PART A IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHARTER SINCE 2015 General Update 4. Malawi’s initial and combined report was submitted to the Commission in July 2013. The report was reviewed in May 2015. Concluding Observations and Recommendations by the Commission were submitted to Malawi in December 2015. The Human Rights Section in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has been coordinating the implementation of the 2015 recommendations through the National Task Force on the Charter. The Task Force meets every quarter to discuss issues arising from the African Commission as well as the general human rights developments relating to Malawi. 5. Upon receipt of the 2015 Concluding Observations, (CoBs) and Recommendations, they were disseminated electronically and in hard copies to all members of the National Task Force as well as key human rights stakeholders. The Task Force discussed every COB and Recommendation and relevant institutions were assigned specific COB(s) and Recommendations for implementation. The quarterly meetings of the Task Force were used by the various institutions to present reports on the implementation status of the COBs and Recommendations. 6. The Malawi Government lined up a few activities to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the African Charter in 2016 and 2017. These included taking the African Charter and the Maputo Protocol to rural women with a specific view of increasing their awareness of the rights in the two instruments. We also held an interface with traditional leaders specifically on Maputo Protocol. A panel discussion on human rights and Agenda 2063 was held as well as launching the Human Rights Section in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. We believe that these activities helped in raising awareness of the two instruments. The National Task Force on the Charter was also expanded to include more agencies and civil society organisations. As a result, we have noted an increase in the number of Government institutions that take part in the Commission’s activities as 2