General Comment No. 2 on Article 14.1 (a), (b), (c) and (f) and Article 14. 2 (a) and (c) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa Introduction 1. The Treaty Monitoring Bodies around human rights-related conventions generally use General Comments as a tool for the interpretation and development of the provisions of relevant international legal instruments so as to guide the States in implementing their obligations. The jurisdiction of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ rights (the Commission) results from Article 45.1.b) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ rights (African Charter), which entitles it to "formulate and develop rules and principles that address legal problems regarding the enjoyment of human and peoples’ rights." As a legal instrument complementary to the African Charter, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Protocol) also falls under the Commission's interpretative jurisdiction. 2. It is important to note in addition that Articles 60 and 61 of the Charter establish the importance of regional and international human rights instruments as benchmarks for the application and interpretation of the Charter; it is the same for the Protocol. 3. Aware of its commitment to promote gender equality and the need to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, the African Union adopted the Protocol in 2003. For purposes of this instrument, which entered into force in 2005, “women” is understood as persons of female sex including girls, including women and girls living with a disability. 4. The Commission welcomes the commitment of African States to redouble their efforts to ensure the principle of equality in health, as well as to promote and protect women’s sexual and reproductive rights as enshrined in the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004), the Pretoria Declaration on Economic, Social and Cultural rights in Africa (2004), the Continental Guiding Framework for the Advancement of Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa (2006), the Maputo Plan of Action for the implementation of the Continental Guiding Framework for the Advancement of Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa (2006) and the Campaign for the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA). 5. The Commission notes with satisfaction the progress reports 2012 and 2013 of the African Union on maternal, new-born and child health, the Agreed Declaration from the African regional consultations on Post-2015 Development agenda, from the 2013 report on Africa’s progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, as well as the technical guidelines published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to guide the States called upon to adopt a 5