Official Journal Vol. 50 of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) English Edition December 2006 / January 2007 ' THIRTY F IRST S E S S I O N OF T H E A U T H O R I T Y O F H E A D S OF S T A T E A N D G O V E R N M E N T 19TH J A N U A R Y 2007. O U A G A D O U G O U . BURKINA F A S O • F I F T Y - S E V E N T H O R D I N A R Y S E S S I O N O F T H E C O U N C I L O F MIN ISTERS 18TH-19TH D E C E M B E R 2006, O U A G A D O U G O U , BURKINA FASO C O N T E N T S P A G E S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T S S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T AtSAMQUQl ON THE HARMONIZATION O F POL IC IES A N D O F T H E R E G U L A T O R Y F R A M E W O R K F O R T H E INFORMATION A N D C O M M U N I C A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y (ICT) S E C T O R S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A/SA.2/Q1/07 ON A C C E S S A N D I N T E R C O N N E C T I O N IN R E S P E C T OF JCT S E C T O R N E T W O R K S A N D S E R V I C E S 21 S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A/SA.3 /01 /07 O N T H E L E G A L R E G I M E A P P L I C A B L E TO N E T W O R K O P E R A T O R S A N D S E R V I C E P R O V I D E R S 34 S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A / S A 4 / G 1 / 0 7 O N N U M B E R I N G P L A N M A N A G E M E N T S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A / S A . 5/01/07 ON T H E M A N A G E M E N T O F THE R A D K > F R E Q U E N C Y S P E C T R U M 49 58 S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A/SA.6/01/07 ON U N I V E R S A L A C C E S S / S E R V I C E 64 S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A/SA.7/01/07 R E L A T I N G TO T H E A D O P T I O N O F T H E A M E N D E D V E R S I O N O F T H E E C O W A S A N T H E M A N D T H E H A R M O N I Z E D LYRICS IN THE F R E N C H A N D E N G L I S H L A N G U A G E S 73 S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A/SA,8/01/07 A D O P T I N G T H E E C O W A S P O L I C Y O N D I S A S T E R R E D U C T I O N 76 S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A / S A . 9/01/07 A M E N D I N G A R T I C L E S 1,3, 6, A N D 21 OF THE R E V I S E D T R E A T Y 95 Goran*- xmixnuati KB? va re SUPPLEMENTARY ACT A/SA. 10/01/07 100 RELATING TO T H E A D O P T I O N O F S E L E C T I O N CRITERIA F O R DETERMINING M E M B E R S H I P OF E C O W A S M E M B E R STATES O N THE A F R I C A N UNION P E A C E A N D SECURITY COUNCIL SUPPLEMENTARY ACT A/SA. 11/01/07 103 C H A N G I N G THE N A M E " C O U N C I L O F E L D E R S " IN THE E N G L I S H V E R S I O N O F T H E 1999 P R O T O C O L R E L A T I N G T O T H E M E C H A N I S M F O R C O N F L I C T PREVENTION A N D EXTENDING THE T E N U R E O F T H E SAID COUNCIL F R O M O N E TO T H R E E Y E A R S SUPPLEMENTARY ACTA /SA12 /01 /07 106 ESTABLISHING THE S U B - R E G I O N A L M E C H A N I S M F O R COORDINATION OF BIRD F L U ERADICATION A N D C O N T R O L IN W E S T A F R I C A REGULAT IONS REGULATION C/REG1/12/06 - 109 A P P R O V I N G THE 8 U D G E T O F THE E C O W A S C O M M I S S I O N F O R T H E 2007 FINANCIAL YEAR REGULATION C/REG2/12/06 109 A P P R O V I N G THE B U D G E T OF T H E C O M M U N I T Y PARLIAMENT F O R THE 2007 FINANCIAL Y E A R REGULATfONC/REG3/ lZ/06 1 1 0 A P P R O V I N G THE B U D G E T O F THE COMMUNITY C O U R T O F J U S T I C E F O R THE 2007 FINANCIAL Y E A R REGULATION C/REG.4/12/06 111 A P P R O V I N G THE B U D G E T O F THE W E S T A F R I C A N HEALTH ORGANISAT ION (WAHO) F O R THE 2007 FflVANCfAL Y E A R REGULATION C/REG 5/12/06 112 A P P R O V I N G T H E B U D G E T O F T H E I N T E R G O V E R N M E N T A L ACTION G R O U P AGAINST M O N E Y LAUNDERING IN W E S T AFRICA FOR THE 2007 FINANCIAL Y E A R REGULATION C/REG8/1Z/06 113 A P P R O V I N G THE A U D I T E D F INANCIAL S T A T E M E N T S O F THfE E X E C U T I V E SECRETARIAT F O R THE 2004 FINANCIAL Y E A R REGULATION C/REG7/12/06 11 APPROVING THE AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE COMMUNITY COURT OF JUSTICE F O R THE 2004 FINANCIAL Y E A R REGULATION C/REGS/12/06 11 ADOPTION O F A RATE F O R THE DAILY S U B S I S T E N C E A L L O W A N C E A N D TRAVEL F A R E S F O R EMINENT P E R S O N S O N OFFICIAL MISSION F O R THE C O M M U N I T Y INSTITUTIONS REGULATION C/REG9/12/06 11 CREATING A S A L A R Y S C A L E A N D O T H E R E M O L U M E N T S F O R P R O F E S S I O N A L STAFF G R A D E D2 1 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 REGULATION C/REG. 10/12/06 115 RELATING TO P A Y M E N T OF C O M P E N S A T O R Y HOUSING A L L O W A N C E TO T H E P R O F E S S I O N A L S T A F F OF T H E C O M M U N I T Y REGULATION C/REG. 11/12/06 116 A P P R O V I N G A B U D G E T A R Y ALLOCATION F O R THE M A N A G E M E N T O F THE E C O W A S LOGISTICS D E P O T IN S I E R R A L E O N E REGULATION C/REG. 12/12/06 1 1 7 FORMALLY ESTABLISHING A COMMUNITY L E V Y M A N A G E M E N T C O M M I T T E E AT THE E C O W A S COMMISSION REGULATION C/REG. 13/12/06 118 ALLOCATING A L U M P S U M G R A N T F O R L O C A L S U P P O R T S E R V I C E S F O R T H E O F F I C E OF T H E S P E A K E R O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y PARL IAMENT IN T H E H O M E STATE REGULATION C/REG. 14/12/06 119 G R A N T I N G A R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y A L L O W A N C E TO T H E VICE P R E S I D E N T OF T H E E C O W A S COMMISSION REGULATION C/REG. 15/12/06 120 ADOPTING A N E C O W A S INTERNAL AUDIT C H A R T E R REGULATION C/REG. 16/11/06 122 APPOINTING MR. J E A N D E DIEU S O M D A A S THE VICE P R E S I D E N T O F T H E E C O W A S COMMISSION REGULATION C/REG17/11/06 123 APPOINTING DR. (MRS.) A D A O H A C. O K W U O S A A S THE C O M M I S S I O N E R F O R ADMINISTRATION AND F INANCE OF THE E C O W A S COMMISSION REGULATION C/REG 18/11/06 124 APPOINTING MR. OUSSEINISALIFOU A S THE COMMISSIONER FOR AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT & WATER R E S O U R C E S OF THE E C O W A S COMMISSION REGULATION C/REG 19/11/06 124 APPOINTING MR. C O M L A K A D J E A S THE COMMISSIONER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE E C O W A S COMMISSION REGULATION C/REG20/11/06 125 APPOINTING MR. M O H A M M E D D A R A M Y A S T H E C O M M I S S I O N E R F O R T R A D E , C U S T O M S , INDUSTRY, MINES AND F R E E M O V E M E N T OF P E R S O N S A N D G O O D S OF THE E C O W A S COMMISSION REGULATION C/REG21/11/06 126 APPOINTING DR. L A M B E R T N ' G A L A D J O B A M B A A S THE C O M M I S S I O N E R F O R M A C R O E C O N O M I C POLICY O F THE E C O W A S COMMISSION REGULATION REG22/12/06 1 2 7 ON THE A D O P T I O N O F A C O D E O F C O N D U C T F O R INTERNAL A U D I T O R S O F COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS REGULATION C/REG23/12/06 131 A D O P T I N G T H E F R A M E W O R K F O R S T R E N G T H E N I N G C A P A C I T Y IN T H E D E V E L O P M E N T A N D INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF E N E R G Y STATISTICS IN T H E E C O W A S REGION 2 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 REGULATION C/REG.24/12/06 132 A D O P T I N G T H E F R A M E W O R K F O R S T R E N G T H E N I N G C A P A C I T Y IN T H E D E V E L O P M E N T AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS IN THE E C O W A S REGION REGULATION C/REG.25/12/06 133 ESTABL ISHING A R E G I O N A L C O M M I T T E E O N P O V E R T Y STATISTICS A N D MILLENNIUM D E V E L O P M E N T G O A L S INDICATORS OF THE E C O W A S R E G I O N REGULATION C/REG.26/12/06 134 RELATING TO THE R E S T R U C T U R I N G OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT F U N C T I O N IN COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS A N D T H E E S T A B L I S H M E N T OF T H E POSITION/ OFF ICE OF T H E CHIEF INTERNAL AUDITOR OF THE COMMUNITY REGULATION C/REG.27/12/06 135 RELATING TO T H E R E - O R G A N I S A T I O N OF T H E O F F I C E OF T H E FINANCIAL C O N T R O L L E R OF T H E COMMUNTIY INSTITUTIONS REGULATION REG.28/12/06 136 ESTABLISHING NATIONAL MONITORING S T R U C T U R E S ON F R E E M O V E M E N T OF P E R S O N S ON THE HIGHWAYS A N D AT T H E B O R D E R S WITH E C O W A S R E G I O N REGULATION C/REG.29/12/06 138 AUTHORISING THE EXECUTIVE S E C R E T A R Y TO TERMINATE THE APPOINTMENT O F M R S . T O K U N B O L I J A D U - O Y E M A D E , F O R M E R D I R E C T O R O F ADMINISTRATION, AND TO R E P L A C E H E R WITH A NIGERIAN NATIONAL REGULATION C/REG.30/12/06 139 ADOPTING THE GIABA S T R A T E G I C ACTION P L A N COMMUNIQUE FINALE 140 OF THE THIRTY-FIRST SESSION OF THE AUTHORITY OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT, 19TH JANUARY 2007, OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO 3 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal ' ' — Vol. 50 4 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 SUPPLEMENTARY ACT A/SA.1/01/07 ON THE HARMONIZATION OF POLICIES AND OF THE R E G U L A T O R Y F R A M E W O R K FOR THE I N F O R M A T I O N A N D C O M M U N I C A T I O N TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SECTOR THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES; MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 33 of the said Treaty, which provides that Member States shall, in the area of t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , d e v e l o p , m o d e r n i z e , coord ina te and s t a n d a r d i z e their na t iona l telecommunication networks in order to provide reliable interconnection among Member States, and sha l l coord ina te their efforts with a v iew to mobi l iz ing national and internat ional f inancial resources through participation of the private sector in the provision of telecommunication services; M I N D F U L of Dec is ion A / D E C . 1 4 / 0 1 / 0 5 on the adoption of a regional telecommunication policy and development of G S M regional roaming in the E C O W A S Member States; M I N D F U L of Dec is ion A / D E C . 1 1 / 1 2 / 9 4 on the establishment of an E C O W A S technical advisory committee on telecommunication regulation; C O N S I D E R I N G that the Community has resolutely e m b a r k e d upon a p r o c e s s of l i be ra l i z ing telecommunication services and infrastructures by 2007; C O N S I D E R I N G that this liberalization process is giving rise to f lourishing markets cal l ing for a framework that is conduc ive and attractive to investment; D E S I R O U S of adopting a harmonized information and commun ica t i on t echno logy ( ICT) po l icy framework in the West African sub region; O N THE P R O P O S A L of the meeting of Ministers in Charge of Telecommunication held in Abuja on 11 t h May 2006; O N THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the fifty-seventh s e s s i o n of the C o u n c i l of M in i s t e r s he ld in Ouagadougou from 18 to 19 December 2006. AGREE AS FOLLOWS: CHAPTER 1: DEFINITIONS, OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE Ar t ic le I: De f in i t i ons 1. For the purposes of this Supplementary Act, the following definitions shall apply: Authorization: Administrative Act (individual l i c e n s e , c o n c e s s i o n contract or genera l authorization) which grants a set of rights and obligations to an entity and grants the entity the right to e s t a b l i s h and explo i t t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n ne tworks or offer telecommunication services. Allocation (of a frequency band): Entry in the Table of Frequency allocations of a given frequency band for the purpose of its use by one or more ter res t r ia l or s p a c e radiocommunicat ion serv ices or the radio astronomy service under specified conditions. This term shall also be applied to the frequency band concerned. ARTAO: West Afr ica Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) Assignment (of a radio frequency or radio frequency channel): Authorization given by an administration for a radio station to use a radio frequency or radio frequency channel under specified conditions. National Regulatory Authority: the agency, or one of several agencies, to which a Member State has given responsibility for performing any of the regulatory functions referred to in this Supplementary Act. Authority: as def ined in Article 7 of the E C O W A S Treaty. Council: the C o u n c i l of M in is te rs as es tab l i shed pursuant to Art ic le 10 of the E C O W A S Treaty. Consumer: a natural person who uses or r eques t s a pub l i c ly a c c e s s i b l e telecommunication service for non-business purposes. Supplementary Acts: Specific Supplementary Acts relating to interconnection, legal Regime applicable to network operators and service providers, numbering, spectrum management, and universal service. 5 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Telecommunication equipment: equipment, including hardware and software, used to provide telecommunication services. Terminal equipment: any equ ipmen t intended to be connected, directly or indirectly, to a termination point of a telecommunication network for purposes of the t ransmission, processing or receipt of information. This does not include equipment for accessing radio or television broadcasting services intended for the public which are transmitted over the air, by cable or by other means of communication, except where such equipment can also be used to access telecommunication services. Member State: a State Party to the E C O W A S Treaty, as provided for in the preamble thereto. Essential requirements: requ i rements necessary to guarantee the following, in the general interest: - the safety of users and of personnel operating telecommunication networks; - the p ro tec t ion of ne tworks , and particularly the protection of exchanges of control and management information pertaining to networks; - the interoperability of networks, services and terminal and the protection of data; where applicable, the proper and efficient utilization of the radio spectrum; - environmental protection, town planning and regional development issues. Service provider: any natural or legal person that provides a telecommunication service to the public. Provision of a telecommunication network: the sett ing up, opera t ing , ove rsee ing or making avai lable of a te lecommunicat ion network. Information and communication enterprise: any entity: a) that executes a commercial agreement or b) that is engaged in a business activity having a connection to information and communication technologies. Information: signs, signals, writing, images, sounds or information of any other kind which make up the content transmitted by means of c o m m u n i c a t i o n p r o c e s s e s inc lud ing telecommunication processes. Installation: any equipment, apparatus, c a b l e , rad io or op t i ca l s y s t e m , item of infrastructure or technical device that may be of use to information and communicat ion technologies, or any other operation directly related thereto. Interoperability of networks and terminal equipment: the abi l i ty of equ ipment to function, first, with the network, and, second, with other terminal equipment that can be used to access the same service. License: the admin is t ra t i ve documen t (including individual l icense, concession class license) permitting the operation of a network or the provision of communication services or the use of the radio-frequency spectrum. Message: communication of any kind in the form of words, sound, data, text, visual image, s igna l or c o d e , or in any other form or combination of forms. Minister or ministry: except where otherwise stated, the minister or ministry in charge of information and communication technologies within the gove rnmen t of the E C O W A S Member State. Operator: any juridical person operating a telecommunication network that is open to the publ ic, or providing a te lecommunicat ion service to the public. Legal person: a legal entity consisting of a natural person , society, assoc ia t ion , joint venture, trust or corporation. Radio-communication: any e m i s s i o n , broadcast ing, t ransmission or reception of radio waves specifically for telecommunication purposes. Broadcast: any radio-communication whose emissions are intended to be received by the public. Telecommunication network: any instal lat ion or group of instal lat ions that provides for the transmission or routing of t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i g n a l s , and for the e x c h a n g e of con t ro l and m a n a g e m e n t information relating thereto, between the network's termination points. 6 December 2006'January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Commission: the Commission of E C O W A S . Telecommunication service: the service, usually provided on a fee-paying basis, which consists wholly or primarily of transmitting or rout ing s igna l s ove r t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n networks, or a combination of those functions, including transmission services over networks used for broadcast ing, but which excludes services consisting of providing content with the aid of te lecommunicat ion networks or services or of exercising editorial responsibility with respect to such content. Information and communication services: services that involve the use of information and c o m m u n i c a t i o n t e c h n o l o g i e s , inc lud ing telecommunication services. Information and communication technologies (ICTs): technologies used to gather, store, use and send information, including technologies that involve the use of computers or any communicat ion system, including any telecommunication system. Telecommunication: any t r ansm iss ion , emission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds or information of any kind by wire, by optical means, by radio, or by any other electromagnetic system. Treaty: the E C O W A S Treaty, as revised on 24 July 1993 and in June 2006. UEMOA: the West Afr ican Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). User: any natural or juridical person that uses or requests a telecommunication service that is open to the public. End user: a user that does not provide public t e l ecommun ica t i on ne tworks or publ ic ly accessible telecommunication services. 2 Any terms contained in this Supplementary Act that are not defined in paragraph 1 above shall have the meanings given to them in the Treaty. Art ic le 2: Object ives, scope and per iod ic rev iew 1. The aim of this Supp lemen ta ry Act is to es tab l i sh a h a r m o n i z e d f ramework for information and communicat ion technology (ICT) policy and regulation. It establishes the responsibilities of Member States and their respective national regulatory authorities by setting out the central principles of ICT policy and regulatory guidelines. It is supplemented by five further Supplementary Acts dealing with specific aspects of the ICT sector and focusing on the telecommunication sector in particular. It establishes a series of procedures aimed at assuring the harmonized application of the regu la tory f ramework throughout E C O W A S . 2. The provisions of this Supplementary Act shall not app ly to regu la t i ons in the a rea of broadcasting policy and content. 3. The provisions of this Supplementary Act and other Supplementary Acts will be re-examined periodically, with a view to determining whether they need to be amended to take account of new developments in the area of ICTs and/or ICT markets. CHAPTER II: GUIDELINES FOR A POLICY FOR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES Art ic le 3: Development and scope of ICT pol icy 1. The Member States shal l ensure that, in developing and defining their national ICT pol ic ies, they take into account all socia l , economic, legal and policy information so as to set up a su i tab le pol icy and real ist ic objectives. 