Pausing AU Treaty on Violence Against Women ‘a Strategic Error’, BAOBAB Warns
By Austine Agbo Emmanuel, Kaduna
A leading Nigerian gender-rights organisation, Baobab for Women’s Human Rights (BAOBAB), has cautioned against calls to halt the ratification of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG), describing such moves as a “strategic error” that could deny millions of African women urgently needed legal protection.
In a counter-statement issued to journalists, BAOBAB Executive Director, Bunmi Dipo-Salami, JP said while it shares concerns about procedural and content gaps identified in the continental treaty, suspending its ratification would roll back critical progress for countries that have resisted adopting similar frameworks such as the Maputo Protocol for more than two decades.
Dipo-Salami argued that pausing the process risks creating “a prolonged stalemate that women facing violence cannot afford,” noting that the convention offers the most modern and comprehensive legal shield against both traditional and emerging forms of gender-based violence.
The organization stressed that the AU-CEVAWG provides direct responses to contemporary threats, especially violence in digital spaces, femicide, and abuses occurring in both formal and informal workplaces.
It noted that Article 1 of the treaty introduces the first clear African legal definition of cyber-violence—covering online harassment, sextortion, and image-based abuse—issues the group said are spreading faster than existing laws can address.
“This year’s 16 Days of Activism has highlighted how technology-facilitated violence is evolving. The strategy cannot be to wait for a perfect treaty; the strategy must be to use the tool we have now to start saving lives,” the organisation stated.
The convention also mandates gender-responsive budgeting and a survivor-centred approach, which advocates say are essential to tackling entrenched violence across the continent.
BAOBAB acknowledged that gaps exist, including the broad classification of “harmful practices” instead of specifically naming crimes like child marriage and female genital mutilation. It also raised concerns about the increased burden on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).
However, it insisted that these issues should guide domestication and implementation, not derail ratification.
The group pointed to Article 15 (Safeguard Clause) of the convention, describing it as a powerful legal tool that ensures the most progressive interpretation in favour of ending violence must prevail whenever competing interpretations arise.
“Our collective strength lies in ratifying and then strengthening the treaty through national laws and judicial interpretation,” the statement added.
Calling for a united front, BAOBAB urged civil society groups across the continent to abandon the push for a pause and instead mobilise for swift ratification accompanied by targeted reforms.
The organisation outlined a three-point action plan: immediate ratification by all AU Member States; strategic domestication to explicitly legislate areas like FGM and child marriage; and increased funding and technical capacity for the ACHPR to effectively manage its expanded mandate under Article 14.
“We must move from fighting the document to using it. The stakes are too high to pause,” BAOBAB said.
The organisation maintained that the AU-CEVAWG, despite its imperfections, represents Africa’s most advanced legal instrument for ensuring women and girls live free from violence, discrimination, and fear.
