Friendsraising Series: Following CSW70, Regional Momentum Builds Around Effective Access to Justice in West and Central Africa
Date:
Friendsraising Series: Following CSW70, Regional Momentum Builds Around Effective Access to Justice in West and Central Africa
13 may 2026, Dakar - The regional post CSW70 debrief confirmed a broadly shared priority among countries in West and Central Africa: ensuring effective access to justice for women and girls.
Turning the Political Unity of CSW70 into Concrete Results for Women and Girls
Two months after a session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) marked by unprecedented tensions surrounding women’s rights, and the adoption, for the first time in 70 years, of agreed conclusions through a vote, the UN Women Regional Office for West and Central Africa convened ministers responsible for gender affairs across the region for a Friends Raising event dedicated to advancing the implementation of CSW70 commitments.
In an international context marked by growing polarization around women’s rights, participants reaffirmed the importance of defending coordinated African positions on increasingly sensitive issues, including access to justice, legal reforms, and sexual and reproductive rights.
Opening the discussions, the UN Women Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Dr Maxime Houinato, recalled that the political credibility gained in New York now commits the region to delivering tangible results for women and girls.
As cofacilitator of the African negotiations during CSW70, Mali, represented by an interministerial delegation bringing together the ministries of Justice, Refoundation, Women’s Promotion and Foreign Affairs, called for accelerated implementation of commitments ahead of CSW71.
In the same spirit, Guinea Bissau’s Minister of Women and Social Solidarity, Ms Khady Florence Dabo Correia, stressed that operationalizing the recommendations adopted at CSW70 is essential.
Also contributing to the discussion, Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Social Affairs and Gender Equality, Ms Maria Consuelo Nguema Oyana, emphasized the importance of peer learning and regional cooperation to strengthen the effectiveness of national responses.
The ministers also agreed on several areas of work for the coming months, including strengthening regional coordination and developing measures that can be rapidly implemented at the national level.
Effective Access to Justice as a Regional Priority for Action
The discussions highlighted a clear commitment to justice mechanisms rooted in local realities and capable of providing concrete responses to violence against women and girls.
“Access to justice is an essential lever for ensuring the effective realization of the fundamental rights of women and girls,” stated Ms Armande Longo épouse Moulenguie, Gabon’s Minister of Youth, Sports, Cultural Outreach and the Arts.
From Mali to Cabo Verde, including Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea, several countries presented community based mechanisms such as One Stop Centers, community care mechanisms, integrated psychosocial support centers for survivors, and strengthened institutional partnerships.
Liberia’s Deputy Minister for Gender, Ms Laura Golakeh, called for responses better adapted to the realities faced by women who remain distant from formal protection systems. Similarly, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Ms Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, highlighted approaches combining community justice, social protection and survivor support services.
The session also identified emerging challenges linked to digital violence and artificial intelligence, while underscoring the opportunities offered by digital tools to strengthen access to information, protection and support mechanisms.
Community Based Mechanisms at the Core of Proposed Responses
Amid growing concerns over gender based violence and femicides, at a time when funding for gender equality policies is becoming increasingly fragile, several countries highlighted strategies combining prevention, social protection and community based mechanisms.
Cameroon’s Minister for the Promotion of Women and the Family, Professor Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa, called for stronger involvement of communities, men and young people in prevention efforts.
Speaking on behalf of Sierra Leone, Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs Ms Isata Mahoi recalled the importance of strengthening social protection mechanisms and access to justice in rural areas and the most vulnerable contexts.
Representing Cabo Verde, the President of the Cabo Verdean Institute for Gender Equality and Equity, Ms Marisa Carvalho, highlighted results achieved through close coordination between the justice sector, social protection actors and civil society organizations.
A Regional Process Set to Continue
This ministerial meeting marked the first step in a broader regional Friends Raising Series focused on advancing the implementation of CSW70 commitments.
Discussions will continue on 4 June with civil society organizations, followed on 5 June by technical and financial partners, with the aim of consolidating identified priorities and strengthening the conditions for their implementation at both national and regional levels.
Beyond the negotiations held in New York, the challenge now is to translate the political unity demonstrated during CSW70 into visible results for women and girls.