2. To this end, the Member States shall refrain from including an excessive number of items and sectors in the scope of the policy, and from the outset focus the national ICT policy on the industry itself. Art ic le 4: Importance of a clear pol icy The Member States shall ensure that a clear ICT policy is put in place, by identifying objectives, which will be translated into policy, and then into legal rules of a legislative or regulatory nature, to be applied by the regulatory body. Art ic le 5: Object ives of ICT pol icy 1. The Member States shal l ensure that the national ICT policy has the following objectives: 7 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 a) c rea t ion of an env i ronmen t that is p rop i t ious to the s u s t a i n a b l e dissemination and development of ICTs; b) establ ishment of a strong, stable and competitive ICT industry in the country and the region, respectively; c) growth in existing serv ices and in the range of new services and installations that are available; • d) provision of affordable, broadly available, top-quality services; e) access to ICTs, by appl icat ion of the pr inc ip le of t e c h n o l o g y neutra l i ty throughout the territory of the Member States; f) d e v e l o p m e n t and inst i tut ion of appropriate pol icies and programs for universal access, with, for example, some of the key actions which can help in the fur ther d e v e l o p m e n t of a nat iona l in format ion in f ras t ruc ture and the a c h i e v e m e n t of un i ve rsa l a c c e s s ob jec t ives : p rov is ion of b roadband capac i ty , ava i lab i l i t y of s e r v i c e s at affordable costs, availability of services at affordable costs, provision of standards to address reliability and redundancy issues, ensuring adequate capacity to provide service on demand, accessibility of se r v i ces by the large majori ty of consumers, facilitating the delivery of a wide range of va lue-added serv ices , fac i l i ta t ing the c h a n c e to a c c e s s information; g) attracting investment in the sector; h) encouraging innovation, development and utilization of new technologies; i) op t im iza t ion of coun t r i es ' l imi ted resources, such as the radio spectrum and numbering space; j) p romot ing in format ion s h a r i n g , t ransparency and accountabi l i ty, and reducing bureaucracy within and between organizations, and towards the public at large; k) attaining a specif ied minimum level of information technology resources for educational institutions and government agencies; I) development of expertise, in the individual countries and within the region, in setting up and managing ICTs; m) promotion and increase of ICT use by providing individuals and organizations with a minimum level of ICT knowledge and high-quality training; n) assistance in understanding information techno logy , its deve lopment and its cross-disciplinary impact; o) promotion of local content development. Art ic le 6: Governance pr inc ip les for the ICT sector In order to adopt an acceptable and sustainable ICT policy for the entire Community, the Member States shall ensure that the authorities responsible for defining and developing such a policy take the necessary steps to ensure good governance in the sector, by means of the following. a) Promotion of stakeholder awareness, by: promoting stakeholder participation and constitution-building throughout society; - i n t roduc ing internet at the ear l ies t possible stage in school programs. b) E n s u r i n g b r o a d - b a s e d s takeho lde r participation and planning, by: promot ing ICTs through workshops , seminars, media events and pilot projects to show the practical benefits of ICTs; - cultivating ICT champions. c) Political buy-in and championing on a local and national level, by: - e n s u r i n g c o m m u n i c a t i o n be tween interested parties, such as the regulator, ministries, operators, the private sector, N G O s , beneficiaries; ensuring participation and buy in at the local level; ensuring that ICT policy is tailored to the realities of the market, by analyzing the situation in advance and involving local players in the process. d) Coordination with other policies/priorities by focusing on the objectives of ICT policy without ignoring the synergy between sectors. e) R e l e v a n c e and use fu lness of pol icy and projects, by - aiming for innovation; 8 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 - def ining targets, such as internet to municipalities, broadband to rural areas, etc. f) Transparent decision-making procedures, by - adopting transparent decis ion-making and rule-making procedures relating to ICT policy and regulation; - consulting the public so as to ensure a transparent rule-making and decis ion­ making process. g) Sustainability of projects, by - ensuring adequate training; - tak ing a c c o u n t of rea l i t ies in the technolog ies introduced through ICT initiatives; - having appropriate timing. h) The regional and international framework, thanks to the policy of coordination with other initiatives in the region and globally. CHAPTER III: INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE ICT SECTOR Art ic le 7: Coopera t ion at the level of the ins t i tu t iona l f ramework The Member States shall ensure that sufficient attention is paid to the institutional framework governing ICT policies, by ensuring that cooperation is set up between the various bodies responsible for the sector, so as to make administration of sector activities efficient. Art ic le 8: A l locat ion of tasks The M e m b e r S ta tes sha l l e n s u r e that the responsibil it ies and terms of reference of each member of the institutional framework are clearly defined so as to avoid any uncertainty regarding the allocation of tasks. To this end, the allocation of tasks must be reflected in national regulations that apply to the ICT sector, so that the relations between the different entities can be determined, along with the credibility of the members in the performance of their tasks. Art ic le 9: ICT pol icy func t ion The Member States shall ensure that the national ICT policy performs the following functions, which fall within the remit of the responsible Minister: a) develop and review ICT policies consistent with the p u r p o s e s of the present Supplementary Act; b) be responsible for matters of international telecommunications affecting the country; c) propose a policy related to the provision of un i ve rsa l s e r v i c e and submi t it to the Government for approval; d) follow up the implementation of this policy for the pu rpose of expand ing the scope of coverage of ICT services, both horizontally and vert ical ly, in such a way as to meet the requ i remen ts of e c o n o m i c and soc ia l development in the country, and draw up plans that encourage investment, on a competitive basis, in the ICT sectors. Art ic le 10: Regu la tory gu ide l ines 1. The Member States shall ensure that ICT regulations set for the manner in which the national ICT policy is to be applied, and in particular: a) by defining the basic regulatory principles (for example the right to access) and processes (for example, licensing); b) by providing the statutory foundation and mandate for the sector's institutions (for example , consultat ive and regulatory bodies); c) by specifying the regimes under which the regulator operates and which define its func t ions and degree of independence, and also detail the legal principles that lead to the implementation of policy and policy objectives, such as tariff structures and universal access programs. 2 The M e m b e r S ta tes sha l l ensu re that regu la tory func t ions for the sec tor are per fo rmed by the nat iona l regulatory authorities in an independent, proportionate, impartial and transparent manner with a view to achieving the following objectives: a) Adoption of the principle that regulation shou ld be t echno logy -neu t ra l , and therefore a prohibition against granting unjustified advantage to any particular technology. 9 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 b) G r a d u a l c rea t ion of an open and competitive market for telecommunication networks and services, with: full respect for the interests of users, as regards choice, price, quality and returns; prevent ion of any distortion and restr ict ion of compet i t ion in the telecommunication sector, with due al lowance for ongoing transitional regimes; - e n c o u r a g e m e n t of ra t ional investment in the infrastructure; e f f i c iency in the a l loca t ion and assignment of limited resources. c) Development of the interior market: - by watching over the transition of the M e m b e r S ta tes towards the elimination of barriers: - by facilitating the installation and d e v e l o p m e n t of t rans -na t iona l networks and interoperabi l i ty of services within E C O W A S ; - by ensu r i ng that, in s im i la r c i r c u m s t a n c e s , there is no d i sc r im ina t ion in the t reatment accorded to operators and providers of telecommunication services, with due a l l o w a n c e for ongo ing transitional regimes; by letting the information society develop within E C O W A S : with the growth of the telecommunicat ion infrastructures, provide support for content s e r v i c e s , inc lud ing broadcasting content. d) Support the interests of the population and the struggle against poverty within E C O W A S : - by supporting the construction of un i ve rsa l a c c e s s to t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e r v i c e s in accordance with the terms of the Supp lementary Act on universal access/serv ice; - ensuring a high level of protection of personal data and privacy; requiring transparency of tariffs and cond i t i ons for us ing t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s s e r v i c e s , address ing the needs of specif ic social groups, such as low-income groups, people living in isolated rural areas, and disabled persons. CHAPTER IV: NATIONAL REGULATORY AUTHORITIES Art ic le 11: Status, i ndependence t ransparency of the nat ional regu la tory author i t ies 1. The Member States shal l ensure that the national regulatory authorities exercise their powers in an impar t ia l and t ransparent manner. 2. M e m b e r S ta tes sha l l guaran tee the i ndependence of the nat ional regulatory au thor i t ies with respec t to the pol i t ica l authorities and all organizat ions providing telecommunications networks, equipment or services, or otherwise active in the sector, by ensuring that the former are legally distinct from and functionally independent of the latter. 3. Those Member States that retain ownership or cont ro l of c o m p a n i e s that prov ide telecommunication networks or services shall ensure complete and effective separation of the regulatory function from the activities associated with ownership or control. 4 The Member States shall take the necessary steps to guarantee the following: a) clear, precise terms of reference for the na t iona l regu la tory author i t ies and decision-making bodies; b) clear, transparent internal procedures for the na t iona l regu la tory author i t ies , including: decision-making procedures for the d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g bod ies of the national regulatory authorities, d e c i s i o n - s h a r i n g among the deliberative bodies, incompatibility of the functions of the members of decision-making bodies with any other activity in the sector, prohibition on staff members taking on any other paid work or holding any direct or indirect interest in any company in the sector, staff recruiting and nomination of l e a d e r s h i p on the bas i s of a t ransparent procedure by which candidates are invited to apply on the strength of relevant experience in the ICT domain and demonstrated professional qualifications, e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a f ixed 10 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 remunera t ion s c h e m e for the members of the dec is ion-making bodies, prohibition on members being re­ appointed more than once, pro tec t ion of m e m b e r s aga ins t d i sm issa l except in the c a s e of demonstrated grave misconduct; c) the creation of transparency mechanisms and the distribution of procedures for consul tat ion with the sector p layers , giving interested parties an opportunity to bring forward their observations on proposed measures within a reasonable time-frame, as well as creation of a central information desk to give access to all of the ongoing consultation exercises and publish the results of public consultations, except in specif ical ly descr ibed cases where confidentiality is an issue; d) creat ion of prov is ions to ensure that these tasks are only performed by duly sworn persons; e) pub l i ca t ion of an annua l report of activities. f) the pub l i ca t ion of al l d e c i s i o n s of regulatory authority in the Official Journal of the Member State concerned or in an official regulatory authority publication or by any other relevant means. Art ic le 12: The resources of the nat ional regu la tory author i t ies 1 The Member States undertake to do what is necessary to give the national regulatory authorities the financial and human resources they need to perform their tasks in an impartial, autonomous and transparent manner. 2 The M e m b e r S ta tes under take to g ive preference to self-financing schemes for the national regulatory authorities, and to provide for all or a por t ion of the opera to r con t r ibu t ions , f ees and other f i nanc ia l compensation paid by the operators to be allocated to their work in this sector. In any event, the funding systems for the national regulatory authorities must not have the effect of restoring the influence and the interests of organizations that were supposed to be kept at arm's length through the separation of the regulatory and operating functions. Art ic le 13: Areas of act iv i ty of the nat ional regu la tory author i t ies 1 The M e m b e r S ta tes sha l l inform the Commission of the Community of the existence of any national regulatory authorities charged with the app l i ca t i on of the present S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t , the implementa t ion measures relating thereto, and their respective respons ib i l i t i e s , tak ing care to avo id overlapping tasks. 2 The Member States shall publish the tasks to be per formed by the nat ional regulatory author i t ies in a readi ly a c c e s s i b l e form, particularly in cases where different bodies have been entrusted with those tasks. 3 The Member States shal l ensure that the following regulatory tasks are performed by the respective national regulatory authorities: a) developing, at the request of the relevant government authority or at the initiative of the national agency, proposals to: - adapt the l ega l , e c o n o m i c and securi ty framework in which ICT activities take place, such as draft l aws , d e c r e e s and min is ter ia l directives relating to the regime of activities for the different operators active in the ICT sector, and - ensure effective competition, with t echno logy -neu t ra l regulat ion wherever possible; b) p r o c e s s i n g l i cense app l i ca t i ons , prepar ing and carrying out l icensing procedures by competitive bidding, and preparing and updating, in consultation with the other ministerial bodies involved, the texts for the l i cens ing terms of reference that lay down the rights and obligations of public telecommunication network operators; c) a c c e p t i n g the pre l im inary f i les for te lecommunicat ion activities requiring authorization. The national regulatory authorities must deliver authorization and prepare the a s s o c i a t e d documents , including the terms and conditions for authorization; d) delivering registration and verification cert i f icates, for all those activities of 11 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 operators and service providers that are subject to a requirement for declaration; e) delivering mandatory specifications and approvals for terminal equipment and verifying conformity; f) moni tor ing comp l i ance with exist ing regu la t ions and te rms of l i c e n s e s , authorizations and declarations granted in the ICT sector. To this end, the national regulatory authorities will receive and study all information and documentation requ i red f rom the opera to rs of telecommunication networks and services under the terms of their l icenses and terms of re ference, and request any a d d i ! nal in fo rmat ion that may be needed; g) moni tor ing the ICT indust ry under e c o n o m i c and techn ica l a s p e c t s , in accordance with normal practice and internationally recognized protocol, taking into account technology convergence in the ICT domain; h) fos ter ing and pro tec t ing ef fect ive competition and a fair and efficient market between the organizations involved in the ICT industry in their respective countries, duly taking into account the public interest and preventing distortion and restriction of competition in the ICT sector; i) establishing, for operators, performance standards relating to the provision of ICT services, and monitoring compliance with those standards; j) conducting monitoring, and submitting reports to the responsible Minister, on information relating to the sector, such as the performance of the public operators, the quality of consumer serv ices, and c o n s u m e r s a t i s f a c t i o n , m e a s u r e d according to existing international codes of practice; k) dealing with all questions relating to the protection of the interests of consumers, which inc ludes sett ing up a sui table sys tem for r ece i v i ng c o n s u m e r complaints, the conduct of investigations, concerning ICT services, and submission of such complaints to the appropriate agency, where required; I) the fulfilment, by the public operators, of their obligations as promulgated, so as to ensure that adequate, high-quality, affordable services meeting the various n e e d s of the c o n s u m e r s are be ing delivered; m) elaborating and, if necessary, revising the a c c o u n t i n g requ i remen ts and tariff principles to be used by operators and service providers; n) regulating the protection and security of data; o) security and quality of every ICT service, a n d , to that e n d , de te rmin ing the technical standards for those services and the connection of user equipment to communication networks; p) managing and assigning spectrum, and monitoring usage conditions; q) a l locat ing number ing resources and managing the numbering plan; r) e x a m i n i n g and moni tor ing the implementation of interconnection and network access conditions, in accordance with the terms of the Supplementary Act on access and interconnection in respect of ICT sector networks and services; s) imp lemen t i ng the po l icy for the deve lopment of universal serv ice, in a c c o r d a n c e with the terms of the Supplementary Act on universal access/ s e r v i c e and network pe r fo rmance obligations; t) implementing the tariff policy applicable to telecommunication services; u) authorizing or regulating the registration, admin is t ra t i on and m a n a g e m e n t of d o m a i n n a m e s in the country, and providing a structured mechanism for their management; v) moni tor ing the deve lopment of new in format ion and commun ica t i on technologies and developing measures to stimulate and facilitate investment in the ICT sector; w) encouraging regional ICT connectivity and trade in services. 