By Chinyere Omeire
Mrs Marie Saine, the Registrar of Judicial Records, Archives, and Publication at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, has highlighted the importance of protecting women and children’s rights in West Africa for economic growth and development.
Saine made the statement during the sensitisation outreach by the Community Court of Justice, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), today Tuesday in Lagos.
According to her, women and children in the region face numerous challenges, including gender-based violence, child marriage, discrimination, and unequal opportunities.
The court, she explained, had taken significant steps to address the issues.
She added that the court had adopted key instruments such as the Supplementary Act on Equality of Rights Between Women and Men (2015) and the ECOWAS Child Policy and Strategic Action Plan (2019-2030).
According to her, the approach to protecting women and children’s rights, include allowing individuals and non-governmental organisations to file cases of alleged rights violations.
Saine said the court facilitates access to justice for victims.
She said other approach taken by the court were interpreting and applying regional and international human rights instruments.
Saine said the court’s decisions had contributed to developing regional human rights jurisprudence, thereby shaping national frameworks and protecting women’s and children’s rights in West Africa.
Also, the Acting Deputy Chief Registrar of the ECOWAS Court, Mr Gaye Sowe, spoke on the mandate of the court and enforcement of its judgments.
Sowe said the supplementary protocol of the court had granted individuals and corporate bodies direct access to the court for specific causes of action, including human rights violations.
He noted that the court had given numerous decisions in exercising its jurisdiction.
According to him, the court has the mandate to interpret and apply various ECOWAS legal instruments.
He said national courts of member states referred issues of interpretation of community texts to the court to ensure uniformity.
The Representative of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mr Lucas Koyejo, emphasised the need for synergy between the NHRC and ECOWAS Court.
Koyejo noted that both institutions faced similar challenges, particularly enforcement of judgments and decisions of the court.
He explained that the enforcement of ECOWAS Court decisions depended on national institutions, specifically the executive branch of each country.
He, however, believed that the NHRC could support litigants to ensure that ECOWAS Court’s judgments were enforced.
He highlighted the importance of collaboration between the two institutions, describing them as key pillars in West Africa’s human rights framework.
He expressed confidence that their partnership would significantly improve the promotion and protection of human rights in the region.
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