The Ecowas Court is a west African regional body located in Abuja, Nigeria, serving the now 12-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). The court, originally set up to handle economic matters related to the Ecowas Treaty, was given a human rights mandate in 2005. Since then, of the hundreds of cases the court has heard, nearly 90% have been human rights-related. In a recent book, international law and human rights scholar Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom argues that the shift in the court’s mandate has made it an accessible forum for advancing women’s rights. Some of its landmark decisions have challenged discrimination and violence against women.
