There are two ways in which the African Court may be seized of a case: (i) by referral from the African Commission, or (ii) by direct seizure by individuals or NGOs. Option (ii) is only available if the State Party has made a declaration under Article 34(6) of the African Court Protocol accepting the competence of the Court to receive cases under Article 5(3). As of March 2011 five countries had accepted this competence: Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mali and Ghana. 4.3 The Protocol on Rights of Women in Africa The African Human Rights system has a specific Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (hereinafter the Women’s Protocol).108 4.3.1 Key Provisions The Women’s Protocol is comprehensive in many respects and has unique provisions to ensure that States promotes and protects women’s rights. Among these are:  rights related to elimination of discrimination (Article 2)  the right to dignity and respect for her person (Article 3)  the right to life and freedom from exploitation and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 4)  the right to elimination of harmful practices (Article 5)  the right to justice and equal protection before the law (Article 8)  the right to peace (Article 10)  the right to protection of women in armed conflict (Article 11)  economic and social welfare rights (Article 13)  health and reproductive rights (Article 14)  the right to food security (Article 15)  the right to adequate housing (Article 16) All of the above provisions can be relied upon in communications before the Commission, in respect of articles violated by countries that have ratified and implemented it domestically. As of August 2012, the 28 countries that had ratified the Protocol were Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia.109 4.3.2 Using the Women’s Protocol Realising the potential of the Women’s Protocol, women’s rights groups in Africa have developed a detailed and useful guide on the procedure to bring a remedial claim.110 The Guide is very thorough with a section on relevant case law of the African Commission pointing out cases that might be useful if one brings a case under the Women’s Protocol or relevant to women’s rights. However, although the Women’s Protocol came into force in November 2005 and 28 Member States to the African Charter have ratified it, there has been no communication brought for violations under the Women’s Protocol yet. This gap points to the need for a greater and intensified dissemination and awareness campaign among women in Africa on the potential of the Women’s Protocol for justice where national systems have been ineffective or have failed. 108 A protocol is an addition to the primary Convention but more precise on a particular element relevant to but not adequately addressed in the Convention. It must be specifically ratified. The text of the Protocol is available at: http://www.achpr.org/english/_info/women_prot..htm. 109 See the ratification table at: http://www.achpr.org/instruments/women-protocol/ratification/. 110 Solidarity for African Women’s Rights – A Guide to Using the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa available at: http://www.soawr.org/resources/Manual_on_Protocol_on_Women_Rights_in_Africa.pdf. 32 REGIONAL MECHANISMS | REDRESS