MEDIA ADVISORY

INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

What: Regional Meeting with Representatives of the Judiciary from West Africa

Who: Organized by the Department of Political Affairs of the African

Union Commission in collaboration with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire

and International Alert

When: 29th– 31st August 2016

Where: Hotel Belle Côte, Conference Hall, Abidjan

Objective: The meeting aims to conduct a dialogue with members of the Judiciary in West Africa to strengthen Rule of Law and promote Justice Reform

Expected Outcomes:

Increased awareness by ECOWAS Member States on the norms, pronouncements, decisions and instruments adopted by the AU in order to promote good governance and democracy through adherence to the Rule of Law and Constitutionalism;

Identification of best practices for a strong, effective, impartial and independent judiciary in the ECOWAS region;

Exploration of how to create a peer review mechanism and process which allows Member States to cooperate in the promotion of the rule of law and justice reform in the region.

Participants: Representatives of the Judiciary in West African States, Representatives of the Bar, Representatives of civil society, Regional Courts, AU organs

and Media

Background:

The meeting is being organized with the representatives of the judiciary in West Africa as a key stakeholder in the promotion of constitutionalism and rule of law in West Africa. It is within the framework of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) as the overall political and institutional framework aimed at connecting, empowering, and building capacities and appropriate responses to the challenges of governance in Africa, for African Union Organs and Institutions.

As one of the five Clusters of the African Governance Platform (AGP), the Constitutionalism and Rule of Law Cluster seeks to promote and enhance adherence to constitutional order and the principles of the rule of law in Africa through:

i. Addressing Unconstitutional Changes in Government;

ii. Upholding Constitutionalism and Rule of Law;

iii. Supporting Post-Conflict Countries in entrenching the culture of constitutionalism and the Rule of Law; and

iv. Capacity building programmes for Judiciaries, Parliaments, as well as other related institutions.

One of the ways in which the Cluster aims to promote its mandate is by engaging regional and national judiciaries to strengthen their role as guarantors of constitutional values. The meeting in the West African region is a sequence of regional meetings organized by the Cluster, to strengthen the judiciary. The first was held in the Southern African Region in December 2015. It will be followed by other regional workshops in Central Africa, Eastern Africa and Northern Africa.

MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES ARE INVITED TO COVER THE EVENT

For more details on the meeting, please contact:

Mr. Calixte Aristide Mbari | Ag. Head of Division at the Department of Political Affairs | African Union Commission | Tel: + 251 913361605| E-mail: mbaricalixte@hotmail.com / MbariC@africa-union.org

Ms Nokukhanya Ntuli, | Constitutionalism Expert at the Department of Political Affairs | African Union Commission, | Email: noxybrown@hotmail.com

Mr. Marc Ninida Naba | Democratic Governance Analyst, Political Affairs | African Union Commission | Tel: + 251 929181583| E-mail: marcnabaa@yahoo.fr

Website:

Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@african-union.org I Website: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

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