PRESS RELEASE

ADVISORY OPINION REQUEST: ARTICLE 6(d) OF THE MAPUTO PROTOCOL

On 7 January 2016, five non governmental organisations (NGOs) working on womens land
and property rights submitted a request for an advisory opinion before the African Court on
Human and Peoples Rights. The request seeks the courts opinion on the interpretation of
article 6(d) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in
Africa, commonly known as the Maputo Protocol. Article 6(d) of the Maputo protocol provides
that; every marriage shall be recorded in writing and registered in accordance with national
laws, in order to be legally recognised. The provision does not set out the obligations of the
States in enabling and facilitating the registration process. The provision has been
interpreted, in some quarters, as meaning that unregistered marriages will not be recognised
and are consequently invalid. This interpretation will have dire consequences for many
women, particularly in countries where there are no legislative or institutional frameworks that
enable the registration of marriages. There is also an interpretation that the provision is
setting out an obligation for States to register marriages for the purposes of recognising the
marriages but does not impact on the validity of the unregistered marriages. The request is
anchored in article 2(1)(a) to 2(1)(e) and 2(2) of the Maputo Protocol, which provide for
elimination of discrimination against women by requiring member States to prevent all forms
of discrimination against women through appropriate legislative, institutional measures and
other appropriate measures.
The parties are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa;

Womens Legal Centre, South Africa;
Federation of Women Lawyers, Kenya;
Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, Nigeria; and
Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association Zimbabwe.

The parties worked on this request with the following NGOs, who for technical reasons, are
unable to formally join as parties in the request
1.
2.
3.
4.

Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA), South Africa

Legal Advocacy for Women in Africa (Ghana) Alumnae Incorporated;
Women and Law in Southern Africa (Zimbabwe and Malawi chapters); and
Womens Legal Aid Centre, Tanzania.

The Centre for Human Rights and ISLA are legal representatives.
To learn more about the advisory opinion application, please contact:
Sibongile Ndashe,
Executive Director, ISLA
Sibongile@the-isla.org
+27 721367988