ECOWAS COURT DELEGATION ARRIVES PRAIA FOR OUTREACH PROGRAMME IN CAPE VERDE

A delegation of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, led by its President, Honorable Justice Edward Amoako Asante has arrived Praia for a weeklong outreach programme to the Court´s stakeholders in Cape Verde and intended to strengthen its dialogue with citizens.

“This is the last of the three programmes of this inaugural edition of the campaign scheduled for 2019 after the successful ones held in Sierra Leone and Liberia earlier in the year and a new initiative by the Court deliberately intended to strengthen our existing visibility programmes and address the public concern about their inadequacy”, the President of the Court said.

He added that with the pervasive ignorance of the Court among the citizens, it was “incumbent on the Court to strengthen its mechanisms for engaging with the citizens, the real owners of the Court and in appreciation of their role in ensuring its effectiveness and success”.

Justice Asante said the participants were ‘deliberately chosen in order to accommodate all those segments of the Community’s citizenry whose knowledge of the Court and its procedures, jurisdiction and mandate will enhance either their performance or benefit of the ECOWAS integration project.

The Court already undertakes sensitization campaigns in three Member States annually complemented by external court sessions and radio as well as television discussion programes.

The outreach programme is in four parts opening with a sensitization campaign for Lawyers, Immigration, Customs and Police officers as well as Journalists, Civil Society Organisations, ECOWAS Ambassadors and officials of the host government.

This will be followed by a special forum for Judges, Prosecutors, Lawyers, Law Students and Lecturers and concluded with a town hall meeting.

During these activities, there will be presentations by judges and officials of the Court on its Jurisdiction, its Human Rights mandate and the enforcement of its decisions as well as women’s rights.

Other presentations will revolve around how to file cases before the Court and an overview of the Court.

Judges of the Court will hold a press conference on the final day of the outreach before the departure of the delegation.

The campaign also includes an advocacy component with visits to strategic officials of the host government including the Presidents of the Judicial Council, National Assembly and Supreme Court as well as the Attorney General.

Also included in the Court’s delegation are the Vice President and other Judges of the Court, the Chief Registrar and his Deputy as well as other officials.