By Odimmegwa Johnpeter, Abuja
The President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Edward Amoako Asante has called on ECOWAS Members of Parliament to put a little pressure on their various governments to set up mechanisms to implement the decisions or the court.
Asante who stated this in his address of the opening ceremony of the ECOWAS Parliament First 2021 Ordinary Session in Abuja said, “under Article 24 of the 2005 supplementary Act on the Court member states are required to designate the competent National Authority for the Enforcement of the decisions of the Court”.
He said that so far, only six (6) member states: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, and Togo, have designated their focal points. “We, therefore, need the support of our Honourable ECOWAS Parliamentarians, particularly those from member states that have not done so, to facilitate this enforcement process by ensuring that their states set up the appropriate mechanisms for the enforcement of the decisions of the court,” Justice Edward Amoako Asante.
Justice Edward Amoako Asante added by reminding regional MPs to work swiftly on addressing the challenge of enforcing the decisions of the ECOWAS Court which he said if not addressed “could affect its capacity to effectively play its role in the integration process,” stating that “the court plays a strategic role in our regional integration process as it assists the Members States to build a culture of democracy and good governance by helping to strengthen human rights protection and respect for the rule of law.”
He furthered that the community’s court is committed to these objectives, under Article 4(g) of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty which says that the recognition, promotion, and protection of human and peoples’ rights should be done in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
As a result, the ECOWAS Court President entreated the ECOWAS Parliament MPs that, “as stakeholders, we must all rise to defend the integrity of the Court through the enforcement of its decisions as integration is impossible without s strong protection of human rights for which the citizens are the ultimate beneficiaries.”
https://any.peopleandpowermag.com/ecowas-court-advocates-for-enforcement-of-court-decisions-by-regional-mps/
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