12 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 4. In those cases in which the granting of licenses or author izat ions is ent rusted to a body sepa ra te f rom the na t iona l regu la tory authorities, the Member States shall make the necessary legal and regulatory provisions to charge those authorities with investigating applications and providing detailed opinions prior to the granting of such authorization. Art ic le 14: Prov is ion of in fo rmat ion Member States shall ensure that organizations providing telecommunication networks and services provide all the information, including f inancial information, necessary for national regulatory authorities to ensure conformity with the provisions of, or decis ions made in accordance with this Supplementary Act or the specific Supplementary Act . S a i d o rgan i za t i ons sha l l p rov ide such information promptly on request, respecting the deadlines and providing the level of detail required by the national regulatory authority. The information requested by the national regulatory authorities shall be proportionate to the performance of that task, and those authorities shall give the reasons justifying the request for information. The principle of business secrecy is not applicable to national regulatory authorities. Nevertheless, such entities must respect the confidentiality of all information received. ' Art ic le 15: Mon i to r ing and sanc t i on ing powers 1. The Member States undertake to invest the necessary powers in their national regulatory authorities to apply sanctions and monitor the activities of the sector, including: a) mandatory approvals and specifications, and the conditions for equipment usage; b) terms and cond i t i ons for l imi ted resources; c) c o m p l i a n c e with the ob l i ga t ions incumbent on operators and providers of t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e r v i c e s , in accordance with the applicable regime, in part icular those of operators and service providers in a dominant position. 2. Member States undertake to make the legal and regulatory a r rangemen ts needed to endow the national regulatory authorities with the power to impose sanctions. This power will include: a) the possibility of requiring the modification of unfair provisions in user agreements or conventions governing interconnection or access to the network of operators; b) fining operators and service providers who infringe against telecommunication sector legislation to compel them to meet their obligations; c) imposing penalties against operators and service providers who fail to comply with the obligations incumbent on them in the exercise of their activity; d) revoking, suspending, or proposing the revocation or suspension of authorization in c a s e s where the opera tor or telecommunicat ion service provider is guilty of an infr ingement and fails to remedy the situation within a reasonable t ime after being duly notified by the national regulatory authority. 3. The Member States shall satisfy themselves that the national regulatory authorities exercise the powers with wh ich they have been e n d o w e d in a p ropor t iona te manner , respecting the principle of adversarial process, and in accordance with transparent, objective and non-discriminatory procedures. Art ic le 16: Set t lement of d ispu tes 1. Without pre judice to any act ion that the E C O W A S institutions or one or more Member States may bring in application of the Treaty, the M e m b e r Sta tes shal l ensure that all te lecommunicat ion operators and service providers are able to have recourse to the responsible national regulatory authority in the event of any dispute relating to: a) any violation by a telecommunicat ion operator or service provider of any legal or regu la to ry p rov i s i ons govern ing telecommunication or of any contractual terms; b) any denial of interconnection or capacity or infrastructure leasing that is not in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the a p p l i c a b l e texts and to any disagreement relating to the application or in terpre ta t ion of re fe rence interconnection offers or interconnection agreements; 13 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 c) the conditions under which an operator is granted or denied occupancy rights within the publ ic persons domain, or rights-of-way over private property for the purposes of setting up and operating a telecommunication network; d) the exercise of special or exclusive rights by an entity active in the sector. 2. The Member States shall also ensure that every user is able to have recourse to the national regulatory authority in the event of any dispute relating to: a) a v io la t ion, by a te lecommun ica t ion operator or service provider, of its terms of reference or other such document con ta in ing the cond i t i ons of its authorization or declaration; b) the legal bas is of any provision of a standard consumer subscription contract. 3. The Member States shal l ensure that the national regulatory authorities put in place transparent, non-discriminatory procedures for dispute settlement. In particular, they shall ensure that the national regulatory authorities a) make rulings within a reasonable period of time; b) respec t the pr inc ip le of adve rsa r ia l process and the rights of the defense, by giving the parties an opportunity to present their observations; c) duly substantiate their decisions; d) make their decisions public in accordance with the cond i t i ons and within the limitations foreseen under national law. 4. The Member States shall further take those measures that are needed to ensure that, in the event of an imminent serious violation of any regu la t ion gove rn i ng the t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n sec to r , the nat iona l regulatory authorities shall be empowered to impose staying measures after the parties have been heard, part icularly in order to protect the continuity of operation of networks and services. 5. The Member States shal l ensure that the procedure established above is applicable in the event of a dispute between parties based in two different Member States. 6. Any party may refer the matter under dispute to either of the national regulatory authorities concerned. The national regulatory authorities will coordinate their efforts so as to resolve the dispute in a manner consistent with the guiding principles of the above regulation. 7. In the absence of a reaction from the authority in question, or of coordination between the authorities, and in order to arrive at a solution, any party may refer the matter to the Commission of E C O W A S , by addressing a copy of the referral to each of the parties and national regulatory authorities concerned. The Commission of E C O W A S will take all necessary steps to achieve settlement of the dispute in ques t i on by the r espons ib l e nat ional authorities within a reasonable time frame. Art ic le 17: Right of appeal 1. The Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that mechanisms exist at the na t iona l leve l to a l low any pe rson concerned to appeal against any decision of the national regulatory authority before a judicial authority that is independent of the parties involved, the government, and the national regulatory authority in question. 2. The appeal body must be in a position to examine not only the procedure which led to the decision of the national regulatory authority being taken, but also the facts of the case. Pending the results of the appeal, the decision of the national regulatory authority shall be en fo rced , un less a stay of execut ion is obtained. 3. If the appeal body is not a judicial body, then its decisions must be justified in writing, and examined in the last instance by the national judiciary. » Art ic le 18: C o o p e r a t i o n be tween nat ional regu la tory author i t ies 1. The M e m b e r S ta tes sha l l p romulgate procedures for cooperation and consultation between the national regulatory authority or authorities responsible for regulating the ICT sector, the national authorities responsible for app ly ing compet i t i on law, and those responsible for applying the law relating to the protection of consumer rights, on subjects of common interest. 14 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 2. The Member States shal l ensure that the missions of those authorities do not overlap, and undertake to promote the exchange of information between sa id author i t ies, by ensuring that such correspondence remains confidential. CHAPTER V: FINAL PROVISIONS Art ic le 19: T ime-f rames for t ranspos i t i on 1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to adapt their national sectoral legislation to this Supplementary Act not later than two years following the date of its entry into force. They shall inform the Commission of those steps immediately. 2. The legal texts agreed to shal l contain a reference to this Supplementary Act or shall have such a reference attached to them when they are officially published. 3. When , based on this Supplementary Act, national regulatory authorities take decisions that are liable to have an impact on exchanges be tween M e m b e r S ta tes and on the establishment of the common market, they sha l l ensu re that the m e a s u r e s and substantiating arguments are communicated to the Commission one month prior to their implementation. Art ic le 20: Imp lemen ta t i on 1. When, based on this Supplementary Act, national regulatory authorities take decisions which are expected to have an impact on exchanges between Member States and on the establishment of the single market, including; a) the implementation of the tariff policy applicable to telecommunication services; b) the implementa t ion of the un iversa l service development policy; c) interconnection; d) measures to authorize the establishment, opera t ion and /o r p rov i s ion of telecommunication services open to the public, Member States shall ensure that the measures in question and substantiating arguments are communicated to the Commission one month prior to their implementation. 2. The national regulatory authority shall take into c o n s i d e r a t i o n the obse rva t i ons of the Commission. 3. The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the national regulatory authority that they are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 4. Under exceptional circumstances, where the nat ional regulatory authority cons iders it urgent to take action to safeguard competition and protect users ' interests, it may adopt p ropor t iona te m e a s u r e s immedia te ly , applicable for a limited period only. Those measures shall be communicated without delay to the Commission for comment. 5. When Member States adopt transposit ion measures for this Supplementary Act, they shall ensure that the planned measures along with subs tan t i a t i ng a rguments are communicated to the Commission one month prior to implementation of the measures. 6. Member States shall take into consideration the remarks of the Commission. The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the Member States that the measures proposed are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 7. Member States shal l communicate to the Commission any provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field governed by this Supplementary Act. Art ic le 2 1 : In fo rmat ion repor t Member States shal l , no later than six months fo l lowing the date of entry into force of this S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t , c o m m u n i c a t e to the Commission the steps taken or which are in the course of approval or implementat ion for the purpose of implementing this Supplementary Act. Art ic le 22: Pub l i ca t ion This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of Authority. It shall also be published by 15 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 each Member State in its National Gazette within the same time frame. Art ic le 23: Entry into force 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon its publication. Consequently, signatory States and E C O W A S Institutions pledge to commence the implementation of its provisions on its entry into force. 2. This Supplementary Act is annexed to the E C O W A S Treaty of which it is an integral part. Art ic le 24: Depos i to ry author i ty This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Commiss ion which shal l transmit certified true copies thereof to all the Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations and such other organisat ions as Counci l may determine. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES, HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Excel lency "H>dmas Boni Yayi President of the^Republic of Benin His Excel lency Blaise Compaore Chairrpan of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso 16 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Hon. Sidibe Fatoumata KABA Minister of International Cooperation For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea Her Excel lency El len Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia His Excel len President of th Joao Bernardo Vieira "Republic of Guinea Bissau i His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali / ) /'» His Excel lency Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger His Excel lency O lusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His Exc Presiden doulaye Wade he Republic of Senegal Hon. Mohammed Daramy Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excel lency Faure Essozimna Gnass ingbe 'President of the Togolese Republic 17 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ANNEX ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER IN DEFINING LEGISLATION ON ICT The fol lowing model l ists the points that are genera l l y c o v e r e d in a f ramework law on telecommunications or ICT. In French-speaking countries, those points are presented as basic pr inciples, which are then developed in detail in the corresponding decrees or other implementing legislation. In the common law system, the framework law normally contains detailed provisions, with the regulator establishing further rules and regulations as required. Comments and recommendations are included in the main articles. PART I: PREAMBLE 1) Short title 2) Objectives of the legislation 3) Definitions Recommendat ion: Use internationally-recognized references and/or definitions such as those used in official ITU texts (e.g. the Radio Regulations). PART I I : FUNCTIONS OF THE MINISTER 4) Functions of the minister R e c o m m e n d a t i o n : The respons ib i l i t i es and mandate of each player must be clearly defined so as to avoid any misunderstandings or duplication of effort. PART I I I : ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS OF THE NATIONAL REGULATORY AUTHORITY Recommendat ion: Be clear and precise in regard to the responsibilities and mandate of the regulatory body, since this will enable the latter to maintain its independence, particularly vis-a-vis the political establ ishment. Comment : In F rench-speak ing countries, the detailed development of these points generally takes the form of separate decrees or other regulatory texts. The points to be covered are listed below. 5) Es tab l i shment of the nat ional regulatory authority 6) Functions of the national regulatory authority 7) Powers of the national regulatory authority 8) C o m p o s i t i o n of the nat iona l regulatory authority 9) Dismissal of a member 10) Vacation of office of the national regulatory authority 11) Meetings of the national regulatory authority Recommendation: Procedural matters may be dealt with in a separate annex or decree, as the case may be. 12) Remuneration of members 13) Independence of the nat ional regulatory authority PART IV: MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF THE NATIONAL REGULATORY AUTHORITY , Recommendation: Procedural matters may be dealt with in a separate annex or decree, as the case may be. 14) Appointment of the management 15) Powers and functions of the executive director/ director-general 16) Provisions relating to other staff 17) Protection of staff PART V : FINANCIAL AND ASSOCIATED PROVISIONS Recommendation: These are essential to the independence of the regulatory body and must be drawn up with care. 18) Funds of the national regulatory authority 19) Annual accounts 20) Audit and control 21) Financial year 18 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 PART V I : LICENSES AND FREQUENCY AUTHORIZATIONS Recommendation: Procedural matters may be dealt with in a separate annex or decree, as the case may be (e.g. in French-speaking countries). 22) Licensing regime 23) Special l icenses 24) General authorization regime 25) Declaration regime 26) Free entry 27) Requ i remen ts for obta in ing a f requency authorization 28) Ob l i ga t i ons a s s o c i a t e d with f requency authorizations 29) Cond i t i ons a s s o c i a t e d with a f requency authorization 30) Ob l i ga t i ons i ncumben t on all te lecommunicat ion network operators and telecommunication service providers 31) Authorization to operate in territorial waters or airspace 32) Procedures for the amendment, suspension and termination of l icenses and authorizations 33) Procedures for the amendment, suspension and termination of frequency authorizations 34) Procedures for the renewal of l icenses and authorizations 35) Procedures for the renewal of f requency authorizations PART V I I : INTERCONNECTION AND ACCESS TO FACILITIES Recommendation: Procedural matters may be dealt with in a separate annex or decree, as the case may be. The principles must appear in the basic legislation. 35) Interconnection 36) Access to facilities 36 bis) Dispute Resolution PART VI I I : UNIVERSAL ACCESS/SERVICE AND PRICES Recommendation: Procedural matters may be dealt with in a separate annex or decree, as the case may be. The principles must appear in the basic legislation. 37) Universal service 38) Prices PART IX: SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT, NUMBERING AND INTERNET GOVERNANCE Recommendation: Procedural matters may be dealt with in a separate annex or decree, as the case may be. The principles must appear in the basic legislation. 39) Principles of spectrum management. 40) Allocation of frequency bands. 41) Exercise of spectrum management functions. 42) Monitoring. 43) Harmful interference. 44) Space segment. 45) Numbering plan. 46) Internet Governance. PART X : TERMINAL EQUIPMENT AND TECHNICAL STANDARDS Recommendation: Procedural matters may be dealt with in a separate annex or decree, as the case may be. The principles must appear in the basic legislation. 47) Terminal equipment. 48) Standards. PART X I : TESTING AND INSPECTION 49) Power to request information 50) Pre-installation testing 51) Standards for testing 52) Entry, search and inspection 53) Magistrate may issue a warrant 19 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 PART X I I : ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW, INVESTIGATION AND INSPECTION Recommendations: Ensure that the ICT legislation provides the national regulatory authority with the necessary power, independence and authority to be able to gather the information and acquire the human and financial resources it needs (whether through the State budget or its own self- financing) in order to implement, impartially, swiftly and transparently, the will of the legislature. Ensure that the legislation uses clear and unambiguous language to describe the competencies of the national regulatory authority and, where relevant, of other government agencies. To the extent possible, promulgate laws governing the new technologies. Give greater powers to the national regulatory authorities such as to enable them to adapt to changes in the sector. Establish an authority for service providers not holding a license (e.g. internet service providers). 54) Annual report on the activities of l icensees. 55) Investigation of complaints. 56) Power to conduct inquiries. 57) Report on investigations. 58) Responsibility for remedying infringements of license conditions. 59) Appointment of inspectors. 60) Powers of an inspector. 61) Search warrant. PART XI I I : FAIR COMPETITION AND EQUALITY OF TREATMENT Recommendation: This is a key factor in the regulatory context and should be clearly defined such that the regulator has the appropriate mandate and instruments to impose and accompany such a framework. 62) The nat iona l regu la tory author i ty must encourage fair competition. 63) Prohibition of acts of unfair competition. 64) Exceptions to fair competition. 65) Breach of fair competition. 66) Non-denial of service. 67) Equality of treatment. 68) Interconnection of network facilities. PART XIV: INFRINGEMENTS Recommendation: Ensure that the ICT law or legislation provides the regulatory authority with a wide range of sanctions to cover minor, moderately serious and serious infringements. 