HomeNewsLocalCivic groups urge government to adopt social protection protocol 

Civic groups urge government to adopt social protection protocol 

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Moroke Sekoboto 

HUMAN rights defenders, Seinoli Legal Centre (SLC), in collaboration with the Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP), have engaged civil society organizations (CSOs) to push the government to sign and ratify the African Union (AU) Protocol on Social Protection and Social Security. 

This African Charter on Human and People’s Rights protocol was adopted during the 35th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 6 February 2022.  

Its purpose is to provide benefits to individuals facing risks across their life cycles, such as unemployment, disability, maternity, poverty, and social exclusion. 

The APSP is a pan-African network operating at grassroots, national, and regional levels committed to strengthening the social contract between states and citizens.  

It promotes active engagement in shaping social protection policies, programs, and practices in Africa. 

They emphasized the importance of Lesotho ratifying this protocol along with other AU member states to incorporate it into national legal and policy frameworks. 

This call to action was made during a consultative meeting on the ratification of the?protocol in Maseru?last?week. 

SLC executive director, Reitumetse Mabula, noted that for the protocol to come into force, a minimum of 15 member states must ratify it. 

“The objective of the meeting was to create awareness of the AU Protocol on Social Protection and Social Security, which will lead to its ratification, and to draw up an engagement and follow-up plan,” Ms Mabula said. 

SLC programmes lawyer, Lepeli Moeketsi, highlighted the need for a comprehensive strategy to bridge the gap between existing policies and ensure effective social protection at the continental level. Moeketsi?said?despite?political will and recognition?of its importance?from AU Heads of State, social protection coverage in Africa remained?low, with only 17 percent of the population receiving at least one social protection benefit, compared to the global average of 47 percent. 

“The AU Protocol on Social Protection and Social Security is a vital instrument for the 54 AU member states, addressing issues such as decent work, income security, access to healthcare, education, gender equity, and climate justice,” said Advocate Moeketsi. 

To bring the protocol into force, it must undergo five stages: presentation to the AU Heads of State, country signing, ratification, depositing the ratified deed to the AU Commission on Human Rights, and domestication into national legal, policy, and program frameworks. Currently, Niger and São Tomé and Príncipe have signed the protocol, with other countries in the process of signing. 

“The APSP is working with the AU secretariat and other CSOs to reach the minimum target of 15 countries. Ratification of the protocol would enable governments in Africa to commit constitutionally to social protection for marginalized groups, including self-employed workers,” added Adv Moeketsi. 

Furthermore, a member of the Social Cluster?Portfolio Committee?and Lesotho’s representative at the Pan-African Parliament, Mamello Phooko, blamed Lesotho’s inability to administer social grants to vulnerable?communities?on the misuse and mismanagement of funds allocated for social development. 

“Social development has adequate funds to help vulnerable groups, but public servants use it for their own benefit. Corruption in the government is crippling our country,” Ms Phooko stated. 

However, the Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled (LNFOD) and People’s Matrix expressed concerns that the protocol did not adequately address the vulnerabilities of disabled people and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer and Asexual (LGBTIQA+) community. 

 

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