-Says Hon. Tunis
By John Okeke
The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis, says the ECOWAS parliament remains the face of representative of democracy in West Africa sub-region.
He said the ECOWAS parliament sessions always provides a platform to deliberate and strengthen their position on issues of regional and international importance.
He made the statement on Monday 8th May 2023, at the opening ceremony of the 2023 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS parliament in Abuja, Nigeria.
He said the Ordinary Session was convened pursuant to Article 21.1 of the Supplementary Act relating to the enhancement of powers of the ECOWAS parliament, which provides that parliament shall meet twice a year in Ordinary Session.
On the regional scene, he added that they remain very concerned over the pace at which the transitional processes are unfolding in Mali, Guinea and Guinea Bissau. He said they are equally worried about the proriferation of terrorist activities in the Sahel which has resulted into the killing of innocent people.
Additionally, he said the are closely monitoring events in Sierra Leone and Liberia as they are preparing to hold presidential and legislative elections in June and October respectively.
“I thank the government of Sierra Leone for its commitment to upholding the principles of democratic elections and I also commend all stakeholders for being committed to the democratic process,” he applauded.
However, he said, “We are mindful that over 20 years since the inauguration of the First Legislative, the ECOWAS parliament has not achieved its goal of being a full-fledged legislative body. Nonetheless, the august body can be very proud of its achievements.”
Giving the report on state of the community, the president of ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alleu Touray, said the situation in the region remains worrisome. Nevertheless, he said, they are deploying all resources to ensure stability, security and resilience in member states.
He assured that they will continue to support Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea in transition for a normal return to constitutional order. He maintained that they will also continue to use elections in member states both as conflict prevention measure and a support to democratization process.
“We are deploying the necessary election assistance to our member states that are going into elections. Recently, we sent fact finding missions to Sierra Leone and Liberia to examine their preparedness for their elections and based on the findings of our missions, ECOWAS will provide its traditional support for the organization of their next elections,” he assured.
He said despite the inflationary pressures due to the COVID-19 and the Ukraine war, the economics of the region are resilient. He said according to the World Bank, the economics of the region has grown at 31%.
Delivering his solidarity speech, the president of the Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, started by explaining a brief history of ECOWAS. He explained that ECOWAS was established by the Lagos Treaty on 28th May, 1975. He further explained that the current membership consists of fifteen member states in the West African sub-region, with the Revised Treaty of 1993, which replaced the 1975 founding Treaty as its fundamental chapter and the roadmap for the economic integration of the country.
He added that, “The main aims of the community are to promote co-operation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among member states and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.”
The ECOWAS Court President further explained that the mandate of the court is to ensure the observance of law and justice, seized with the responsibility of settling disputes as it may be referred to in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty.
He said the court has four mandates; as a Community Court with contentious and advisory jurisdictions, serves as Public Service Court, serves as an Arbitrary Tribunal and also serves as Human Rights Court.
“Through the exercise of its role as a Human Rights Court, the court has contributed immensely to strengthening some of the underpinnings of democracy such as respect for human rights and the protection of freedom of expression by holding member states accountable for their International Treaty Obligations,” he said.
However, he said, the court has a record indicating that 106 of its judgements haven’t been enforced by member states while another 11 are outstanding against ECOWAS institutions.
Justice Asante said he hoped that the session will propose measures that will contribute to improving the level of enforcement of the decisions of the court through joint efforts for the benefit of the region, particularly its citizens who see the Community Court as the ultimate platform for improving their lives through collective actions.
He assured that the court will continue to discharge its mandate in support of the regional integration project, even though the enforcement of its judgments remain its Achilles heels.
