have to push for the ratification of the Protocol by the end of 2004. So far, ratification of the Protocol which was made by the AU Assembly in 2003 at its 2nd Summit in Maputo, Mozambique is a far cry from the commitments to achieve a speedy and regional wide ratification and thus remains largely unfulfilled.

The Protocol is an important tool relevant to everyday lives of women and would enable women to bring their concerns to the attention of regional human rights bodies such as the African Court of Human and People's Rights.

From the above, it is noted with concern that governments in Africa are not giving the issue of trafficking in human beings the priority that it deserves. Now that the Protocol has been adopted, African governments should show their commitment to ending discrimination and violence against women and the issue of trafficking in women and children, (italics mine) by ensuring a speedy and full ratification to pave the way for a prompt entry into force of the instrument, and its effective implementation (Amnesty international).

It is strongly recommended that:

- Governments Ratify the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa without further delay and without reservations.
- Implement the protocol by reviewing all national laws, policies, practises and procedures to ensure that they meet the obligations set out in the Protocol. States parties should incorporate the rights enshrined in the Protocol into their domestic legislation and take all necessary measures to implement the instruments in good faith
- Ratify all other regional and international human rights instruments essential for the effective promotion and protection of women's human rights in Africa and examining any limiting reservations, with a view to withdrawing them. This is particularly important in the case of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, (CEDAW), where the commitment of many governments is seriously undermined by the extent of their reservations.
- Ensure the provision of specialised assistance for the support, rehabilitation and compensation for women whose rights have been violated under the Protocol;
- Train and sensitise judicial and police officials with regards to women's human rights recognised under the Protocol and other relevant instruments.
- Anti trafficking efforts across the continent must be strengthened by enacting tough laws and by punishing those responsible for trading in human beings.

If fully ratified and implemented, the Protocol on the Rights of Women could become an important framework for ending impunity for all attacks on human rights of women in Africa. The member states of the African Union made a commitment to sign and ratify the protocol by the end of 2004. We urge them to fully adhere to this commitment. It is not too late!!!!!

Marren Akatsa-Bukachi is Executive Director of Eastern African Subregional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI), Kampala, Uganda

NOTES
i. material from UNICEF
ii. Adapted from 'Patterns, root causes and policy responses to trafficking in women and children'. Africa;