69) Infringements and sanctions in the case of persons not holding a license. 70) Interception and disclosure of messages. 71) Interception of government communications. 72) Transmission of false distress signals, etc. 73) Infringements relating to radiocommunications. 74) Protection of telecommunication facilities. 75) False warning. 76) Prosecution under other laws. 77) Action for damages. 78) General sanctions. PART XV: ROADWORKS AND ACCESS TO LAND 79) Roadworks. 80) Repairs and restoration. 81) Access to land for inspection and maintenance. 82) Installation of facilities on private land or in private buildings. PART XVI: MISCELLANEOUS For example: - Transitional provisions. - Emergency provisions. ANNEXES For example: - Mee t i ngs of the nat ional regulatory authority. 20 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 SUPPLEMENTARY ACT A/SA.2/01/07 ON ACCESS AND INTERCONNECTION IN RESPECT OF ICT SECTOR NETWORKS AND SERVICES THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 33 of the said treaty, which provides that Member States shall, in the area of t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , d e v e l o p , m o d e r n i z e , coord ina te and s t a n d a r d i z e their nat iona l telecommunication networks in order to provide reliable interconnection among Member States, and shal l coord ina te their efforts with a v iew to mobil iz ing national and international f inancial resources through participation of the private sector in the provision of telecommunication services; M INDFUL of Decis ion A / D E C . 14/01/05 on the adoption of a regional policy on telecommunication and the development of G S M regional roaming in the E C O W A S Member States; M INDFUL of Decis ion A / D E C . 11/12/94 on the establishment of an E C O W A S technical advisory committee on telecommunication regulation; MINDFUL of Decision A / D E C . 12/12/94 on tariff- set t ing and t e l ephone traff ic in the a rea of telecommunications; IN V I E W of Regu la t i on C / R E G . 2 /12 /99 on implementation of the I N T E L C O M II program; M I N D F U L of Dec is ion A / D E C . 16/5/82 on the telecommunication program of E C O W A S ; CONSIDERING that the direct interconnection of modern te lecommunica t ion sys tems between Member States is a prerequisite for sub regional economic integration; C O N S I D E R I N G that the Community has resolutely e m b a r k e d upon a p r o c e s s of l i be ra l i z ing telecommunication services and infrastructures by 2007; C O N S I D E R I N G that this liberalization process is giving rise to f lourishing markets cal l ing for a framework that is conduc ive and attractive to investment; D E S I R O U S of adopting a regime of access to and interconnection of networks and services within the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in the West Africa sub region in order to foster competition for the benefit of operators and users in that sector; ON THE P R O P O S A L of the Meeting of Ministers In Charge of Telecommunication held inAbujaon 11 t h May 2006; ON THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the fifty-seventh s e s s i o n of the C o u n c i l of M in i s te rs held in Ouagadougou from 18 to 19 December 2006. AGREE AS FOLLOWS CHAPTER I: DEFINITIONS, OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE Ar t ic le 1: De f in i t i ons 1. For the purposes of this Supplementary Act, the definitions contained in Supplementary Act A/SA1/01/07 shall apply. 2. The following additional definitions shall also apply: Access: a facility offered by one operator of a public telecommunication network to enable ano the r opera to r of a publ ic te lecommun ica t ion network or a serv ice provider to access its resources, particularly its physical infrastructure. Interconnection: a hardware and software l i nkage be tween pub l i c commun ica t i on networks used by the same company or by a different company, to enable the users of one company to communicate with other users of the same company or with the users of another company, or to access services provided by another company . The se rv i ces may be provided by the parties concerned or by other par t ies hav ing a c c e s s to the network. Interconnection is a particular type of access implemented between operators of public networks. Interconnection switch: the first switch of the pub l ic t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n network that receives and routes telecommunication traffic to the interconnection point. Interoperability of networks and terminal equipment: the abi l i ty of equ ipment to 21 D- 'C t - r.ot.-i 2006. January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 function, first, with the network, and, second, with other terminal equipment that can be used to access the same service. Number portability: the possibility, on the part of the user, to use the same subscriber number regardless of the operator with whom the user is subscribed, even in cases where the user changes operator. Unbundling of the local loop: a facility, which also includes associated facilities, in particular co - l oca t i on , p rov ided by one publ ic telecommunication network operator to enable another to access all elements of the first operator 's local loop in order to serve its subscribers directly. Carrier selection: a mechanism that permits a user to choose from among a number of authorized public telecommunication network operators or authorized telecommunication service providers to route some or all of that user's calls. Physical co-location: a facility offered by a public telecommunication network operator which cons is ts of mak ing infrastructure, inc lud ing p r e m i s e s , ava i l ab le to other operators for install ing and , if appl icable, operat ing their equipment , espec ia l l y for purposes of interconnection. Provision of interconnection: a facil ity provided by one public telecommunicat ion network operator to another or to a public telecommunicat ion service provider which permits all users to commun ica te freely regardless of the networks to which they are connected or the services that they use. National roaming: a form of ac t ive in f rast ructure sha r i ng that permi ts the subscribers of a mobile operator (i.e. a mobile operator that p o s s e s s e s infrastructure, in contrast to a mobile virtual network operator) to have indirect access to the network and services offered by another mobile operator providing such roaming within an area not covered by the nominal network of those subscribers. Operator having significant market power (dominant operator): a company which, either on its own or in conjunction with other companies, holds a position equivalent to a dominant position: that is, a company which has a significant capacity to act in a manner independent of its competitors, its customers and ultimately consumers. Art ic le 2: Ob jec t ives and scope 1 This Supplementary Act forms part of the framework for harmonizing the regulation of the ICT sector in the Community. 2 The objective of this Supplementary Act is to estab l ish an a c c e s s i b l e , t ransparent and equitable regulatory framework in regard to network and s e r v i c e a c c e s s and interconnection in the area of ICTs. It aims to build durable competition by guaranteeing the interoperability of networks and services. It lays out the objectives assigned to the national regulatory authori t ies, and the rights and ob l igat ions of opera to rs and compan ies wishing to establish interconnection and/or access to their networks. CHAPTER II GENERAL REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR ACCESS AND INTERCONNECTION Art ic le 3: Non-d isc r im ina t ion pr inc ip le 1. Member States shall ensure that the general regu la tory f ramework for a c c e s s and in terconnect ion incorporates the general community regulation principles foreseen for the establishment of the West African Common Market, including non-discrimination between companies established in different States. 2. A c c o r d i n g to the non-d isc r im ina t ion obligations, operators shall, inter alia, apply equivalent conditions in equivalent areas, and shall provide services and information to other parties under the same conditions and with the same quality as for their own services or those of their subsidiaries or partners. Art ic le 4: In terconnect ion and compet i t i ve ICT market Member States shall ensure that their national regulations on interconnection and access respect the p r inc ip les of f ree and fair compet i t ion ; accordingly, the regulations shall be conducive to elimination of obstacles to new operators entering the market. The regulations must rather be such as to increase the choice and quality of services available to consumers while allowing the regulator 22 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol 50 to ensure that the legal and contractual rules appl icab le to a c c e s s and interconnect ion are applied effectively. Art ic le 5: Content of nat ional regu la t ions Member States shall ensure that their national regulat ions offer so lu t ions to the di f f icul t ies encountered in implement ing interconnect ion, including the following problems and challenges: a) compatibility of services and networks; b) publication of reference interconnect offer (RIO); c) existence of guidelines for the negotiation of interconnection contracts; d) contract transparency; e) absence of discrimination between operators in granting access to interconnection services; f) level , structure and bas is for ca lcu lat ing interconnection charges; g) interconnection quality; h) unbundling of network elements; i) availability of rapid, independent procedures for resolving disputes, and the means for enforcing the rules; j) possibility of consulting market players in order to reach a decision on a given regulatory or supervisory problem. Art ic le 6: Harmonizat ion of cost ca lcu la t ion methods 1. National regulatory authorities shall cooperate and coordinate their activities for the purpose of es tab l ish ing and regular ly updat ing a complete and harmonized methodology for calculating interconnection costs. 2. The a fo remen t i oned m e t h o d o l o g y sha l l establish in detail: a) relevant costs to be taken into account; b) structure of cost calculation model; c) bas ic data to be incorporated in the model; d) cost of capital return assessment method; e) interpretation of results of model. CHAPTER III: Access to in f ras t ruc ture Art ic le 7: Network i n te rconnec t i on 1. The operators of public telecommunication ne tworks sha l l a c c e d e , in ob jec t ive , transparent and non-discriminatory conditions, to the requests for interconnection from other duly authorized public network operators. 2. The request for interconnection shall not be refused if it is reasonable in terms of the requesting party's requirements on one hand and the operator's capacity to meet it on the other. Any refusal to interconnect shall be substantiated and notified to the requesting party and to the national regulatory authority. 3. Companies obtaining information from other companies prior to, during or following the a c c e s s or i n te rconnec t i on agreement negotiation process shall use that information solely for the purposes foreseen when it was communicated and shall always respect the confidentiality of information transmitted or retained. Any information received shall not be communicated to other parties, in particular other services, subsidiaries or partners for which they could constitute a competitive advantage. Art ic le 8: Access to po in ts of in terconnect ion 1. Member States shall ensure that any reference interconnect offer on the part of operators inc ludes a list of the subscr iber -serv ing e x c h a n g e s that are not ava i lab le for interconnection for valid technical or security reasons, along with the provisional timing to open s u c h s u b s c r i b e r e x c h a n g e s to interconnection. 2. However, where the forwarding of expected opera to r traff ic to or f rom subsc r i be rs connected to exchanges on the list mentioned in point 1 above is justified, Member States shall ensure that the operator is required, at the request of the national regulatory authority, to es tab l i sh a t rans i t iona l offer for that exchange. 3. S u c h a t ransi t ional offer shal l al low the requesting operator to define a fee schedule that reflects the costs which, in the absence 23 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 of technical access restrictions, would have been incurred for switching communications to or from, first, the subscribers connected to that exchange, and second, the subscribers who would have been accessible without the need for routing through a higher-echelon exchange. CHAPTER IV: COMPETITION Art ic le 9: Carr ier se lec t i on 1. Member States shal l ensu re that carr ier selection is introduced in the call-by-call form, as a minimum, from the very beginning of competit ion in order to establ ish effective competition and allow consumers to choose their local - loop operator freely and have a c c e s s to the se r v i ces of an al ternat ive operator. This selection possibility must be of fered by al l dominan t ope ra to rs . The dominant opera to r must be inv i ted to undertake the technical changes that are necessary to adapt its automatic exchanges so as to be able to offer call-by-call selection in the initial phase ; this serv ice must be included in the reference interconnect offer. 2. Member States shall ensure that the national regulatory authority is authorized to assign pref ixes to operators who fall within the category of carriers and is authorized to take decisions on: a) type of carrier selection; b) operators eligible to act as carriers; c) operators subject to the obligation to offer carrier selection; d) types of calls carried; e) problems involved in carrier select ion such as invo ic ing and ca l l i ng l ine identification; f) unfair compet i t i on i s s u e s s u c h as "slamming". Art ic le 10: In f ras t ruc tu re sha r i ng 1. Member States shall ensure that the national regulatory au thor i t ies e n c o u r a g e infrastructure sharing. The authorities must ensure that sharing between the operators of public telecommunication networks takes place under cond i t i ons of f a i r ness , non-discrimination and equality of access . Thus, the regulatory authority, in consultation with other players, must be encouraged to elaborate a procedure for handling relations between the operators of public networks in the matter of the conditions and the sharing of infrastructure, in particular lead-times and access to the information needed to put it into place. 2. Na t iona l R e g u l a t o r y Author i t ies sha l l encourage infrastructure sharing between incumbents and new entrants concerning in particular posts, ducts and elevated points to be made available mutually on a commercial bas is , in part icular where there is limited access to such resources through natural or structural obstacles. 3. National regulatory authorities shall encourage access to alternative infrastructure on the basis of commercial negotiations, in order to foster and entrench competition as rapidly as possible. They must ensure that such access is provided under condi t ions of fa i rness, non-discrimination and equality of access. The rev is ion of ICT regu la t ions within the Community must foresee provisions on access to alternative infrastructure. Accordingly, the status of compan ies providing a c c e s s to alternative infrastructure should be changed to include this service. Art ic le 11: Number por tab i l i ty 1. Member States shall ensure that the national regulatory authority conducts market studies to assess consumers' portability needs and identify what categories of consumer are likely to request such a service. 2. Where a need has been clearly identified, the regu la t ions must be a m e n d e d to a l low consumers to keep their telephone number when they change operators. Member States sha l l e n s u r e that d ia l ogue takes p lace between the market players and the national regulatory authority, given that portability is re la t ive ly di f f icul t to put into p rac t ice , particularly its technical and tariff aspects, and consu l ta t ion is n e c e s s a r y ; and that the numbering plan is also revised so as to adapt it to the requirements of number portability. 24 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Art ic le 12: National roaming 1. Member States shall ensure that the national regulatory author i ty s e e s that ex is t ing operators offer national roaming to requesting operators, at an affordable price, wherever it is technically possib le to do so. However, national roaming must in no event replace the cove rage ob l iga t ions under taken in the framework of mobile service licensing by new entrants. 2. Member States shall ensure that the national roaming contract is freely negotiated between the operators on a bilateral basis and that the operators provide consumers with relevant information about national roaming tariffs. 3. The national regulatory authority shall ensure that national roaming offers are fair and non-discriminatory. 4. The national regulatory authority shall publish specific national roaming guidelines to help establish tariff and technical conditions and provide informat ion on nat ional roaming contracts, in consultat ion with the market players. Art ic le 13: In ternat ional roaming Member States shal l ensure that the national regulatory authorities are in position to: a) ensure the widest poss ib le compat ibi l i ty between mobile systems in terms of roaming, and take it into consideration when awarding mobile licenses in the region; b) study roaming prices charged in the region; c) consult with the players concerned with a view to arriving at reasonable tariffs to allow the greatest possible number of roaming users in the region to utilize the networks under the best price and quality conditions; d) ident i fy ope ra to rs e n g a g e d in app ly ing prohibitive prices; e) consult with the national competition authority, where one exists; f) allow prepaid subscribers to use roaming at reasonable tariffs; g) inform customers about roaming charges in a clear, detailed and transparent manner; h) draw the n e c e s s a r y c o n c l u s i o n s from international practice. Art ic le 14: F ixed- to-Mobi le Call Terminat ion Member States shal l ensure that the national regulatory authorities examine: a) interconnection and call termination charges on mobile and fixed networks; b) charges and tariff s t ructures, retail and interconnect ion pr ices and the sharing of revenues between originating and terminating operators for fixed-to-mobile calls; c) possible adjustments to the tariff structures of retail and interconnection prices; d) the relevance of the interconnection market; e) the relevance of the mobile termination market; f) the identification of dominant operators in these markets and implementation of the necessary measures to promote smooth development of the telecommunication market and the process of l i be ra l i za t ion of the f ixed network in particular. Art ic le 15: Evo lu t ion of the regulatory f ramework to p romote the deve lopmen t of the internet Member States must ensure that: a) through unbundling, alternative operators are able to offer "triple play" type services (high­ speed internet, voice and television); b) al l the a l ternat ive opera to rs ' equ ipment necessary for the implementation of local loop access can be co-located; c) nat ional regulatory authorit ies encourage activities which will promote development of the w h o l e s a l e marke t and h e n c e rapid expansion of the internet in Member States; d) prior to the liberalization of fixed services, the national regulatory authorities negotiate with the incumbent operators on the inclusion of standard offers, namely: flat-rate a c c e s s , a c c e s s via non-geograph ica l free phone numbers, access via non-geographical paying numbers. 