Nigeria is conspicuously missing from a list of six countries in Africa commended by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) for their bold and exemplary leadership,” as well as their “unequivocal commitment to addressing the structural and deeply rooted patterns of violence and discrimination that women and girls continue to face across the continent.”
In a statement issued at its headquarters in Banjul, the Commission praised Djibouti, Liberia, Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and The Gambia for their “historic step” in the continental effort to end violence against women and girls by signing the African Union (AU) Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, which was adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU during its 38th Ordinary Session held in February 2025.
The countries signed the Convention on the margins of the AU 7th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, which took place in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from July 10 to 13, 2025.
The statement was signed on behalf of the Commission by Commissioner Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, its Vice-Chairperson and Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa; Commissioner Essaiem Hatem, Country Rapporteur for Djibouti; Commissioner Mudford Zachariah Mwandenga, Country Rapporteur for Liberia; Commissioner Marie Louise Abomo, Country Rapporteur for Angola, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Commissioner Litha Musyimi-Ogana, Country Rapporteur for The Gambia.
Describing the Convention as a “groundbreaking instrument”, which represents the first pan-African legally binding framework exclusively focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls across the continent, the Commission said it considers their signatures a powerful signal of political will toward building a continent where the dignity, safety, and rights of all women and girls are fully protected, respected, and fulfilled.
It noted, however, that under international law, signing a treaty is an important political signal but does not, in itself, create binding legal obligations as the full legal effect of the Convention will be realised only upon its ratification and domestication into national law.
The Commission, therefore, urged Governments of the six countries to proceed without delay in ratifying the Convention and take the necessary legislative and institutional measures to ensure its effective implementation.
It called on all AU Member States to follow the exemplary step of the six countries and demonstrate a shared commitment to ending violence against women and girls by signing, ratifying, and implementing the Convention, in line with their human rights obligations, including under the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, popularly referred to as the Maputo Protocol.
The Commission said: “This moment calls for a unified and urgent response from all Member States to confront the systemic inequalities and power imbalances that sustain violence against women and girls.”
It reaffirmed its readiness to support the signatory States and other Member States in the ratification and implementation processes, saying such support “includes providing technical guidance, facilitating constructive dialogue, and promoting best practices to ensure that commitments made at the continental level are translated into real, transformative change in the daily lives of women and girls.”
The Commission stressed that it remains a steadfast partner to all States in the collective journey toward eliminating gender-based violence in Africa.