Article  Posté le 15:06 06-09-2022, modifié le 15:06 06-09-2022 par Tournons la Page

A symposium on strengthening democracy and good governance in West Africa to examine the frameworks and tools supporting democratic governance is being held since this morning (September 6, 2022) in Dakar by Kabiné Komara, former Prime Minister of Guinea. Professor David Ekoué Dosseh, Coordinator of Tournons La Page Togo (TLP Togo), Spokesperson of the Front Citoyen Togo Debout (FCTD) and Coordinator of the Universités Sociales du Togo (UST) is taking part in this important meeting which brings a plus in the fight for alternation, good governance and democracy in African states.

At the podium of this conference, Professor David Ekoué Dosseh, panelist, will speak on governance in Africa with a focus on West Africa subject in recent years to series of constitutional, institutional, electoral coups that justify, rightly or wrongly, the advent of military coups salutary for the people and condemned by the international community including ECOWAS, Economic Community of West African States.

This colloquium, which was inspired, among others, by the second edition of the Kofi Annan Forum on Peace and Security on "Democracy and Governance in the Context of Complex Crises in West Africa", held in Accra (Ghana) on December 8 and 9, 2021 (a forum dedicated to the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the 2001 ECOWAS Additional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Praia Declaration on Elections and Stability in West Africa), the African Union Reflection Forum on Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa held on 16 and 17 March 2022 in Accra and the Accra Declaration approved by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), has a triple objective, namely:

• Provide a platform for in-depth analysis, including of the legal regime and decision-making procedures, and recommendations that contribute to a more informed and context-specific revision of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
• Provide advocacy points for the UN, AU and civil society to use in dialogue with state actors to encourage them to move the process forward, as requested by the ECOWAS Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
• Establish the link and impact of terrorism on political stability in West Africa and make concrete recommendations on policy responses to address this challenge in the region.

It is organized by UNOWAS (United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel is a political mission of the United Nations in Dakar), UNDP (United Nations Development Program), OSIWA (Open Society Initiative for West Africa, with the support of the Kofi Annan Foundation and the National Democratic Institute (NDI)

A l’issu du colloque, il est attendu que les participants génèrent et formulent des données empiriques et des arguments juridiques et politiques concrets pour contribuer à une meilleure compréhension des avantages de la révision du Protocole additionnel et les préoccupations des Etats membres sont analysées, augmentent le consensus nécessaire au sein de la CEDEAO à travers l'élan soutenu de la société civile et l'engagement politique de l'ONU et de ses partenaires, avancent des options concrètes en vue d'un protocole révisé qui prévoit des mécanismes de prévention et de sanction pertinents, saisissent l’opportunité pour inscrire des dispositions favorables à la participation active des femmes et des jeunes dans le cadre normatif attendu, formulent des recommandations concrètes pour des mesures antiterroristes efficaces dans la région, amènent le RSSG de l'UNOWAS et les responsables de l'OSIWA, ainsi que ceux de la KAF et du NDI à utiliser leurs bons offices pour transmettre les conclusions des délibérations au président de la Conférence des chefs d'État et de gouvernement de la CEDEAO ainsi qu'aux dirigeants des États membres individuels.

The work ends this Wednesday, September 07, 2022.

Rodrigue Ahego
Project Officer at TLP Togo