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The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Secretary-General, Chileshe Kapwepwe, has urged member states to accelerate the domestication of legal instruments that have remained dormant at the national level.
Speaking on Thursday at the 27th meeting of COMESA Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General held at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Kapwepwe highlighted the need for closer collaboration between member states and the COMESA Secretariat to ensure that instruments adopted by the bloc were effectively implemented within national legal frameworks.
“May I therefore appeal to you to work closely with the legal and corporate affairs division to reflect on how best we can accelerate the domestication of instruments that have been adopted over the years,” Kapwepwe said.
Her call was supported by Zambia’s Justice Minister, Princess Kasune Zulu, who stressed that successful implementation of COMESA’s regional programmes depended on the domestication and ratification of legal instruments at the national level.
Zulu noted that the slow pace of signing and ratification by some member states had hindered the integration efforts of the COMESA region.
“Let me bring to your attention, an issue that concerns both the Secretariat and all of us. COMESA has over the years passed numerous legal instruments and protocols which regrettably have still not yet been domesticated at national level by some member states,” Zulu stated.
Meanwhile, COMESA Court of Justice President, Justice Lombe Chibesakunda, raised concerns about the ongoing conflict in Sudan, where the court is located.
The conflict has disrupted court operations, prompting the temporary relocation of the registry to Zambia. Despite these challenges, Chibesakunda reassured that the court remains committed to upholding the rule of law and ensuring prompt dispute resolution.
“It is our hope that Sudan will return to a peaceful state soon and that its people can eventually return to their homes,” Chibesakunda said.
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