25 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 CHAPTERV In te r connec t i on ag reemen ts Art ic le 16: Legal regime of i n te rconnec t i on agreement 1. Interconnection shall be the subject of a private law ag reemen t , c o m m o n l y ca l l ed the interconnection contract, between the two parties in quest ion. The agreement shal l specify, subject to the applicable legislation and regu la t ions , the t echn i ca l and f inanc ia l conditions pertaining to the interconnection. Upon signature, it shall be communicated to the national regulatory authority. 2. When indispensable in order to guarantee fair compet i t ion, non-d iscr im inat ion between operators and the interoperability of networks and services, the national regulatory authority may reques t the par t ies to modi fy the interconnection agreement. 3. In case of a request for modif icat ion, the regulatory authority shall send the parties concerned its requests for modification, duly substantiated. The parties concerned shall have a period of one (1) month, as from the date of the request for modification, to amend the interconnection agreement. 4. The national regulatory authority may, either automatically or at the request of one of the parties, set a deadline for signature of the agreement, after which they must intervene to bring the negotiations to a conclusion so that negotiations do not become a barrier to the entry of new operators. 5. Operators which so request must be allowed to consul t , in the of f ices of the nat ional regulatory authorities, in the manner that the latter shal l dec ide and respect ing normal business confidentiality, the interconnection contracts concluded by operators. 6. Whe re the nat ional regulatory authori ty considers it urgent to take action to safeguard competition and protect users' interests, it may request that interconnection between the two networks be provided immediately, pending conclusion of the agreement. Art ic le 17: C o n t e n t The interconnection agreements shall specify, inter alia: a) the date of entry into force, duration and a r r a n g e m e n t s for the mod i f i ca t ion , te rmina t ion and renewa l of the agreement; b) arrangements for the establishment of in terconnect ion and the planning of subsequent deployment, level of quality of service guaranteed by each network and coordination measures for monitoring quality of service and fault identification and clearance; c) a description of the services provided by each party; d) arrangements for measuring traffic and sett ing fees for se rv i ces , bill ing and settlement procedures. In the absence of an RIO or for services not appearing in the RIO, the applicable tariffs shall appear in annex to the agreement; e) notification procedures and the contact details of the authorized representatives of e a c h party for e a c h f ield of competence; f) rules for compensat ion in the case of failure by one of the parties; g) d ispu te se t t lement p rocedures with men t i on , in the c a s e of fa i lure of negot iat ions between the part ies, of manda to ry recou rse to the nat ional regulatory authority. Art ic le 18: Ver i f icat ion by the nat ional regulatory au thor i t y 1. The national regulatory authority shall ensure that: a) the a g r e e m e n t c o m p l i e s with the applicable regulatory and legal texts, in particular those provisions relating to i n te rconnec t i on and the terms of reference of operators; b) the provisions of the agreement contain no discr iminatory measures liable to advantage or disadvantage one of the par t ies v i s -a - v i s other opera tors or service providers. For the purpose, the agreement shall be compared with other • agreements involving at least one of the parties. 26 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 2. Where the national regulatory authority has not formulated a request for modification within three (3) months as f rom receipt of the in terconnect ion agreement , requests for modi f i ca t ion sha l l c o v e r on ly those amendments aimed at guaranteeing that each party receive no worse treatment in terms of non-discr iminat ion as compared to those offered in more recent agreements signed by the other party. CHAPTER VI: OBLIGATIONS OF OPERATORS POSSESSING SIGNIFICANT POWER ON A RELEVANT MARKET Art ic le 19: Ident i f icat ion of re levant markets and of s ign i f icant market power on a relevant marke t 1. Member States shall ensure that the national regulatory authorities determine the relevant markets by: a) co l lec t ing in format ion about e a c h identified market so as to measure the extent of dominance; b) consu l t i ng the c o n c e r n e d t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n market p laye rs regard ing market r e l evance for the purpose of analyzing those markets; c) seeking the advice of the competition authority, where one exists; d) def in ing the cr i ter ia to measu re the dominance; e) consu l t i ng with the c o n c e r n e d telecommunication market players about obligations to be imposed on dominant operators for each relevant market. 2. Member States shall ensure that the E C O W A S Commission publishes: a) decisions adapted to the individual cases of the countries in question; b) gu ide l i nes for marke t a n a l y s i s and assessment of market power; c) a recommendation on relevant markets in p roduc ts and s e r v i c e s in the telecommunicat ion sector that can be regulated ex ante. 3. The authority shall analyze the markets in order to de te rm ine whether they are compet i t i ve or not and then draw the necessary conclusions in terms of regulatory obligations: if the analysis shows the market to be competitive, the authority shall abolish any existing obligations; otherwise, it shall identity the dominant operator(s) as defined by competition law and impose appropriate regulatory obligations. Art ic le 20: Cost accoun t i ng ob l igat ion 1. The national regulatory authorities of Member States shal l as soon as poss ib le require operators with significant market power to set up cos t accoun t i ng for the pu rposes of regu la t ion . T h e es tab l i shmen t of such accounting must begin as of the adoption of this Supplementary Act and be completed by 2009 at the latest, in order to adequately prepare for the opening of the market for fixed communication. Cost accounting must show s e p a r a t e a c c o u n t s , in a c c o r d a n c e with internat ional best p rac t i ces . It is further recommended that costs relating to regulated and non-regulated activities be kept separate. 2. Accounting must be by activity (activity-based costing - A B C ) . 3. The cost accounting system must be audited annually by an independent body appointed by the National Regulatory Authority, the costs of the audit to be borne by the operator with significant market power. It must allow the national regulatory authority to publish a cost nomenclature prior to submission of the RIO for approval. 4. Pending the implementation of cost accounting by 2009, the interconnection rates must be ca lcu la ted on the bas i s of the fol lowing recommendations: a) using a regional benchmark; b) using an existing cost calculation tool; c) for Member States which have audited cost accounting, a top-down model based on forward-looking historical costs maybe used initially (e.g. for three years) before moving to a model based on long-run incremental costs (LRIC), thereby giving the dominant operator an incentive for greater efficiency; 27 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 d) for setting the appropriate rate of return b a s e d on the cos t of cap i ta l , it is recommended that market data be used; e) for calculating the cost of equity, use of the hybrid capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is recommended, incorporating the country risk and correction coefficient R. Art ic le 2 1 : Reference i n t e r connec t o f fer 1. National regulatory authorities shall publish a clear and transparent procedure governing approval of the reference interconnect offer (RIO) of operators possess ing signif icant market power. 2. National regulatory authorities shall be entitled to request the operator with significant market power to add or modify the services set out in their o f fers , w h e n s u c h add i t ions or modifications are justified for compliance with the principles of non-discrimination and cost- orientation of interconnection. 3. The offers must be as detailed as possible in order to facilitate and smooth interconnection contract negotiations. 4. The operator with significant market power is required to publish annually an RIO, reflecting its price list and the technical services offered. The offer must contain at least the following services: a) services for the routing of switched traffic (call termination and origination); b) leased lines; c) interconnection links; d) s u p p l e m e n t a r y s e r v i c e s and implementation arrangements therefore; e) description of all points of interconnection and conditions of access thereto, for the purposes of physical co-location; f) comprehensive description of proposed interconnection interfaces, including the s igna l ing pro toco l and poss ib l y the encryp t ion me thods u s e d for the interfaces; g) technical and tariff conditions governing the selection of carrier and portability. 5. T r a n s p a r e n c y ob l i ga t i ons in l ine with international best practices, may be imposed by the national regulatory authorities. 6. As soon as the fixed network services have been opened up to competition, the RIOs of operators with significant market power must also include the following services; a) third-party billing services; b) at the request of the national regulatory authority, an alternative co-location offer if physical co-location is proven to be technically unfeasible; c) as needed, the technical and financial cond i t i ons govern ing a c c e s s to the operator's resources, in particular those relating to unbundling of the local loop, with a view to offering telecommunication services. Art ic le 22: Publ icat ion of a re ference i n t e r c o n n e c t of fer The reference interconnect offers approved by the national regulatory authority shall be made available on the dominant operators' websites and shall be accessible by a web link available on the national regulatory authority's website. Art ic le 23: Relevant cos t o r ien ta t ion 1. Dominant operators shall respect the principle of relevant cost orientation, i.e. the costs of network components or the management structures of the operator effectively involved in the provision of interconnection. 2. The relevant costs shall include: a) general network costs, i.e. costs relating to network componen ts used by the operator both for serv ices for its own c u s t o m e r s and for in te rconnec t ion services; b) costs specific to interconnection services, i.e. costs directly incurred solely by those services. 28 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 3. Non-relevant costs shall include costs specific to services other than interconnection. 4. Relevant costs must take account of long-term e c o n o m i c e f f i c iency , in par t icu lar , the investments required for network renewal and expansion with a view to sustained quality of service. These costs shall incorporate the cost of return on capital invested. Art ic le 24: Mon i to r ing of i n te rconnec t i on tar i f fs 1. Dominant operators shall attach to the draft reference interconnect offer submitted to the nat iona l regu la tory author i ty a de ta i led p resen ta t ion jus t i fy ing the main tariffs proposed. Once the harmonized method for calculating interconnection costs has been adopted, operators shall use it in order to provide the requested justification. 2. The national regulatory authority shall ensure that the methods and data used are valid. A s required, it shall request the operator to adjust its calculations to rectify errors identified. 3. S h o u l d an opera to r fai l to p rov ide the justifications required, the national regulatory authority may in the operator's stead evaluate the costs based on the information available to it. 4. National regulatory authorities shall ensure that tariff set t ing for a c c e s s and interconnection in so far as the dominant operators are concerned is cost-oriented and, as appropr iate, that the fees payable by consumers are not dissuasive. Art ic le 25: Communica t ion of in format ion to the nat ional regu la tory author i ty 1. Dominan t ope ra to rs are requ i red to commun ica te to the nat iona l regulatory authority, at least once a year, the bas ic in format ion requ i red for c h e c k i n g the calculat ion of in terconnect ion cos ts . The national regulatory authority shall prepare and communicate to operators a detailed list of that information. It shall update the list regularly, taking account inter alia of steps taken to harmonize the calculation methods. 2. Dominant operators are required to allow the duly authorized staff or agents of the national regulatory authority to have access to their installations and information system in order to check the val id i ty of the informat ion received. 3. The national regulatory authority is bound to respec t the conf ident ia l i ty of non-publ ic information to which it has access within the framework of auditing the interconnection costs. Art ic le 26: Local loop unbund l ing Member States shall ensure that, in the regulatory text: a) new entrants are authorized to access the l oca l loop on the bas i s of a pre-established schedule; b) new entrants commit, in their respective p roposa l s , to instal l some minimum in f ras t ruc ture capac i t y , whe reas dominant operators commit to provide access to copper pairs to the new entrant as well as the possibility of co-location on its p r e m i s e s in o rder to fac i l i ta te unbundling; c) the unbundling offer including the list of serv ices offered at the request of the national regulatory authority shall be approved by the latter; d) the national regulatory authority shall be obliged to ensure, on one hand, that the new entrant has access to the information needed for unbundling purposes and, on the other, that information related to unbundling is exchanged electronically be tween dominan t opera to rs and competitors; a schedule for unbundling sha l l be es tab l i shed with a v iew to liberalization of fixed communications, privileging unbundling with shared line access initially; e) recommendations shall be provided on use of the "sc issors test" in order to compare retail pr ices and unbundling pr ices in order to el iminate any anti­ competitive practices by the dominant operators. Art ic le 27: Co- loca t ion 1. Member States shall ensure that there is an obligation for dominant operators to provide 29 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 co- locat ion and that a co- loca t ion offer, p resen t ing no bar r ier to the entry of competi tors, is inc luded in the reference interconnect offer for network interconnection and in the unbundling offer for unbundling. 2. Member States shall ensure that: a) where physical co-location is impossible for some valid reason such as lack of space, an alternative co-location offer must be made by the dominant operators; b) the national regulatory authority shall have a map of sel f-contained routing switches that are open to interconnection and are ava i l ab le for compet i to rs ' co-location: to this end, a working group composed of the nat ional regulatory authority, the incumbent operator and alternative operators sha l l , in a fully t ransparen t f a s h i o n , e x a m i n e the problems of co- locat ion and propose different so lu t ions in order to so lve problems that might arise. The industry could be involved in the work of this group so as to bring its technical expertise to bear. 3. The national regulatory authority shall work in advance on problems relating to access to premises, uninterrupted power, cooling and patch cables. 4. The national regulatory authority shall prevent the creation of any entry barriers inherent to co-location and provide solutions to conflicts relating to it as rapidly as possible. 5. The nat iona l regu la tory author i ty sha l l establish a decision on the minimal set of cond i t ions that must be fu l f i l led in any co-location offer, following consultation with the opera to rs of pub l i c t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n networks. These conditions may lead to the specification, in every co-location offer, of the following: a) information on co-location sites; b) precise location of the operator's sites suitable for co-location; c) publication or notification of an updated list of sites; d) ind ica t ions as to the ava i lab i l i ty of alternative solut ions in the event that phys ica l s p a c e for co- locat ion is not available; e) information on what types of co-location are available, and on the availability of electric systems and cooling equipment on the sites, as well as the rules governing sublease of the co-location premises; f) i nd i ca t i ons on the t ime requi red to conduc t feas ib i l i t y s tud ies for any co-location request; g) information on equipment characteristics and any restrictions on equipment that can be accepted for co-location; h) m e a s u r e s that opera to rs of fer ing co- locat ion must take to ensure the security of their premises and to identify and resolve problems; i) cond i t i ons under wh ich compe t ing opera to r p e r s o n n e l may enter the premises; j) cond i t i ons under wh ich compet ing operators and the regulator may inspect a site where phys ica l co- locat ion is impossible, or a site where co-location has been refused on the grounds of lack of capacity. CHAPTER VII SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES Art ic le 28: Obl igat ions of National Regulatory Au tho r i t i es Member States shal l ensure that the national regulatory authorities: a) publish a referral procedure complying with that described in Article 29 below, enabling market players to bring disputes before the national regulatory authority in accordance with a clear and transparent procedure; b) ensure that the committee responsible for taking decisions is impartial, and comprises people recognized for their competence and appointed intuitu personae; c) set a maximum time-frame for the settlement of disputes; 30 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 d) provide for the possibi l i ty of the authority initiating a referral act ion itself, and the possibility of injunction against an operator in the event of serious problems requiring urgent solution; e) cooperate as widely as possible, and establish a group for exchanging experience via the internet and a database of past disputes and their solutions. Art ic le 29: D ispute reso lu t i on p rocedu res 1. Disputes relating to refusal to interconnect, interconnection agreements and conditions of a c c e s s are brought before the nat ional regulatory authority. 2. The national regulatory authority shall render a decision within a period of three months, after having invited parties to present their remarks. That period may nevertheless be extended to six months when additional investigations and expert opinions are required. The decision shall be substantiated, and shall specify the equi table cond i t ions , both techn ica l and financial, under which the interconnection is to be effected. Matters remaining in dispute sha l l be brought be fore the competen t jurisdictions. 3. In the case of serious and blatant breach of the rules governing the telecommunication sector, the national regulatory authority may, after invit ing the par t ies to submit their remarks , o rder app rop r ia te p rov i s iona l measures to be taken to ensure the continued functioning of networks and services. CHAPTER VIII: FINAL PROVISIONS Art ic le 30: T ime- f rames for t ranspos i t i on 1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to adapt their national sectoral legislation to this Supplementary Act no later than two years following the date of its entry into force. They shall inform the Commission of those steps immediately. 