Partnership is a key approach for this advocacy initiative: Oxfam GB, Equality Now, African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights, Fahamu, and 13 civil society organisations that have been working on the protocol, formed a coalition for the campaign. The campaigners joined efforts by preparing a petition to be presented to the Heads of States and Government of the AU. Members of the coalition took part in the AU pre-summit meetings for civil society and organisations working on gender in Addis Ababa. They highlighted the need for the speedy ratification of the Protocol.

The coalition then developed a petition, which was posted for signatures on the Pambazuka News website. This process was followed by an editorial in Pambazuka News on the Protocol to raise awareness of the protocol background, its meaning for African women, and the ways in which the continent can support its ratification. A weblog was set up to support dialogue, networking, and strategy-building.

This participatory process was followed by a call for articles in support of ratification of the protocol from African women and men, which were used in the publication of a special issue of Pambazuka News - “Unfinished Business” (No. 162) - which was distributed and used for lobbying at the AU Summit in Addis Ababa. The coalition then launched a mobile phone short message system (SMS) campaign known as “text now 4 women’s rights”. This part of the campaign was aimed to enable cell phone users across the world to send SMS’s from their cell phones to sign an online petition in support of the campaign.

This advocacy campaign has taken different shapes in different communities, but on the whole reflects the use of face-to-face strategies and mass media to support the Protocol; for example:

• In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Executive Director of the Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche en Droits de l’Homme et Democratie (CERDH) wrote to the President and the National Assembly urging them to ratify the Protocol.
• In Malawi, the Women Lawyers Association began awareness-creation activities around the Protocol.
• In Djibouti, Zeinab Kamil Ali, a member of Djibouti’s National Committee on Human Rights wrote an article in support of the ratification of the Protocol for the local newspaper, the Nation.
• In the Gambia, the African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) continued to lobby government officials and parliamentarians.
• In Guinea, Conakry Cellule de Coordination sue les Pratiques Traditionelle Affectant la Santedes Femmes et des Enfants (CPTAFE) paid courtesy calls to various political, administrative and judicial authorities in the country. They organised an awareness and sensitisation workshop for members of the National Assembly, in which members of CPTAFE called for the ratification of the Protocol.
• In Kenya, the Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW), in collaboration with its partners, lobbied the Vice President and Minister for Home Affairs, the Minister for Gender, Sports and Culture, the Minister for Justice, and Constitutional Affairs and the Minister for Foreign Affairs to ratify the Protocol.
• In Mali, following the lobbying activities carried out by civil society organisations to get ratification before the Heads of States Summit, the Minister for Promotion of Women presented a bill calling for ratification of the Protocol.
• In Mozambique, the Foreign Ministry committed to the Foundation for Community Development (FDC) that the Protocol will be tabled for ratification in the next session of Parliament.
• In Namibia, the Protocol was debated in parliament and did not receive any resistance.
• In South Africa, Elize Delport developed a training course through the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria called “Gender Equality in Africa” that focused on the Protocol.
• In Uganda, Akina Mama Wa Afrika (AMWA) commenced with work to popularise the protocol amongst women non-government organisations (NGOs) with a view to building a common position and lobbying strategy to engage with government officials and members of parliament.

Women, Gender, Political Development, Rights.

The coalition presented the special issue of Pambazuka News to the President of the Pan-African Parliament and AU Commissioners and urged them to support the campaign by lobbying the delegates in their official capacities. The AU Commissioner in charge of Political Affairs, Ms Julia Joiner, also urged country delegations act fast on ratification. The Chairperson of the Africa Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, in his report to the Executive Council, called for the ratification of the Protocol. “The campaign partners all plan to continue with their various awareness creation activities indicated above so as not to lose out on the gains made so far.”