Africa must act to stop the west - Barton-Odro

The First Deputy Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Ebo Barton-Odro, has told the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) that the time had come for Africa to act swiftly to stop the West from dictating to the continent, when it comes to legal matters that have an international character.

“If we have the necessary legal systems in place, it will help prevent small magistrate courts in the European countries from making orders that our heads of states should be sent to the International Court of Justice,” the Ghanaian legislator stressed, noting “that is very key.”

The First Deputy Speaker, who is the leader of a five-member Ghanaian delegation to the Second Ordinary Session of the Third Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament, made this observation on Tuesday, when contributing to a debate on the floor of the continent’s Consultative and Advisory body.

His argument was provoked by a debate on the Activity Report of the Pan-African Parliament, presented by the President of the PAP, Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi.

President Amadi, in his presentation, told the Assembly that the PAP was working in collaboration with the African Court to strengthen existing laws that deal with human rights issues.

Barton-Odro, who doubles as Member of Parliament for Cape-Coast North, said the achievement of having strong courts in Africa to stop the west from making orders to heads of state in the continent, was “not to say the courts are going to be compromised.”

“If we do the right thing,” he said, “African courts would be respected, and we would have the right to enforce our own human rights.”

Leaders in the African continent are mostly hauled before the International Court of Justice for trial on abuse of human rights because of weak legal systems that exist.

They have often been imprisoned or detained on foreign soils other than their home country, or other states in the African continent, whereas, the situation in Europe or America was different.

The former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, is the first African leader to be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. He is currently serving a lengthy jail sentence in a British prison, after being found guilty of aiding and abetting Sierra Leone war crimes.

The former Head of State of La Cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, is also being tried on four counts of crimes against humanity, murder, rape, and other forms of sexual violence and inhumane acts committed by his people during the civil war that nearly tore the West African country apart.

Several cases involving leaders of the African continent are still pending before the ICC.

Countries in the West have always strived for their nationals to be tried on their home soil whenever their nationals violate human rights laws, because of the strong legal systems they have in place.

This, according to Barton-Odro, needs to be replicated in Africa, to show the world that the continent had come of age.

Sharing his views with The Chronicle on the transformational drive of the PAP into a body with legislative powers, the former Deputy Attorney-General said: “that was a necessity.”

He said when that is achieved, the continent would be able to combat cyber crimes, drug trafficking and other numerous problems individual member countries were struggling to address.