ECOWAS Seminar Urges Effective Coordination Of International Humanitarian Law

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Participants at the 10th annual ECOWAS, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) seminar have called on West African countries to appoint focal points in the relevant ministries and agencies for the effective coordination and implementation of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in the region.
   
The three-day seminar, which ended 23rd February 2012, also urged Member States to implement the ECOWAS Plan of Action on humanitarian affairs.
   
The meeting which was held under the theme: International Humanitarian Law in West Africa, 2001 – 2011: Gains, Challenges and Contemporary Issues, recommended that ECOWAS Member States should sign and ratify the African Union Convention on Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, also known as the Kampala Convention, as a matter of urgency and consider its full implementation.
   
Member States implementing the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols I and II and/or the Rome Statute, should also adopt an integrated and inclusive approach for a comprehensive review of their obligations under the IHL, the participants added.
   
Topics discussed at the seminar included Gains and Challenges of the ECOWAS-ICRC collaboration, the Challenge of Improving Compliance with International Humanitarian Law, and the Legal Remedies and upcoming developments in humanitarian action.
   
Dr. Adrienne Diop, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Gender gave the welcome statement, while Mr. Zoran Jovanovic, Head of the ICRC Delegation, delivered the opening statement.
   
Mrs. Ifeyinwa Rita Njokanma of the International and Comparative Law Department, Ministry of Justice, represented the Nigerian Minister of Justice, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, delivered the closing speech.

ECOWAS Press Release

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