MFWA writes to ECOWAS Chairman on Boko Haram, Need for Justice

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has called on the Chairman of ECOWAS,
President John Dramani Mahama, to i!e "rominence #ustice and the fiht aainst im"unit$ in
his onoin efforts to deal %ith the securit$ challenes facin the reion&
Accordin to the MFWA, the onoin efforts to deal %ith securit$ challenes of the reion must
'e "ursued alonside a clear and "ur"oseful commitment to "unish "er"etrators of crime and
human rihts !iolations and "ro!idin #ustice to !ictims of such crimes and !iolations&
(We are of the !ie% that #ustice has al%a$s 'een a fundamental element and "re)re*uisite in the
"romotion of "eace and sta'ilit$& +t is im"ortant to ha!e in "lace, a stron #ustice mechanism that
deters "er"etrators of crimes and assures "otential !ictims of #ustice,, said, the E-ecuti!e
Director of the MFWA, Sulemana .raimah&
The oranisation has therefore e-"ressed ra!e concern a'out the d%indlin authorit$ and
ca"acit$ of the ECOWAS communit$ Court of Justice mainl$ as a result of non)com"liance %ith
#udements of Court '$ mem'er states&
Accordin to the MFWA/s E-ecuti!e director, the ECOWAS Court has so far deli!ered man$
seminal #udements and "ro!en to 'e a 'old ad#udicator of last resort %ithin the reion&
0o%e!er, o!er 123 of the Court/s #udements in!ol!in mem'er states ha!e not 'een com"lied
%ith&
(We cannot 'e tal4in a'out "eace and securit$ %ithout a commitment to ensure #ustice& We are,
therefore, callin on the ECOWAS Chairman, to include the issue of Justice and the
em"o%erment of the ECOWAS Court in all his aenda for "eace and in his deli'erations %ith
colleaue 0eads of State,, Sulemana recommended&
The MFWA/s letter comes ahead of President Mahama/s in!itation of ECOWAS leaders to a
meetin in Accra on Frida$ Ma$ 52, to discuss the securit$ situation in the reion es"eciall$ the
recent attac4s of the .o4o 0aram rou" in 6ieria&
Below is the full letter from the MFWA to the ECOWAS Chairman
The Chairman
ECOWAS
Flastaff 0ouse
7e"u'lic of 8hana
Accra, 8hana
Ma$ 9:, 92;<=
>our E-cellenc$,
Need for Stron! Justice Mechanism in "ealin! with Securit# Challen!es of the
$e!ion
On 'ehalf of our "artner oranisations in ECOWAS mem'er states, the Media Foundation for
West Africa (MFWA) %ishes to once aain conratulate $ou on $our election to the hih office
of Chairman of the ECOWAS& We also %ish to further commend $ou on $our onoin efforts in
tac4lin the securit$ "ro'lems in the reion, "articularl$ the threats "osed '$ the .o4o 0aram
rou"&
>our E-cellenc$, %e are %ritin to $ou to hihliht the need to ha!e a stron #ustice mechanism
as "art of the onoin efforts to im"ro!e the securit$ situation in the reion&
As a ci!il societ$ rou", %e are ha""$ that $ou ha!e chosen to focus on dealin %ith the most
im"ortant challene facin the reion at the moment ? the alarmin threats to reional Peace and
Securit$& This is 'ecause, "eace and sta'ilit$ is central to the fulfilment of ha!in an ECOWAS
of citi@ens rather than of states, as en!isioned in the aenda of the reional 'od$&
0o%e!er, as $ou are a%are, >our E-ecllenc$, the fiht for "eace and sta'ilit$ re*uires !er$
stron #ustice mechanisms that ma4e it "ossi'le for "er"etrators of crime (es"eciall$ international
crimes) to 'e dul$ "unished and for !ictims to ha!e access to #ustice&
We are of the !ie% that #ustice has al%a$s 'een a fundamental element and "re)re*uisite in the
"romotion of "eace and sta'ilit$& This is %h$ %e are dee"l$ concerned a'out the %ea4enin
authorit$ and ca"acit$ of the ECOWAS Court of Justice&
So far, the ECOWAS Court has deli!ered man$ seminal #udements and "ro!en to 'e a 'old
ad#udicator of last resort %ithin the reion& 0o%e!er, o!er 123 of the Court/s #udements
in!ol!in mem'er states ha!e not 'een com"lied %ith& This s"ate of non)com"liance is
e-tremel$ %orr$in as it reduces the authorit$ and usefulness of the Court& The situation is also
%orr$in 'ecause it fosters im"unit$ and reduces citi@ens/ confidence in the Court as a reional
#udicial mechanism&
Officials of the Court ha!e on se!eral occasions com"lained a'out the issue of non)com"liance
as a 'reach of the Statutes of the ECOWAS and the Treat$ that esta'lishes the Court& Se!eral
studies and statements ha!e also "ointed to the issue of non)com"liance as a ma#or challene to
the Court/s authorit$, credi'ilit$ and continued rele!ance&
>our E-cellenc$, i!en the centralit$ of rule of la% and #ustice to $our "ursuit of "eace and
sta'ilit$ in the reion, %e are callin on $ou to "rioritise the strenthenin of the Court '$ urin
mem'er states to res"ect the #udments of the Court&
We also ure $ou to lead the in!ocation of the sanctions "ro!isions in the ECOWAS treat$
aainst mem'er states that refuse to com"l$ %ith decisions of the Communit$ Court&

We a""reciate $our consideration of this letter, and %ould %elcome the chance to discuss these
issues %ith $ou or $our re"resentati!es in reater de"th&
Sincerel$
Sulemana .raimah
E-ecuti!e Director