The Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Sidie Tunis has identified exclusion of vulnerable and marginalized groups in decision making as one of the major factors responsible for rising crisis and insecurity in the sub-region.
To this end, he called for the inclusion of people from vulnerable and marginalized groups in the decision-making and democratic processes of societies which he said are key to continued peace, security and sustainable development.
Mr Tunis was speaking in Monrovia , Liberia, at the opening of the delocalized meeting of the Joint Committee of the ECOWAS Parliament on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and the African Peer Review Mechanism and Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, as well as Committee on Social Affairs, Gender and Women Empowerment.
The Speaker said as inequality had been identified as one of the bases of subversive acts in the region, efforts should be made to address it headlong.
“The marginalization of vulnerable groups from important decision-making processes, particularly ethnic or religious minorities, women and young people, provides fertile ground for conflict of violent extremism. We must convince ourselves that supporting the participation of people from vulnerable and marginalized groups in the decision-making and democratic processes of our societies is imperative for peace, security and sustainable development,” he said.
“Political inclusivity has the advantage of enabling all points of view to be expressed and taken into consideration, and of enhancing the representation of every segment of the population, including women and young people.”
The Vice President of Liberia Dr. Jewel Howard Taylor expressed worry that political inclusivity was still far from being achieved as indicated by a January 2023 UN Women Facts and Figures report, which shows that women on the continent and globally were yet to be accorded the acceptable number in the distribution of political offices.
She expressed regret that even at the ECOWAS Parliament, where the mandatory acceptable standard is a minimum 30% representation of women from each member-state , current statistics indicates that out of 115 members, only 21 are female – a mere 18.26%.
Dr Taylor appealed to the parliamentarians to “proffer policy prescriptions which compel Governments to take affirmative actions for the inclusion of women at all levels in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of governments”.
President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray also noted that the disconnect between government and its citizens was a contributing factor to the volatility and threats to democracy in the sub-region.
Mr Touray, who was represented by Josephine Nkurumah, Permanent Representative of the ECOWAS Commission to Liberia, urged Members of the ECOWAS Parliament to consider the role of civic engagements as a key strategy to building a more inclusive society.
