By Ishmael Zay-Bangura
Freetown, 16th July 2026 – As West African leaders convene in Freetown for the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, women’s rights advocates are pressing for urgent regional action to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
The Coalition for the Protection of Girls and Women has formally appealed to the ECOWAS Commission, calling for FGM to be treated as a regional human rights and public health emergency rather than a matter left to individual states.
The coalition’s statement warned of heightened risks for vulnerable girls during the upcoming school holiday initiation season. It also criticized the failure to enforce the landmark 2025 ECOWAS Court of Justice ruling in the case of Ms. Kadijatu Balaima Allieu, which ordered the Sierra Leonean government to compensate the survivor of FGM.
Advocates are urging ECOWAS leaders to include a clear commitment in the summit’s final communiqué: protecting women and girls from harmful practices, enforcing compliance with binding regional court judgments, and pushing member states to adopt explicit statutory bans on FGM.
“This is a defining moment for West Africa,” the coalition declared. “Regional leaders must demonstrate that the rights and dignity of women and girls are non-negotiable.”
As the summit unfolds, campaigners say the spotlight is now firmly on ECOWAS to show whether it will match words with action in the fight against FGM.