2. The legal texts agreed to shal l contain a reference to this Supplementary Act or shall have such a reference attached to them when they are officially published. Art ic le 31 : Imp lemen ta t i on 1. When , based on this Supplementary Act, national regulatory authorities take decisions that are liable to have an impact on exchanges be tween M e m b e r S ta tes and on the establ ishment of the common market, and concern interconnection and access to the r e s o u r c e s of pub l i c t e l ecommun ica t i on network operators, they shall ensure that the measures and substantiating arguments are communicated to the Commission one month prior to their implementation. 2. The national regulatory authority shall take into c o n s i d e r a t i o n the obse rva t i ons of the Commission. 3. The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the national regulatory authority that they are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 4. Under exceptional circumstances, where the nat ional regulatory authority cons iders it urgent to take action to safeguard competition and protect users ' interests, it may adopt p ropor t iona te m e a s u r e s immediate ly , appl icable for a limited period only. Those measures shall be communicated without delay to the Commission for observations. 5. When Member States adopt transposit ion measures for this Supplementary Act, they shall ensure that the planned measures along with subs tan t i a t i ng a rguments are communicated to the Commission one month prior to implementation of the measures. 6. Member States shall take into consideration the observat ions of the Commiss ion . The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the Member States that the measures proposed are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 7. Member States shal l communicate to the Commission any provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field governed by this Supplementary Act. 31 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Art ic le 32: In fo rmat ion repor t Member States shal l , no later than six months fol lowing the date of entry into force of this S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t , c o m m u n i c a t e to the Commission the steps taken or which are in the coursu of approval or implementat ion for the purpose of implementing this Supplementary Act. Art ic le 33: Pub l i ca t ion This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its s ignature by the Chairman of Authority. It shall also be published by each Member State in its National Gazette within the same time frame. Art ic le 34: Entry into force 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon its publication. Consequently, signatory States and E C O W A S Institutions pledge to commence the implementation of its provisions on its entry into force. 2. This Supplementary Act is annexed to the E C O W A S Treaty of which it is an integral part. Art ic le 35: Depos i to ry author i ty This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Commiss ion which shal l transmit certified true copies thereof to all the Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations and such other organisat ions as Counc i l may determine. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES, HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19™ DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Excellency Tbdmas Boni Yayi President of tbe^Republic of Benin His Excel lency Blaise Compaore Chairnrjafi of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso President of the Republic of Cabo Verde His Excel lency Laurent G bag bo President of the Republic of Cote D'lvoire 32 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea Her Excel lency Ellen Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali His~Excellency/ Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger His Excel lency Olusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His EXCJE Presider cy Abdou laye Wade Republic of Senegal Hon. Mohammed Dararm, Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excel lency Faure Essozimna Gnass ingbe '-President of the Togolese Republic 33 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 SUPPLEMENTARY ACT A/SA.3/01/07 ON THE LEGAL REGIME APPLICABLE TO NETWORK OPERATORS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 33 of the said treaty, which provides that Member States shall, in the area of t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , d e v e l o p , m o d e r n i z e , coord ina te and s t a n d a r d i z e their na t iona l telecommunication networks in order to provide reliable interconnection among Member States, and shal l coord ina te their efforts with a v iew to mobi l iz ing national and international f inancial resources through participation of the private sector in the provision of telecommunication services; MINDFUL of Decis ion A / D E C . 14/01/05 on the adoption of a regional telecommunication policy and development of G S M regional roaming in the E C O W A S Member States; M INDFUL of Decis ion A / D E C . 11/12/94 on the establishment of an E C O W A S technical advisory committee on telecommunication regulation; CONSIDERING that the Community has resolutely e m b a r k e d upon a p r o c e s s of l i be ra l i z ing telecommunication services and infrastructures by 2007; NOTING that this liberalization process is giving rise to flourishing markets and that this calls for the opening up of access to nc-vv ICT operators through the granting of l icenses or authorizations for the establ ishment and/or operation of networks or frequencies; D E S I R O U S of adopting harmonized regulations in regard to the procedures for the granting of such licenses or authorizations within the Member States, based on the rules of free competition in conformity with international legislation in the area of ICT; ON THE P R O P O S A L of the Meeting of Ministers In Charge of Telecommunication held in Abuja on 11 May 2006; ON THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the fifty-seventh s e s s i o n of the C o u n c i l of M in i s te r s he ld in Ouagadougou from 18 to 19. AGREE AS FOLLOWS CHAPTER I: DEFINITIONS, OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE Ar t ic le 1: De f in i t i ons 1. For the purposes of this Supplementary Act, the definitions contained in Supplementary Act A/SA1/01/07 shall apply. 2. The following additional definitions shall also apply: Subscriber: a person who receives and pays for a communicat ion service over a given period of time pursuant to an agreement in accordance with terms establ ished by the service provider, with the approval of the national regulatory authority. Authorization: Administrative Act (individual l i cense , c o n c e s s i o n contract or genera l authorization) which grants a set of rights and obligations to an entity and grants the entity the right to es tab l i sh and exploi t t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n ne tworks or offer telecommunication services. Individual License : an authorization which is granted to a legal entity by a national regulatory authority and which grants such entity spec i f i c rights or imposes speci f ic obligations which are in addition to the rights and ob l i ga t i ons a t tached to genera l authorizations or c lass l icenses and which obligates the company in question to obtain an explicit decision from the national regulatory authority before exercising rights deriving from s u c h d o c u m e n t and to commun i ca te information about the service concerned. General authorization: a genera l authorization or c lass l icense granted by a national regulatory authority to any legal entity meeting the applicable conditions appended thereto and which obligates the company in question to obtain an explicit decision from the national regulatory authority before exercising rights deriving from such document and to communicate information about the service concerned as necessary to assure proper compl iance with the appl icable conditions appended thereto in accordance with current regulations; 34 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol 50 Declaration: act of reg is t ra t ion of telecommunications activities with the National Regulatory Authority by a network operator or service provider which does not require the company to obtain an explicit decision from the National Regulatory Authority prior to commencing the operation of the network or provision of the service. Exclusive rights: rights granted by a Member State to a single company by means of a leg is la t i ve , regu la tory or admin is t ra t i ve provision which reserves for that company the right to provide a telecommunication service or engage in a te lecommunicat ion activity within a specific territory. Special rights : rights granted by a Member State by means of a legislative, regulatory or administrative provision, which attribute to one or more c o m p a n y an a d v a n t a g e or an entitlement to provide a telecommunication service or engage in a telecommunicat ion activity on the basis of criteria that are not ob jec t i ve , p ropor t iona te and non ­ discriminatory. Independent network: a telecommunication network reserved for private or shared use. In principle, it cannot be connected to a network that is open to the public. Whether an independent network is for private or shared use is determined as follows: for private use, if it is reserved for internal use by the natural or juridical person that established it; for shared use, if it is reserved for use by seve ra l natural or ju r id ica l pe rsons organized into one or more closed user groups, with a view to exchanging internal communications within a single group. Internal network: an independent network establ ished entirely on a s ingle property, without making use of the public domain, including spectrum resources, or third party property. Public telecommunication network: telecommunication networks established and/ or operated for the purpose of providing public telecommunication services. Resale: the act of rese l l i ng pub l ic telecommunication services or traffic (resale to the end user of minutes purchased by a provider at wholesale prices from another service provider). Art ic le 2: Ob jec t ives and scope 1. This Supplementary Act forms part of the framework for harmonizing and regulating the ICT sec tor in the Communi ty . It a ims to harmonize the legal regimes that apply to the activity carr ied on by te lecommunicat ion network operators and service providers, and to lay down procedures for issuing licenses, au thor iza t ions and dec la ra t ions and the conditions applicable to the different regimes. 2. The transposition of this Supplementary Act into domest ic law shall not affect specif ic regulatory provis ions adopted by Member States, particularly in regard to the legal basis for the essent ia l requirements and other imperatives of public order. CHAPTER II: BASIC PRINCIPLES Art ic le 3: Open ing up to compet i t ion 1. Member States are required to promote, in all countries of the Community, free competition, thereby opening the market to new entrants, at the latest by 31 December 2006. 2. In order to allow all countries to follow regional trends, transition periods foreseen by certain M e m b e r S ta tes sha l l be l imited to 31st December 2007. Art ic le 4: Compe t i t i ve f r amework 1. Member States shall promote infrastructure- based competition. 2. In the initial stages of competition, Member States shall ensure, by means of the licensing approach , that se rv ice -based competit ion d o e s not d i s s u a d e new ent rants from deploying their own infrastructure. Art ic le 5: Techno logy and serv ice neutral i ty 1. Member States shall promote technology and se rv i ce neutra l i ty so as to be able to 35 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 a c c o m m o d a t e c o n v e r g e n c e and new technologies. 2. Member States shall refrain from imposing limitations of the service offered over a given network except in the case of the protection of public order or moral standards. 3. In order to take account of technological deve lopments , the l icens ing regime shal l include provisions to facilitate the review of license conditions when technological advance has an impact on ongoing operation. CHAPTER III: PRINCIPLES GOVERNING ICT MARKET ENTRY Art ic le 6: General p r i nc ip les 1. Member States shall define and apply licensing and general authorization mechanisms that fac i l i ta te market entry and a l low the progressive dismantlement of obstacles to competition and to the development of new services. 2. C o n v e r g e n c e be tween di f ferent telecommunication networks and services and their t e c h n o l o g i e s requ i res a l i cens ing framework which covers comparable services whatever the technology used. 3. M e m b e r S ta tes sha l l e n s u r e that the telecommunication services and/or networks can be provided either without authorization or b a s e d on a g e n e r a l au thor i za t ion complemented, as appropriate, by rights and obligations requiring the individual evaluation of candidacies and involving one or several individual l icenses. 4. Any condition imposed with regard to the operation of telecommunication networks or the provision of telecommunication services must be non-discriminatory, proportionate, transparent and must be justified in relation to the targeted network or service. Art ic le 7: Cond i t ions for market entry 1. Member States shall ensure that their legal framework contains four levels of regulatory intervention allowing ICT market entry: a) individual l icense; b) general authorization or class license; c) open entry, which may in some cases requ i re reg is t ra t ion , not i f icat ion or declaration with the National Regulatory Authority. 2. Different te lecommunicat ion networks and services shall be categorized according to the structure adopted: a) An individual license shall be required in the following cases: for the operat ion or provision of public telecommunication networks or the public voice telephony service; for the use of scarce resources (radio frequencies and numbering). The issue of licenses/authorizations for the use of f requenc ies and numbers shall be dealt with in the corresponding decisions; if the government of a particular country, for reasons of public policy, determines that the service shall be o f fered in a cer ta in way (e.g. measures concerning public order , pub l i c secur i ty or publ ic health). b) A general authorization is required in the following case: the operation or provision of private networks. c) Entry is open subject to compliance with the applicable legislative and regulatory provisions, in the following cases: internal networks; rad io ins ta l la t ions exc lus i ve l y composed of low-power, low-range equipment categorized as decided by the nat iona l regulatory authorities. For the following activities where entry is open, a declaration is required: the p rov i s ion of v a l u e - a d d e d services; the provision of the internet service; resellers. Art ic le 8: Sector deve lopmen t and prov is iona l c o n d i t i o n s 1. In order to promote the development of the ICT sector in the region and to allow more 36 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 choice to consumers , E C O W A S Member States may dec ide that certain act ivi t ies, services or networks should be exempted from the obligation to hold a license and be subject to the authorization, declaration or even the open entry regime. The aim of such a provision is to give flexibility to the Member States in order to p romote the e s t a b l i s h m e n t of networks and the provision of services in the region. 2. Without prejudice to § 1 above, where the provision of a telecommunication service is not yet c o v e r e d by a l i c e n s e or gene ra l authorization and where that service and/or network cannot be provided without a license or authorization, Member States shall, no later than six weeks after having received a request, either adopt provisional conditions allowing the company to commence providing the service, or shal l deny the request , provid ing the company concerned with the reasons for their decision. Member States shall then adopt, as soon as p o s s i b l e , def in i t i ve cond i t i ons governing the issue of a l icense for the service or network, or agree that the serv ice or network be provided without authorization, or provide the reasons for their refusal to do either. 3. Member States shall decide on an appropriate procedure for the subm iss i on , to a body independent from the nat ional regulatory authority, of appeals against the refusal to adopt provisional or definitive conditions, and against the denial of requests or refusal to agree that the service be provided without authorization. Art ic le 9: L imitat ion of barr iers to market entry 1. Member States shall ensure that they impose no barriers that are not in conformity with regulations on the number of operators or service providers in the ICT market. 2. Member States shall refrain from granting licenses with exclusivity or special rights, except when mandated by the country's policy or legislation, when dictated by the unavailability of necessary resources , or other relevant reasons. Art ic le 10: Publ ic avai labi l i ty of market entry cr i ter ia 1. Where a license or general authorization is required, Member States shall ensure that the information is published in such a way as to make it readily available to interested parties. The official journals of the Member States and the Official Journal of the Community, as the case may be, shall refer to the publication of such information. 2. Members States shall ensure that the following information is published and made available to the public: a) all cr i ter ia for the issue of l i censes, general authorizations and declarations; b) the period of time normally required to reach a decision concerning a request for a license or general authorization; c) the terms and condi t ions govern ing activities subject to individual l icenses, general authorizations, declarations or open entry. Art ic le 11: Publ ic consu l ta t ions In order to ensure fairness and transparency in the licensing and authorization process, Member States shall consult with industry, the public and other stakeholders. Art ic le 12: Reasons for denial Member States shall ensure that procedures are introduced whereby all the reasons for the denial of any license or general authorization are made known to the applicant upon request. CHAPTER IV: PROCEDURES FOR GRANTING INDIVIDUAL LICENSES Art ic le 13: Procedures for g ran t ing ind iv idua l l icenses 1. W h e n a M e m b e r State intends to grant individual l icenses: a) it shall grant the l icenses according to open, non-discriminatory and transparent procedures, and, for the purpose, all candidates shall be subject to the same procedures unless there is an objective reason for subjecting them to different treatment; b) it shall establish reasonable time-frames; inter alia, it shall inform the applicant of 37 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 its decision as soon as possible, and at the latest six weeks following receipt of the request. In the provisions they adopt for implementation of this Supplementary Act, Member States may extend this period up to four months in objectively justified cases specifically defined in the a fo remen t i oned p rov i s i ons . In the par t icu lar c a s e of ca l l for tender procedures, Member States may extend the period by a maximum of four additional months . T h e s e pe r iods must be es tab l ished without prejudice to any app l i cab le in te rna t iona l ag reemen t related to the international coordination of frequencies and satellites. 