The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice is set to hold a conference to address unconstitutional change of government in some member states.
The conference, which will hold between 22nd of May to the 25th of May, 2023, is part of the Community court’s annual work programme and (would take place) is set to hold its international conference in Banjul, The Gambia, with the theme “ECOWAS’ Zero Tolerance for Unconstitutional Change of Government”.
The 2023 conference will provide an opportunity for the court to address the urgent and grave issues of concern in the ECOWAS community legal landscape, particularly in the last two years that has seen the unconstitutional changes of governments in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.
It will also focus on the need for participatory democracy and constitutional order in all ECOWAS member states against the backdrop of the regional policy of Zero Tolerance for Unconstitutional Change of Government.
According to the President, ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, Justice Edward Asante in his address at the 2023 First Ordinary Session of the Fifth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament, “the recent democratic reversals in the three Member States of Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali eloquently demonstrate the fragility of democracies across the region and emphasised the need for collective vigilance and coherent action in its protection.”
“The military coups in these three Member States and the tension that accompanies elections in Member States point to the need for the identification of the underlying issues that confront our democracy and the implementation of measures for securing it, which are mainly governance related as well as other issues in order to ensure that our democratic practice responds to the yearnings of our people,” Justice Asante explained.
The over 200 participants, mainly jurists, members of the academia and students at the conference will examine the linkages with the rule of law; the duty of member states to respect, protect and fulfill human rights in their territories; the underlying factors for political instability, terrorism and insecurity in the region; failure by member states to fulfill their obligations to ECOWAS; weak institutions of member states; as well as the lack of political will for the implementation of community obligations.
Other areas of focus include, examining the mandates of the court in facilitating the integration process of the community and holding member states accountable for their Treaty obligations, the roles of the national courts of member states, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice in upholding and sustaining the rule of law, among others.
Another significant linkage the conference will examine is the roles of the national courts of member states and the ECOWAS Court of Justice in upholding and sustaining the rule of law and constitutional democracy in the region.
Olusola Akintonde
