In a groundbreaking ruling, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice has urged Sierra Leone to take immediate legislative measures to prohibit FGM, to promptly and effectively investigate and prosecute perpetrators of the FGM committed against the survivor, and to provide redress to the survivor, including financial compensation of $30,000 US Dollars, payable in Leones, to the survivor for the violations of her rights.
This ruling was made after the ruling, the ECOWAS Court of Justice found the Government of Sierra Leone in violation of women’s and girls’ rights for failing to explicitly criminalise Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
The Court declared FGM as one of the worst forms of violence against women, and that intentionally inflicted it meets the threshold for torture.
It ruled that the state’s failure to act breaches the Maputo Protocol, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and other international human rights obligations that require states to outlaw harmful practices, specifically FGM and Sierra Leone’s inaction has caused grave physical, psychological, and social harm.
This landmark decision, delivered by a panel of judges representing the 12 ECOWAS Member States, holds Sierra Leone accountable and sets a monumental legal precedent for the protection of women and girls across the region.
