The ECOWAS Court of Justice is deeply committed to upholding human rights across the West African region. In adjudicating on cases alleging the violation of human rights against Member States, the Court applies regional and international human rights instruments that member states have ratified. The Regional and International Human Rights Instruments section provides access to key treaties, conventions, and declarations that establish the standards for human rights protections and guide the Court’s decisions. These instruments are essential to the Court’s mission of promoting justice, equality, and respect for human dignity, ensuring that ECOWAS Member States meet their obligations to uphold individual and collective rights.

• African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nations in 1948
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
• African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol)
• ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance
• Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties