Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has called on African governments to urgently ratify, domesticate, and enforce the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG), warning that the treaty’s promise will remain unfulfilled without full implementation.
Monrovia, September 11, 2025: Speaking Wednesday at the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) Positive Masculinity Workshop at the Ministerial Complex in Monrovia, Sirleaf welcomed the AU’s adoption of the convention but stressed that progress will only be measured when member states translate it into enforceable national laws.
“The convention was adopted for the protection of women, but it must be signed, domesticated, and legitimized in every country’s laws,” she said. “We cannot allow it to remain only on paper.”
The AU-CEVAWG, adopted in February 2025 during the 38th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly, is the continent’s first treaty to directly address all forms of violence against women and girls, including physical, sexual, psychological, economic, and digital abuse. It also tackles harmful practices like female genital mutilation, child marriage, sexual violence in conflict, and harassment in public and private spaces.
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Building on the 2003 Maputo Protocol, the convention introduces binding obligations on prevention, access to justice, victim support, digital safety, and promoting positive masculinity. Sirleaf emphasized that without domestic implementation, the treaty’s objectives will not be realized.
She recalled her involvement in the 1995 Beijing Conference on Women and other UN initiatives promoting women’s rights, noting that despite progress, women across Africa continue to face inequality and violence. She urged men to shift their perceptions of women’s roles, stating that women should lead based on merit, not tokenism.
“Liberia has had one woman president. Perhaps after another hundred years, there will be another form of tokenism. We must create conditions where women can lead by qualification, by effort, and by performance,” she said.
Sirleaf highlighted AWLN’s strategy of engaging male leaders to champion gender equality, noting that chapters are being established across Africa to foster dialogue on leadership, education, and protection issues. She expressed hope that Liberia would lead in breaking cycles of inequality and violence.
On the occasion, A panel discussion at the workshop was held to explore the link between positive masculinity, strength, and violence against women and girls.
Panelists included Comfort Lamptey, UN Country Coordinator; the Justice Minister; the Director of the Civil Service Agency; district 4 Grand Bassa County representative Thomas Alexander Gosua; and the Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs, among others.
Meanwhile, the program was attended by Cabinet members, the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, UN Women, civil society organizations, AWLN Liberia members, and journalists.