Women’s Rights Groups Challenge AU Convention Ratification | News

Women’s rights and civil society organizations have challenged Liberia’s planned ratification of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU CEVAWG), urging lawmakers to suspend the process until what they describe as significant gaps in the proposed continental instrument are addressed.

The coalition has formally petitioned the House of Representatives, through its Committee on Gender, to halt ratification of the convention in its current form, while making clear that it supports the broader objective of eliminating violence against women and girls across Africa.

The petition was presented to Bong County Representative Moima Briggs Mensah, Chairperson of the House Gender Committee, during a national stakeholders’ review of the AU CEVAWG held in Mamba Point over the weekend.

Reading the petition on behalf of the coalition, Naomi Tulay-Solanke said Liberia must carefully examine the convention before assuming binding obligations under it.

She said any continental instrument ratified by Liberia should be consistent with the country’s national priorities while providing practical and enforceable protections for women and girls.

“We support the Convention’s objective of ending violence against women and girls. However, any instrument ratified by Liberia must reflect our local realities and provide clear, enforceable protection against all forms of violence experienced by women and girls in their homes, communities, schools, workplaces, institutions, and even in cyber settings,” Tulay-Solanke stated.

The coalition’s position comes as Liberia considers the proposed continental framework for preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls. While supporting the convention’s overall objective, the organizations said several provisions require further clarification and review before the Liberian Legislature proceeds with ratification.

Among the coalition’s principal concerns are ambiguities surrounding key definitions contained in the convention. The organizations fear that unclear terminology could create uncertainty when the provisions are translated into national law, policy and enforcement mechanisms.

The coalition is also questioning the clarity of the responsibilities that the convention would impose on states and governments, arguing that a legal commitment to ending violence against women and girls must clearly identify who is responsible for implementation and how compliance will be measured.

It further raised concerns about the convention’s prevention and response mechanisms, saying they may not adequately address the specific realities of gender-based violence in Liberia.

The group wants lawmakers to examine whether the proposed mechanisms can realistically function within Liberia’s existing institutional, judicial and social-service systems.

The coalition also called for stronger provisions covering enforcement, accountability and monitoring, arguing that protections contained in a continental convention must go beyond declarations of principle.

For the coalition, the effectiveness of the instrument will ultimately depend on whether women and girls can obtain meaningful protection, access services and seek justice when their rights are violated.

Another major concern is what the group described as inadequate consultation with Liberian and African women’s rights organizations during the development and review of the convention.

Tulay-Solanke argued that women and organizations working directly with survivors of violence should have a meaningful voice in determining how such a major legal instrument defines violence and establishes mechanisms for preventing and responding to it.

She stressed that an agreement intended to protect women and girls should be developed with significant input from those who experience gender-based violence and those providing services to survivors.

The coalition is therefore calling for broader consultations before lawmakers move toward ratification.

The organizations cited national statistics to demonstrate why they believe Liberia needs a strong but context-specific framework for addressing violence against women and girls.

According to the coalition, Liberia’s Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection recorded 3,381 cases of gender-based violence in 2024, representing an average of approximately nine reported cases every day.

The group also referenced findings from the 2019–2020 Liberia Demographic and Health Survey, which it said found that 55.29 percent of ever-married women aged 15–49 had experienced some form of intimate partner violence.

Of that number, the coalition said 45.57 percent reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence.

The coalition also pointed to the persistence of harmful practices affecting women and girls, including early marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting.

It said 24.9 percent of women aged 20–24 were married before reaching age 18, while 38.2 percent of women aged 15–49 had undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, or FGM/C.

The group said the prevalence of FGM/C was considerably higher in rural communities, where it cited a rate of 52.3 percent, compared with 29.9 percent in urban areas.

“These figures demonstrate the urgent need for a robust, context-specific framework that strengthens, not weakens, Liberia’s fight against gender-based violence,” Tulay-Solanke said.

The African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls is intended to establish a continental framework for preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls. Its adoption reflects growing efforts by African governments and institutions to strengthen legal and policy responses to gender-based violence across the continent.

The convention seeks to provide a common framework for addressing different forms of violence against women and girls and strengthening prevention, protection and response measures.

For Liberian women’s rights organizations, however, the existence of a continental framework does not automatically guarantee effective protection at the national level.

The coalition wants Liberia to ensure that any commitments made under the convention are capable of being translated into practical protections and services for women and girls.

The group is particularly calling for stronger protections that can be effectively enforced across homes, communities, schools, workplaces, institutions and digital spaces.

It argues that violence against women and girls increasingly occurs in different environments, including through digital platforms, and that legal protections must be sufficiently broad and enforceable to respond to emerging forms of abuse.

The coalition is also asking lawmakers to assess the convention against Liberia’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, arguing that the country’s continental commitments should complement its national development priorities.

The petition now places the House Committee on Gender at the center of the debate over Liberia’s position on the AU convention.

The coalition is asking Representative Moima Briggs Mensah and members of the committee to pause the ratification process and use the review period to examine the concerns raised by civil society and women’s rights organizations.

It wants lawmakers to engage directly with organizations that work with survivors, legal practitioners, community groups and other stakeholders before Liberia makes a binding continental commitment.

The coalition emphasized that its position should not be interpreted as opposition to efforts to end violence against women and girls.

Instead, it wants the Legislature to ensure that Liberia does not simply ratify the instrument but adopts it in a manner that produces effective and enforceable protections.

Tulay-Solanke said Liberia must ensure that the convention ultimately strengthens existing efforts rather than creating commitments that cannot be effectively implemented.

The coalition is therefore calling on lawmakers to address the identified gaps, expand stakeholder consultations and strengthen the convention’s enforcement, accountability and monitoring provisions before proceeding with ratification.