ECOWAS Court Holds Sierra Leone Liable for Human Rights Violations Related to Female Genital Mutilation

Abuja, 8 July 2025 – The Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, has delivered its judgment in Case No. ECW/CCJ/APP/16/23 filed by two Non-Governmental Organisations alongside a survivor of female genital mutilation alleging the violation of the rights of women and girls, resulting from the failure of the Republic of Sierra Leone to take appropriate legislative measures to criminalise the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).

Case Background

The Applicants, comprising the Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP), We Are Purposeful and Ms Kadijatu Balaima Allieu, alleged that the Republic of Sierra Leone has failed to enact legislation to criminalise female genital mutilation as required by its international human rights obligations.   They claimed that the Respondent’s legislative inaction allowed the continued practice of female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone, in violation of the rights of women and girls to dignity, security of person and the Respondent’s obligation to eliminate all harmful practices against women.

The Respondent did not dispute the prevalence of FGM in the country. However, it argued that it had discharged its obligation by enacting the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act 2022 and has also proposed a Child Rights Bill which will criminalise FGM when enacted.

Court Findings

On jurisdiction, the Court affirmed it had jurisdiction to hear the case as it concerned allegations of human rights violations under Article 9(4) of the Court’s Protocol as amended. The Court also held that case was admissible as it met the requirement under Article 10(d) of the same Protocol.

The Court found that the Respondent had breached several of its human rights obligations by failing to take legislative measures to eradicate female genital mutilation. The Court observed that this failure constituted a violation of Article 5 of the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa and Article 21 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which require the State to adopt legislative measures to prohibit the harmful practices including FGM.

The Court noted that the Respondent violated the Third Applicant, Ms Kadijatu Allieu’s right to a remedy and access justice by failing to conduct prompt, impartial, and verifiable investigations to identify and prosecute the perpetrators who subjected her to FGM.

The Court also found that the Respondent violated the Third Applicant’s right to security of person, guaranteed under Article 6 of the African Charter, Article 9 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and Article 4 of the Maputo Protocol. The Court noted that the Respondent’s failure to enact a legislation to prohibit FGM as well as its failure to find and prosecute the persons who subjected the Third Applicant to FGM or threatened her life while she was on admission at a hospital made it complicit in the gender-based violence inflicted on the Third Applicant in violation of her right to security of person.

On the alleged violation of the Third’s Applicant’s right to dignity and freedom from torture, cruel, and inhuman treatment, the Court found that the Respondent violated the third Applicant’s right to freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment contrary to the provisions of Article 5 of the African Charter, Article 3(1) of the Maputo Protocol and Article 7 of the ICCPR.

Court Decision

The Court:

1. Declared it had jurisdiction over the application.
2. Declared the application admissible, given that both the individual victim and the public interest NGOs had legal standing under Article 10(d) of the Protocol.
3. Declared that the Respondent violated its obligation to adopt legislative measures to prohibit and criminalise female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone in breach of Articles 2(1)(b), 4 and 5 of the Maputo Protocol and Article 21 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
4. Declared that the Respondent’s failure to investigate, find and prosecute the perpetrators of the female genital mutilation inflicted on the Third Applicant, violated her rights to effective remedies and access to justice.
5. Declared that the Respondent violated the Third Applicant’s right to security of person, as guaranteed under Article 6 of the African Charter, Article 4 of the Maputo Protocol, and Article 9(1) of the ICCPR.
6. Declared that the Third Applicant’s rights to protection from inhuman or degrading treatment were violated under Article 5 of the African Charter, Article 3 and 4 of the Maputo Protocol and Article 9(1) of the ICCPR.
7. Ordered the Republic of Sierra Leone to enact and implement legislation criminalising female genital mutilation and to take appropriate measures to prohibit its occurrence and protect victims.
8. Ordered the Respondent to adopt necessary administrative, educational or socio-economic policies to ensure the eradication of female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone.
9. Ordered the Respondent to pay the equivalent of $30,000 in Leones to the Third Applicant, Ms. Kadijatu Balaima Allieu, as compensation for the harm suffered.
10. Ordered the Respondent to promptly investigate, identify and prosecute the perpetrators responsible for the female genital mutilation carried out on the Third Applicant.
11. Ordered that each party shall bear their own costs.

Judicial Panel

The judgment was delivered by a panel comprising:

• Hon. Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves – Presiding Judge
• Hon. Justice Gberi-Bè Ouattara – Member
• Hon. Justice Edward Amoako Asante – Judge Rapporteur / Member