Banjul, 8 April 2025: The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (the ECOWAS Court) has today, 8 April 2025, handed down its judgment in favour of victims who endured brutal sexual violence during the post-electoral violence experienced in Côte d’Ivoire in 2010/2011 of the plaintiffs in suit no ECW/CCJA/APP/51/22 Dame Gbela Guelalo & Ors v. Côte d’Ivoire.
The case was filed in October 2022 by the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) and an Ivorian lawyer on behalf of the victims. The case relates to the rape of four (4) women and their daughters during the 2010/2011 post-electoral violence in Côte d’Ivoire. The case was filed after an April 2021 judgment of the Abidjan Criminal Tribunal that failed to establish the responsibility of both State forces and non-State armed groups in the violations.
In its verdict, the ECOWAS Court finds Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in violation of the victims’ right to remedy and access to justice, physical and moral integrity, dignity, security of the person, health, as well as the right to have their cause heard. These are rights and obligations provided for in major regional and international human rights legal instruments to which Côte d’Ivoire is a party, notably the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.
The Court ordered Côte d’Ivoire to effectively investigate the crimes and prosecute the perpetrators, present public apology to survivors and to pay them compensation worth fifty million FCFA (about eighty-three thousand US Dollars).
“This judgment marks a significant milestone in the long pursuit of justice for the victims who endured brutal sexual violence during the conflict. We look forward to engaging with Government of Côte d’Ivoire and other partners to ensure the full implementation of this judgment” – IHRDA Senior Legal Officer, Désiré Bigirimana, noted, following the pronouncing of the judgment.
For enquiries:
Désiré Bigirimana
Senior Legal Officer, IHRDA
Email: dbigirimana@ihrda.org
