The Lesotho Government must address delayed Lesotho Highlands Development Authority compensation, tackle economic gender-based violence and femicide, while closing gaps in sexual and reproductive health rights.
On International Women’s Day, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and RISE project partners People’s Matrix and Seinoli Legal Centre call on the Government of Lesotho to take immediate and effective measures to effectuate delayed compensation by the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA), end economic gender-based violence and femicide, and close persistent gaps in the protection of sexual and reproductive health rights, including inadequate access to safe and legal abortion services.
We deplore the severe delays in providing for compensation for land belonging to Basotho communities and expropriated by the LHDA. The lack of just compensations adversely affects the enjoyment of economic rights of Basotho people, particularly women, who are disproportionately impacted by the loss of land, housing, and livelihoods. The ICJ urges the Government to ensure that all expropriated property is compensated promptly, as undue delays only compound the existing failures by the authorities to fulfil their human rights obligations. We urge the Government of Lesotho to strictly adhere to the compensation timeframes stipulated in the LHDA Order of 1986 and take immediate steps to remedy all outstanding compensation.
We further express concern that economic gender-based violence and femicide are exacerbated by persistent delays in the administration of justice. The understaffed judiciary has led to prolonged case backlogs and slow remedies for survivors, undermining timely, fair and effective access to justice. We urge the Government of Lesotho to significantly increase the judiciary’s budget to facilitate the appointment of additional judges and magistrates and to strengthen the overall administration of justice.
Regarding gaps in the protection of sexual and reproductive rights, including access to safe and legal abortion services, restrictive legal frameworks continue to place women and girls at risk, undermining their rights to health and freedom from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Section 45 of the Lesotho Penal Code Act of 2010 criminalizes abortion and permits it only when performed by a registered medical practitioner under limited circumstances: to prevent significant harm to the woman’s health (with written approval from a second doctor), to prevent the birth of a child with serious physical or mental disabilities (with prior certification), or where the pregnancy results from rape or incest. These narrow grounds and procedural requirements significantly restrict access to lawful abortion services.
We urge the Government of Lesotho to adopt and implement comprehensive measures to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and femicide, strengthen economic protections for women, and expand access to quality sexual and reproductive health services. Authorities must also ensure prompt, independent, and impartial investigations into all cases of gender-based violence and femicide, with a view to bringing those responsible to justice.