2. The following information may be required in order to prove that a request for an individual license meets the conditions imposed by the relevant provisions of this Supplementary Act: a) Legal information, including a description of the candidate, the legal form of the company, proof of its registration by the competen t c o m m e r c i a l ju r i sd ic t ion (e.g. commerc ia l registry, art ic les of incorporation and bylaws), a list and description of existing licenses in which the app l i can t has at least 10% par t i c ipa t ion , as wel l as the lega l confirmation of the compliance of existing operators' l icenses, individuals shall be required to show that they are registered as a corporate body. On the other hand, commercial partnerships may be required to show by m e a n s of a s ta tement accompanied by a certificate from the relevant competent body that they are legally established and that their contract of partnership includes the establishment of ne tworks or the p rov is ion of telecommunication services. b) Financial information, including audited financial statements, annual reports, a detailed description of financial backing. c) Economic information, including a model of s e r v i c e con t rac t /dec la ra t i on of compliance with model service contract to be drafted and pub l i shed by the national regulatory authority as well as annual reports and a descript ion and proof of financial backing. Applicants must a lso submit proof of the app l icant 's t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n opera t ing and management expertise. Applicants shall be requ i red to prov ide deta i led information concerning inter alia market forecasting, evidence of their experience and of their technical and management ability to realize the project proposed, and appropriate documentation. Applicants shall also be required to show that the key staff p roposed for the project is a d e q u a t e and has the requ i red experience and know-how to implement the project; app l i can ts shal l submit appropriate documentation in this regard. d) Technical information, including coverage p lans and ind ica to rs , p lann ing and development of the system including connection, numbering and addressing issues and proposed quality of service. 3. Wi thout p re jud ice to Ar t ic le 14 of this Supplementary Act, any company providing the information that may be required from it to prove that it meets the conditions established and published by Member States in conformity with the re levant p rov i s ions of this Supplementary Act shall qualify to obtain an individual l icense. If a company seeking to obtain an individual l icense fails to provide such informat ion, the national regulatory authority may refuse to grant the individual l icense. 4. Applicants whose authorization or license has been suspended or revoked, even outside the country concerned, shall not be authorized to request a license. 5. M e m b e r S ta tes that re fuse to grant an individual l icense, or that withdraw, modify or s u s p e n d one , sha l l commun ica te to the E C O W A S Commission and to the company concerned the reasons for their dec is ion. Member States shall establish an appropriate procedure al lowing appea ls against such refusal, withdrawal, modification or suspension of a license to be brought before an institution that is i ndependen t from the nat ional regulatory authority 6. L icenses shal l be issued to the applicant persona l l y . T rans fe r to third par t ies, if applicable, shall be done only with the prior consent of the national regulatory authority. However , a l i cense ob ta ined through 38 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal vol 5r competition or tender procedures shall not be transferable, unless the applicant has declared in advance his intention to set up a company entirely owned by him to operate the licensed activities. Art ic le 14: L imi tat ion on number of ind iv idua l l icenses 1. Member States shal l be able to limit the number of individual l icenses, for any category of te lecommunicat ion serv ice and for the es tab l i shmen t and /o r opera t ion of telecommunication infrastructure, only to the extent required to guarantee the efficient use of the radio-frequency spectrum or for the time required to allow sufficient numbers to be allocated. 2. Where a Member State intends to limit the number of indiv idual l i censes granted in conformity with § 1: a) it shall give due considerat ion to the necessity to maximize advantages for users and facilitate the development of competition; b) it sha l l g ive in te res ted par t ies the opportunity to express their opinion on any planned limitation; c) it shall publish its decision to limit the number of individual l icenses as well as the justification of such a decision; d) it shal l regularly re-examine the limit imposed; e) it shall launch a public tender for the issue of l icenses. 3. Member States shall grant individual l icenses on the basis of objective, non-discriminatory, t ransparent , p ropor t ionate and de ta i led selection criteria. In any selection, they shall take due account of the necessity to facilitate the development of competition and maximize advantages for users. 4. Member States shall ensure that information concerning the aforementioned criteria are published in advance in such a way as to be readily available. The official journal of the Member State concerned shall refer to the publication of such information. 5. When a Member State determines, at its own ini t iat ive or further to a request from a company, upon this Supplementary Act's entry into force or subsequently, that the number of l icenses can be increased, it shall take the necessary actions and launch a call for tender for additional l icenses. Art ic le 15: Call for tender for ind iv idua l l icenses 1. For each call for tender for the purpose of proposing the establishment and/or operation of a specif ic telecommunication service or network under the individual license regime, the administration shall establish in terms of reference: a) the conditions for the establishment of the network; b) the conditions for the provision of the service; c) the coverage area of the service and implementation schedule; d) the radio f requenc ies and b locks of numbers a l l oca ted a long with the conditions of access to elevated points belonging to the public domain; e) the minimum professional and technical qual i f icat ions along with the financial guarantees required of applicants; f) the conditions for operating the service, including those relating to the provision of universal service and the principle of equality of treatment of users; g) arrangements for payment of the fee referred to in Article 16 below; h) a r r a n g e m e n t s for payment of the f inancial cons iderat ion referred to in Article 16; i) the duration of the license's validity and conditions for its renewal. 2. The cal l for tender sha l l es tab l i sh the conditions of access and interconnection to publ ic t e l ecommun ica t i on networks and poss ib l y a lso the cond i t ions for leas ing components of those networks as required for the establishment of the new network or for provision of the service covered by the call 39 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 for tender. In that case, the license carries with it the right to access to interconnection or the leasing required. 3. The bid shall be awarded to the applicant whose offer is deemed to be the best vis-a-vis all stipulations in the terms of reference. 4. Award of the bid shall be published in a public report. Art ic le 16: Ind iv idual l icense charges and fees 1. Without p re jud ice to the cos t of the au thor iza t ion or f i nanc ia l con t r ibu t ions , including those relating to the provision of universal service pursuant to Supplementary Act A / S A . . . . / 0 1 / 0 7 , M e m b e r States shal l ensure that the charges and fees imposed on service providers and operators as part of the license and authorization procedures are for the sole purpose of covering the administrative cos t s incur red in the au tho r i za t i on , management, control and implementation of scarce resources and costs of regulating the t e l ecommun ica t i on sec tor . The c h a r g e s applicable to an individual license shall be in proportion to the volume of work required and shal l be publ ished in an appropriate and suf f ic ient ly de ta i l ed form to make the information readily available. 2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, in the case of s c a r c e r e s o u r c e s M e m b e r S ta tes may authorize their national regulatory authorities to charge fees in order to cater for the need to e n s u r e op t imum ut i l i za t ion of s u c h r e s o u r c e s . S u c h f e e s sha l l be non-discriminatory and shall take account in par t icu lar of the n e e d to p romote the deve lopment of innovat ive se rv i ces and competition. CHAPTER V: PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO GENERAL AUTHORIZATIONS Art ic le 17: Procedures app l icab le to the genera l au thor i za t ion reg ime 1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Chapter IV, Member States shall not prevent a company that provides the necessary information and the required proof that the applicant meets the conditions imposed, satisfying the conditions app l i cab le to a genera l author izat ion in conformity with the provisions of Chapter VI, from providing the telecommunication networks and/or service concerned. 2. Operators applying for an authorization shall be required to notify the national regulatory authority before providing the intended service in order to ensu re comp l i ance with any applicable condit ions of operation. In such instance, they may be required to wait for a reasonable and defined period of time before starting to provide the services covered by the authorization. 3. Applicants whose authorization or license has been suspended or revoked, even outside the country concerned, shall not be qualified to request an authorization. 4. The in format ion requ i red for genera l authorization shall include: a) legal and financial information, including a description of the applicant, the legal form of the c o m p a n y , proof of its registration by the competent commercial jur isdict ion (e.g. commerc ia l registry, articles of incorporation and bylaws), a model of service contract/declaration of compliance with model service contract to be draf ted and pub l i shed by the national regulatory authority as well as annua l reports and a descr ip t ion of f inancial backing. Individuals shall be required to show that they are registered as co rpo ra te en t i t ies . C o m m e r c i a l partnerships, however, may be required to s h o w by m e a n s of a s ta tement accompanied by a certificate from the relevant competent body that they are legally established and that their contract of partnership includes the business of providing telecommunication services; b) technical information: entities shall be required to inform the relevant authorities of Member States of the services they intend to introduce and to provide the information that shows that they can fulfill the terms and conditions applicable to the licensable activity, namely: detailed description of the service proposed; t e c h n i c a l project s tat ing the equ ipment to be used including 40 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 proof of type a p p r o v a l of own equipment to be used; ind ica t ion of the ent i ty and a description of the facilities proposed on the in f ras t ruc ture of other network operators for the service proposed. 5. National regulatory authorities reserve the right to request additional information. Art ic le 18: 2 Charges app l icab le to genera l au tho r i za t i on p rocedu res 1. Wi thout p re jud ice to the f i nanc ia l contributions, including those related to the provision of universal service in conformity with the Supplementary Act on universal access/ universal service, Member States shall ensure 3 that the charges imposed on companies as part of authorization procedures are for the sole purpose of covering the administrative costs incurred in i ssuance , management , control and implementation under the general authorization regime. 4, 2. These charges shall be sufficiently detailed and published in a form that makes them readily available. CHAPTER VI: PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO - DECLARATIONS Art ic le 19: Genera l p r i nc ip l es 1. Any natural person or legal entity may freely offer the resale of telecommunication services, the commerc ia l operat ion of va lue-added services and the provision of internet services but is required to submit a declaration of the offer of s u c h s e r v i c e with the Na t iona l Regulatory Authority. 2. The na t iona l regu la to ry author i ty sha l l acknowledge receipt of the declaration in the interest of ensuring that the proposed service con fo rms with the ex is t i ng regu la tory framework. Art ic le 20: I n fo rma t ion requ i red A declaration of intention to open a service shall contain the following information: the arrangements for opening the service; geographical coverage; conditions of access; the kind of services offered; the rates to be charged to users. For non-faci l i t ies-based resel lers, Member States may also require a description of the services (minutes), as well as a description of the ways in which resale will be effected (distribution channels) and the geographical area where the services will be resold in order to ensure consumer protection. In the case of pre-paid calling card resellers, Member States may require the deposit of a cer ta in sum as a guaran tee in order to minimize fraud in the provision of the pre-paid card service. Any change made to the initial conditions of the declaration, with the exception of changes to the rates charged, shall be brought to the attention of the national regulatory authority concerned one month prior to the intended date of implementation. i. In the case of transfer, the reseller or provider of the value-added service is required to inform the national regulatory authority concerned of the change no later than 30 days following the date of the transfer, and to deposit with the national regulatory authority a declaration of intention to open a service as referred to in paragraph 1 above. CHAPTER VII: CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO LICENSES AND GENERAL AUTHORIZATIONS Art ic le 2 1 : P r inc ip les Al l cond i t ions app l i cab le to a l i cense or authorization must be compatible with the rules of competition of the E C O W A S Treaty. Without prejudice to right to impose sanctions, if the provision of the service subject to a 2. declaration proves to undermine public order or security or is contrary to moral standards and decency, the competent authorities may prohibit the provision of such services. All holders of a telecommunication license or authorization will have a set of basic rights and these rights shall be applicable to all operators holding a license or authorization, regardless of whe ther they are s e r v i c e - b a s e d or 41 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 network-based operators. However, the ability of l icense or authorization holders to avail themselves of those rights may be conditional upon their being able to meet physical or technical requirements. 3. The conditions applicable to individual licenses or gene ra l au tho r i za t i ons i s s u e d to te lecommunicat ion serv ice providers and operators are set forth in the annex to this Supplementary Act. 4. All conditions applicable to an individual license or general authorization must comply with the principle of proportionality and compatibility with the rules of competition of the Treaty. Member States shal l ensure that l icense targets to further universal service goals do not discourage competition. Art ic le 22: Types of cond i t ions 1. Certain conditions which will be contained in licenses shall be applicable only if the license holder is in a dominant position on a market further to a decision taken by the national regulatory authority as provided for by the E C O W A S S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t on interconnection. Where the national regulatory author i ty in tends to make a f ind ing of dominance, there is a statutory consultation process to be followed. 2. Where operators wish to have access to scarce resou rces s u c h as f requency spec t rum, numbers or land, the nat ional regulatory authority shall retain the right to put in place additional conditions including, but not limited to, the requirement to participate in specific app l i ca t ion p r o c e d u r e s or compet i t i ve se lec t i on p r o c e s s e s . In add i t i on , those conditions that relate to scarce resources should be activated where an operator gains a c c e s s to such r e s o u r c e s . The nat ional regulatory authority shall consult separately in relation to the allocation of scarce resources where appropriate. 3. Condit ions regarding the regulation of the activities of a dominant operator shall not, in p r inc ip le , app ly to new ent ran ts . S u c h cond i t i ons sha l l app l y on ly where it is determined, after appropriate market analysis by the national regulatory authority that a licensee is in fact in a dominant position as provided for by the Supplementary Act on interconnection. 4. C e r t a i n ope ra to r s ho ld ing l i c e n s e s or au tho r i za t i ons sha l l on ly be subject to condit ions l inked to quality of service and customer relat ions. Never the less , certain condit ions relating to universal service, in particular including emergency calls, directory serv ices and publ ic pay phones, may be applicable. The national regulatory authorities sha l l re ta in the abi l i ty to des igna te an operator(s) other than the incumbent as having a universal service obligation in the future. 5. Any holder of a license or authorization shall make appropr iate prov is ions to take into consideration the needs of disabled people. Art ic le 23: Pub l ica t ion of cond i t i ons Member States shall ensure that the conditions are published in order to ensure that the information is readily available to interested parties. Art ic le 24: Mod i f i ca t ion of cond i t i ons 1. The conditions of an individual license and of a general authorization shall be considered fixed at the time the license or authorization is officially delivered. 2. Member States shall be able to modify the conditions of an individual license or general authorization in objectively justified cases and in a proport ionate manner. If it becomes necessary to modify the condit ions of an individual l icense or general authorization, the Member State shal l give the holder of the license or authorization reasonable advance notice of any modifications before they are implemented. 3. In this r e g a r d , S ta tes sha l l notify their intentions to the President of the E C O W A S Commission. Art ic le 25: Rev iewing , t e rm ina t i ng and revok ing l icenses or genera l au thor iza t ions 1. When the holder of a license or authorization fails to comply with a condition attached to the license or authorization, the national regulatory authority may, in accordance with termination c lauses, withdraw, amend or suspend the l icense or authorization or impose specific measures aimed at ensuring compliance. 42 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 2. The national regulatory authority shall, at the same t ime, give the entity a reasonab le opportunity to state its view on the application of the aforementioned measures and, except in the case of repeated breaches by the entity, the entity shall have the opportunity, within a defined period of time, to remedy the breach. If the b reach is r e m e d i e d , the nat iona l regulatory authority shal l , within a defined period of time, annul or modify its decision and state the reasons therefore. If the breach is not remedied, the national regulatory authority shall, within a defined period of time after its initial intervention, confirm its decision and state the reasons for its decision. The decision shall be communicated to the entity within one week. Art ic le 26: E n f o r c e m e n t 1. The conditions of l icenses and authorizations must be enforceable and clear on the rights and obligations of the holder. 