A book on the evolving Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) normative architecture and contemporary international law linking the Community’s intervention with its overall Peace and Security Architecture was launched on Wednesday, 17th April, 2024 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. The book is titled “The Evolving ECOWAS Normative Architecture and Contemporary International Law: A Case Study of Pro-Democracy Intervention in The Gambia”.
Reviewing the book, Prof. Appiaagyei-Atua, a Senior Lecturer, at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, stated that the book reflects a comprehensive approach of reviewing the evolution of ECOWAS from a largely economic forum to a multipurpose sub-regional organisation devoted to the promotion of human rights, democracy, and respect for rule of law among others. He added that the book highlights the legal response of ECOWAS and the African Union to conflict situations on the African continent and provides an overview of the institutional transformation of ECOWAS as an economic organisation into one for the promotion of a rule-based system anchored on the entrenchment of democratic norms and the rule of law towards regional stability, for effective economic integration for the benefit of the citizens of ECOWAS. He further stated that the book offers a synopsis of ECOWAS’ general interventions and institutional development, positioning ECOWAS as one of the most dynamic Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa and an effective component of the African Peace and Security Architecture-linking all RECs of Africa.
Prof. Atua also noted that the book provides insights into the interaction between pro-democracy interventions and the prohibition of the use of force under the United Nations Charter, and reconciles legal principles with the evolving norm of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in the wake of the rising primacy of respect for human rights and the changing scope of the traditional principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Launching the book, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong MP, commended Dr. Senalor Yawlui for the publication and recommended the book to policy makers, academia, the diplomatic community, staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and students engaged in contemporary issues in public international law.
In his remarks, the author of the book Dr. Senalor K, Yawuli, who is the Deputy Head of Mission/Permanent Representative of Ghana to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and Ghana’s legal expert to the International Criminal Court (ICC), The Hague, The Netherlands for the period: October 2022-October 2026, and a former Adjunct Lecturer in public international law and international trade and investment law at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Faculty of Law in Accra, stated that he was motivated to write the book to help fill the existing gaps in knowledge and the literature on contemporary issues in public international law as applicable to the ECOWAS sub-region. He was hopeful that the book would serve as a helpful reference material for policymakers, academia, and students among others.
