West African judges on Monday fined the state of Niger the equivalent of €15 000 for failing to protect a woman sold into slavery aged 12, in a landmark ruling with implications across the region.

The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States recognised that the young woman, Adidjatou Mani Koraou, now 24, had been "a victim of slavery."

It held "the Republic of Niger responsible for the inaction" of its administrative and legal services, in a ruling read out by a court official.

Judges fined Niger 10 million CFA francs (€15 000, $18 600). The woman's lawyers had claimed five times' that amount in damages.

Historic ruling

Rights campaigners welcomed the ruling, which was the first time the Ecowas regional court had been asked to rule on a case of slavery. Its verdict will be binding on all member states.

"It's absolutely historic because it's the first verdict handed down on slavery by Ecowas," said Ilguilas Weila, head of a Niger anti-slavery lobbyist organisation Timidria.

Anti-Slavery International said the ruling would have a "wide-ranging impact on slavery and human rights issues beyond Niger."

And in Mauritania, the president of SOS-Esclaves (SOS-Slaves) welcomed the ruling. "We are very satisfied and extremely comforted by this judgement, which constitutes a striking victory for anti-slavery activists in western Africa and in the world," Boubacar Messaoud told AFP.

Koraou herself, a baby in her arms and smiling timidly, said: "I thank Allah that I'm now free like all of you". She said she would use the compensation to treat herself and to set up a small business.

"With this ruling things are going to change in Niger," said Koraou's lawyer Abdourahame Chaibou.

Niger government officials in the courtroom for the hearing made no comment.

Anti-slavery laws

Koraou, a Niger national, sued the government of her vast, largely arid country on the southern edge of the Sahara for failure to enforce its anti-slavery laws.

She was sold into slavery as a 12-year-old for the equivalent of €330 in the south of the country, and over the next decade she was forced to carry out domestic and agricultural work.

She also lived as a sexual slave or sadaka to her master, who already had four wives and seven other sadaka, according to the NGO Anti-Slavery International, which has backed her case.

Adijatou "served her master and his family for 10 years. She was never paid for her work and lived in a state of complete submission to her master, being subjected to regular beatings and sexual violence.

"Her circumstances fall squarely within the longstanding internationally accepted definition of slavery," the organisation said in a statement released ahead of the hearing.

Widespread implications

The case also has widespread implications for other West African states, such as Mali and Mauritania, where slavery is widely practised, according to anti-slavery activists.

Malian human rights organisation Temedt said earlier this year that "several thousand" people were living in slavery or slave-like conditions in the country.

Concerted pressure forced the government of Niger to introduce anti-slavery legislation in 2003, with a maximum penalty of 30 years in jail.

But Anti-Slavery International has said that despite this, there were still at least 43 000 slaves in the country.

"They are born into an established slave class and are made to do all the labour required by their masters without pay, including herding and cleaning ... They are denied all rights and choice," it says.

According to estimates from other activists, the number was closer to 800 000, in a country of 12 million people.

These figures have been vehemently denied by the government, which in 2007 launched an inquiry to determine the extent of slavery. The results have yet to be made public.

AFP