The Director of Programmes of the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) in The Gambia, Edmund Amarkwei Foley, has called on the African Union (AU) to as a matter of urgency take steps to offer direct financial support to its member States as the continent battles to tackle the spread of the novel Coronavirus, Covid-19, on the continent.
Lawyer Edmund Amarkwei Foley made the call when he delivered via Zoom, the second lecture of the fourteen (14) week-long “Law and Ethics Web Series”, under the theme, “Regional Governance in Africa in the Wake of Covid-19 and Prospects for the Future”, on Wednesday the 13th of May 2020. The online seminar is organized jointly by the African Centre on Law and Ethics (ACLE) and the African Centre of International Criminal Justice (ACICJ), both based at the GIMPA Faculty of Law.
“So far we have seen every wonderful intervention on paper In the continental strategy but we need to back it up with money. If the AU reforms are talking about sustainability in financing and funding, then it is important that we save every little penny that we are making from not moving around into that fund (the solidarity fund). I think the example of ECOWAS of direct provision of services and support to countries should be emulated by the African Union and other Regional Economic Communities” Mr. Foley said.
Other REC Bodies
The law lecturer and Human Rights advocate in his presentation called on other Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on the continent to follow after the example of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in the provision of support for their member states in the fight to stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa.
“We haven’t heard much from the others Regional Economic Communities such as SADC (Southern African Development Community), COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), and of course the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) in North Africa. We would want to see that they emulate the example of ECOWAS” Mr. Foley posited.
The Law and Ethics Web Series
The Law and Ethics Web Series begun on Wednesday the 6th of May 2020 on the online meeting platform, Zoom at 2pm. The pending presentations on May 20, May 27, Jun 3, Jun 10, Jun 17, Jun 24, Jul 1, Jul 8, Jul 15, Jul 22, Jul 29, and Aug 5, 2020, will come on as scheduled.
Interested persons may join any of the upcoming sessions by visiting the Zoom application and using the Webinar ID: 848-2795-0621 and Password: 550458.
Various speakers have been lined up for the exercise by the organizers. The series is being coordinated by Dr. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu, a Lecturer and Head of Law Centers at the GIMPA Faculty of Law. The 13th of May 2020 session was moderated by Ms. Selasi Dede Bedzrah, a student at the Ghana School of Law, and a GIMPA Faculty of Law alumni, under the distinguished patronage of the Rector of GIMPA, Professor Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson and the honorific Dean of GIMPA Law Faculty, Justice Sir Dennis Adjei.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM
