The Protocol is specifically about violations women experience and they are articulated expansively. It is therefore unfortunate that there are thus far no communications sent under the Protocol. Victims, survivors and groups on behalf of women must feel encouraged to send submissions to the ACHPR under the Protocol. 4.4 ECOWAS Court The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS) has only recently exerted its influence on a human rights matter. It issued a landmark judgment of critical importance to women, on the issue of slavery.111 4.4.1 Mandate and Admissibility The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was created in 1975 to replace the Customs Union of West African States. The Community Court of Justice was established in 1993. In January 2005, ECOWAS adopted a protocol to permit persons to bring suits against Member States. At the same time, the jurisdiction of the Community Court was revised to include review of violations of human rights in all Member States. 112 The admissibility criteria for accessing the ECOWAS Court are much less restrictive than the general admissibility requirements for other regional and international human rights mechanisms as listed in section 3 above. Article 10(d)(ii) of Supplementary 5 Protocol A/SP.1/01/05 on the ECOWAS Court states that access to the Court is open to the following: a) individuals on application for relief for violation of their human rights; the submission of application for which shall: i) not be anonymous; nor ii) be made whilst the same matter has been instituted before another International Court for adjudication. It is significant to note that exhaustion of domestic remedies is not a criterion for admissibility. Indeed, the Court ruled as such in its judgment on Mme Hadijatou Mani Koraou v. The Republic of Niger, when the State argued that the applicant had not exhausted domestic remedies.113 For women victims and survivors of sexual violence and other forms of violations in West Africa who find remedies at national level ineffective or inaccessible, accessibility of a regional court without having to exhaust domestic remedies is a significant advantage in their pursuit of justice. 4.4.2 Member States The Member States of ECOWAS are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. 4.4.3 Substantive Ruling on Slavery The case of Mme Hadijatou Mani Koraou v. The Republic of Niger involved the sale of 12 year old Hadijatou Mani to El Hadj Souleymane as a slave to do household chores and provide sexual services to the ‘master’. She was subjected to conditions of harsh labour with no remuneration. She bore three children for the master. Nine years later El Hadj Souleymane decided to ‘liberate’ and marry her. He therefore issued a ‘liberation 111 Mme Hadijatou Mani Koraou v The Republic of Niger, 27 October 2008, ECW/CCJ/JUD/06/08. 112 Solidarity for African Women’s Rights – A Guide to Using the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, p. 65, available at http://www.soawr.org/resources/Manual_on_Protocol_on_Women_Rights_in_Africa.pdf. 113 Mme Hadijatou Mani Koraou v The Republic of Niger, 27 October 2008, ECW/CCJ/JUD/06/08 ¶ 49. REDRESS | REGIONAL MECHANISMS 33