A campaign supported by disabled people’s organisations

In June 2024, the African Disability Forum welcomed the deposit of the 15 ratifications needed for entry into force. The pan-African organisation said it had worked with partners and other stakeholders to promote ratification. It presented the protocol as a complement to the UN disability convention, with attention to African experiences, including those of persons with albinism. This was the ADF’s account of collective advocacy; it did not claim that one organisation alone had secured the treaty’s legal effect.

Community living has an organisational dimension

The protocol’s Article 14 recognises the right to live in the community with choices equal to others. It addresses where and with whom people live, access to community support and the availability of ordinary public services. One provision specifically concerns community living centres established or organised by persons with disabilities: states parties are to support them in providing training, peer support, personal assistance and other services. This gives disabled people’s own organisations a place within the framework, alongside individual rights and government responsibilities. [3]

Nairobi links rights to budgets and support

Representatives meeting at the African Disability Forum’s Nairobi conference on 2–4 September 2024 adopted a declaration calling for wider ratification and national implementation. Their demands connected public budgets with practical support, including qualified sign-language interpreters, accessible formats, personal assistance and assistive devices. They also called for people with disabilities to participate through their representative organisations in designing, implementing and monitoring policies. The declaration paid particular attention to groups exposed to overlapping discrimination, including women, people with high support needs, refugees and persons with albinism.

Entry into force is a starting point for accountability

The African Commission’s November 2024 resolution recognised advocacy by persons with disabilities, their organisations and other civil-society actors. It urged states parties to take concrete implementation steps in consultation with affected people and called for accountability mechanisms involving civil society and government focal points. Those requests explain why ratification and service delivery must be reported separately. The protocol’s entry into force was a legal development; the Nairobi demands and Commission resolution were calls for further action. None establishes that personal assistance or equal community access was already available across the continent. [1][4]