2. The nat iona l regu la to ry author i ty sha l l under take , w h e n d e e m e d n e c e s s a r y , reasonab le and appropr ia te methods to enforce the terms and condi t ions of the holder's activities. 3. Each license and authorization shall include provisions to facilitate enforcement processes and access, when deemed necessary, to the license or authorization holder's documents, provided that privacy and confidentiality are respected. 4. A l icense or authorization shall require the national regulatory authority to give the holder notice of any suspected or alleged breaches that come to the attention of the authority and allow a reasonable time for the holder to invest igate and take correct ive act ion, if appropriate. 5. The holder of a license or authorization shall be provided with the opportunity to present his views before changes to the terms of the license agreement take effect. Art ic le 27: Sanc t ions 1. Where conditions are not respected, sanctions may be imposed, including: fines; res t r ic t ion of the s c o p e and /o r the duration of the license; suspension; withdrawal. 2. Where one of the sanctions mentioned above is imposed, it will be widely communicated amongst E C O W A S Member States. Art ic le 28: D ispu te se t t lement 1. All disputes must be handled according to national legislation. 2. Parties may however submit their case to the judicial entity of E C O W A S or to any other competent judicial authority. CHAPTER VIII: NETWORK DEPLOYMENT AND PROVISION OF SERVICES THROUGHOUT ECOWAS Art ic le 29: Harmon iza t ion of p rocedures Member States shall strive to define and adopt common c lass i f ica t ions of te lecommunicat ion networks and services as well as common licensing procedures. Art ic le 30: P rov i s ion of serv ices between Member States Member Sta tes sha l l , in the formulat ion and application of their respective licensing regimes, faci l i tate the prov is ion of te lecommunica t ion services between Member States or in different Member States of the Region. Accordingly, and in order to facilitate the establishment of regional networks or networks between several countries of the Region, Member States shall ensure that national regulatory authorities coordinate to the extent possible their procedures so that a company wishing to provide a telecommunication service or establ ish and/or operate a telecommunicat ion network need only to comp le te one se rv i ce provision request which it can subsequently submit in various Member States. 43 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 CHAPTER IX: FINAL PROVISIONS Art ic le 3 1 : Ex is t ing l icenses, au thor iza t ions and dec la ra t ions 1. On the date of imp lemen ta t i on of this Supplementary Act at the latest, Member Sta tes sha l l adap t ex i s t i ng l i c e n s e s , au tho r i za t i ons and d e c l a r a t i o n s to the provisions of this Supplementary Act. 2. Where the application of paragraph 1 of this article results in a restriction of the rights or an increase in the obligations of a company sub jec t to the reg ime of the l i c e n s e , authorization or declaration, the Member State may extend the validity of those rights and obligations by a maximum of nine (9) months as from the date of implementation of this Supplementary Act. 3. A Member State may request a temporary ex tens ion of a cond i t i on l inked to an authorization or declaration in force prior to the date of entry into fo rce of this S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t , if it can s h o w that s u p p r e s s i o n of that cond i t ion c rea tes e x c e s s i v e di f f icul t ies for the c o m p a n i e s benefiting from it and if it is not possible for those companies to negotiate new agreements under reasonab le commerc ia l condi t ions before the date of implementat ion of this Supplementary Act. 4. Member States' requests for extension shall be brought before the Commission which shall examine them in the light of the speci f ic si tuat ion of each M e m b e r State and the companies concerned. 5. Based on the aforementioned analysis, the Commission shall reach a decision and may accept or deny the request. In the case of a request being accepted, the Commission shall decide the scope and duration of the extension to be g ran ted . Its d e c i s i o n sha l l be c o m m u n i c a t e d to the M e m b e r State concerned within the six months following receipt of the request for extension. Art ic le 32: T ime-f rames for t ranspos i t i on 1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to adapt their national sectoral legislation to this Supplementary Act no later than two years following the date of its entry, into force. They shall inform the Commission of those steps immediately. 2. The legal texts agreed to shal l contain a reference to this Supplementary Act or shall have such a reference attached to them when they are officially published. Art ic le 33: Imp lemen ta t i on 1. W h e n , based on this Supplementary Act, national regulatory authorities take decisions that: a) are liable to have an impact on exchanges between M e m b e r Sta tes and on the establishment of the single market; b) concern arrangements for the allocation of l i censes or author izat ions for the purpose of establishing, operating and/ or providing telecommunication services open to the public, the Member States shal l ensure that the measures and substantiating arguments are communicated to the Commission one month prior to their implementation. 2. The national regulatory authority shall take into c o n s i d e r a t i o n the obse rva t i ons of the Commission. 3. The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the national regulatory authority that they are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 4. Under exceptional circumstances, where the nat ional regulatory authority cons iders it urgent to take action to safeguard competition and protect users ' interests, it may adopt p ropor t iona te m e a s u r e s immedia te ly , appl icable for a limited period only. Those measures shall be communicated without delay to the Commission for comment. 5. When Member States adopt transposit ion measures for this Supplementary Act, they shall ensure that the planned measures along with subs tan t i a t i ng a rguments are communicated to the Commission one month prior to implementation of the measures. 6. Member States shall take into consideration the observat ions of the Commiss ion . The 44 » December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the Member States that the measures proposed are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 7. Member States shal l communicate to the Commission any provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field governed by this Supplementary Act. Art ic le 34: In fo rmat ion repor t Member States shal l , no later than six months fol lowing the date of entry into force of this S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t c o m m u n i c a t e to the Commission the steps taken or which are in the course of approval or implementat ion for the purpose of implementing this Supplementary Act. Art ic le 35: Pub l i ca t ion This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of Authority. It shall also be published by each Member State in its National Gazette within the same time frame. Art ic le 36: Entry into force 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force I upon its publication. Consequently, signatory States and E C O W A S Institutions pledge to commence the implementation of its provisions on its entry into force. 2. This Supplementary Act is annexed to the E C O W A S Treaty of which it is an integral part. Art ic le 37: Depos i to ry author i ty This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Commiss ion which shal l transmit certified true copies thereof to all the Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations and such other organisat ions as Counci l may determine. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES, HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 1 9 t h DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Excel lency Thomas Boni Yayi President of4he Republic of Benin His Excel lency Blaise Compaore Chairjrian of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso President of the Republic of Cabo Verde His 'Exce l lency Laurent Gbagbo President of the Republic of Cotep ' lvo i re 45 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea Her Excel lency Ellen Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia 4" His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali His Excelfjsmcy Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger His Excel lency O lusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His Exce President a rftcy Abdoulaye Wade e Republic of Senegal Hon. Mohammed Daramy Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone / \ - J ( • •'• His Excel lency Faure Essozimna Gnass ingbe 'president of the Togolese Republic 46 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ANNEX This annex sets out the list of conditions which may be attached to individual l icenses and general authorizations. C o n d i t i o n s t h a t m a y be a t t a c h e d t o au thor iza t ions , where j us t i f i ed and w i th due respect for the pr inc ip le of p ropor t iona l i ty : 1. Conditions aimed at ensuring compliance with the relevant essential requirements. 2. C o n d i t i o n s re la t ing to the p rov is ion of information reasonably requested with a view to ver i fy ing c o m p l i a n c e with app l i cab le conditions and for statistical purposes. 3. Accessibility to end users of numbers in the national numbering plan, including conditions in line with the Supplementary Act on universal service and numbering. 4. Administrative charges pursuant to Articles 16 and 18 of this Supplementary Act. 5. Conditions relating to the protection of users and subscribers, particularly in regard to: a) prior national regulatory authority approval of the s tandard cont rac t c o n c l u d e d with subscribers; b) detailed and accurate invoicing; c) the availability of a dispute resolution procedure; d) the pub l i ca t ion of s e r v i c e a c c e s s conditions, including tariffs, quality and availabil ity, and adequate notification whenever such conditions are amended. 6. ICT-sector-specific rules concerning personal data and privacy protection. t 7. ICT-sec to r -spec i f i c ru les and condi t ions relating to consumer protection. 8. Restrictions in regard to the transmission of illegal content and of harmful content relating to television broadcasting activities. 9. Cond i t i ons a imed at p reven t ing ant i ­ competitive behaviour in telecommunication markets, and in particular measures designed to ensure that tariffs are not discriminatory and do not distort competition. 10. F inancia l contribution to universal service prov is ion in a c c o r d a n c e with community legislation. 11. Communicat ion of information contained in c u s t o m e r d a t a b a s e for the pu rpose of providing universal directory services. 12. Provision of emergency services. 13. S p e c i a l a r r a n g e m e n t s for use rs with disabilities. 14. Conditions pertaining to the access obligations a p p l i c a b l e to c o m p a n i e s prov id ing ICT ne tworks or s e r v i c e s and network interconnection and service interoperability, in accordance with the Supplementary Act on interconnection and the obligations deriving from community legislation. 15. Facilitating legal interception by competent national authorities. 16. Terms of use during major disasters to ensure c o m m u n i c a t i o n s be tween e m e r g e n c y s e r v i c e s , the au thor i t ies and publ ic broadcasting services. 17. Measures aimed at limiting exposure of the public to electromagnetic fields generated by telecommunication networks, in accordance with community legislation. 18. Access obligations applicable to companies prov id ing ICT ne tworks or s e r v i c e s , in accordance with the Supplementary Act on interconnection. Speci f ic cond i t i ons that may be at tached to ind iv idua l l i censes, where jus t i f i ed and w i th d u e r e s p e c t f o r t h e p r i n c i p l e o f p ropor t iona l i t y : 1. Special conditions relating to the allocation of numbering rights, including: - Designation of the service for which the number is u s e d , inc lud ing any requirements in regard to the provision of that service. 47 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 - Effective and efficient use of numbers, in a c c o r d a n c e with the D e c i s i o n on numbering. R e q u i r e m e n t s in regard to number portabi l i ty, in a c c o r d a n c e with the Decision on interconnection. - Obligation to provide subscribers listed in public directories with information for the purposes of the Supplementary Act on universal service. - Transfer of usage rights at the initiative of the r ights-holder , and cond i t ions applicable to such transfer. - Charges for usage rights. Obligations under relevant international agreements relating to number usage. 2. Special condit ions relating to the use and effective management of radio frequencies, including: - Designat ion of the serv ice or type of network or technology for which spectrum rights have been granted, inc luding, where appl icab le , exc lus ive use of a frequency for the transmission of content or specific audiovisual services. Effective and efficient use of frequencies, i nc lud ing , where approp r ia te , requirements in regard to coverage. Technical and operat ional condit ions necessary to avoid harmful interference and limit e x p o s u r e of the publ ic to e l ec t romagne t i c f ie lds , where such conditions differ from those laid down in the general authorization. Transfer of usage rights at the initiative of the r ights-ho lder , and cond i t ions applicable to such transfer. - Charges for usage rights. C o m m i t m e n t s made dur ing the competi t ive or comparat ive select ion process by the company having obtained usage rights. Obligations under relevant international agreements relating to frequency usage. 3. Spec i f i c requ i remen ts in regard to environmental, town planning and regional development cons iderat ions, in particular conditions relating to the granting of access to publ ic or pr ivate property and to the collocation or sharing of facilities. 4. M a x i m u m dura t ion , wh ich must not be unreasonably short, in order, among other things, to ensure the effective use of the radio frequencies or numbers in question or grant a c c e s s to publ ic or private property, the foregoing being without prejudice to any other p rov is ions re lat ing to the wi thdrawal or suspension of l icenses. 5. Compliance with universal service obligations, in accordance with the Supplementary Act on universal service and the Supplementary Act on interconnection. 6. Conditions applicable to operators with market power, as notified by Member States pursuant to the Supplementary Act on interconnection, intended to ensure interconnection or the monitoring of market power. 7. R e q u i r e m e n t s in regard to the quali ty, availability and permanence of the service or network, with part icular reference to the candidate's financial and technical capacities and admin i s t ra t i ve c o m p e t e n c i e s , and conditions establishing a minimum period of operation and including, where appropriate, and in accordance with community legislation, the obligation to provide publicly accessible t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e r v i c e s and publ ic telecommunication networks. This list of conditions is without prejudice: - to any other legal condition not specific to the t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n sec to r and to measures taken by E C O W A S Member S ta tes pu rsuan t to pub l ic interest requirements recognized by the treaty and under na t iona l leg is la t ion and regulations, and relating in particular to public morality, public safety and security, including criminal investigations, and public order. 48 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A / S A . 4 / 0 1 / 0 7 ON NUMBERING PLAN MANAGEMENT THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 33 of the said treaty, which provides that Member States shall, in the area of t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , d e v e l o p , m o d e r n i z e , coord ina te and s t a n d a r d i z e their na t iona l telecommunication networks in order to provide reliable interconnection among Member States, and sha l l coord ina te their efforts with a v iew to mobil iz ing national and international f inancial resources through participation of the private sector in the provision of telecommunication services; M INDFUL of Decis ion A / D E C . 14/01/05 on the adoption of a regional telecommunication policy and development of G S M regional roaming in the E C O W A S Member States; M I N D F U L of Decis ion A / D E C . 11/12/94 on the establishment of an E C O W A S technical advisory committee on telecommunication regulation; MINDFUL of Decision A / D E C . 12/12/94 on tariff- set t ing and t e l ephone traff ic in the a rea of telecommunications; M I N D F U L of Dec is ion A / D E C . 16/5/82 on the telecommunication program of E C O W A S ; C O N S I D E R I N G that the direct interconnection of modern te lecommunica t ion sys tems between Member States is a prerequisite for sub regional economic integration; C O N S I D E R I N G that the Community has resolutely e m b a r k e d upon a p r o c e s s of l i be ra l i z ing telecommunication services and infrastructures by 2007; C O N S I D E R I N G that this liberalization process is giving rise to f lourishing markets cal l ing for a framework that is conduc ive and attractive to investment; NOTING that the strong growth in the number of users of ICT services is liable to lead to a serious shortfall in numbering resources; WISHING, T H E R E F O R E , to elaborate sub regional regulations in regard to optimum administration of the numbering plan in the use of ICT services; O N T H E P R O P O S A L of the Meeting of Ministers In Charge of Telecommunication held in Abuja on 11 t h May 2006; ON T H E R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the fifty-seventh s e s s i o n of the C o u n c i l of M in i s te rs held in Ouagadougou from 18 to 19 December 2006. AGREE AS FOLLOWS CHAPTER I: DEFINITIONS, OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE Ar t ic le 1: De f in i t i ons 1. For the purposes of this Supplementary Act, the definitions contained in Supplementary Act A / S A . 1/01/07 shall apply. 2. The following additional definitions shall also apply: Distribution: the making available, pursuant to contractual clauses, of a number or a series of numbers to end users by the holder of an allocated resource. Telecommunication operator: any legal entity that opera tes a te lecommunicat ion network open to the public, or any person that provides a telecommunication service. Allocation: a d e c i s i o n by the nat ional regulatory authority, following its examination of the corresponding application, to grant a -feleiommunication network operator the right to use the designated resource for its own account or for the account of its customers in accordance with the utilization terms specified below or referred to in the allocation decision. Number: a se r ies of digits that uniquely identifies a public network termination point. The number con ta ins the n e c e s s a r y in format ion for rout ing the ca l l to that termination point. The number may be in a national format or an international format. The in te rna t iona l format is known as the international public telecommunication number, consisting of the country code and subsequent digits. Geographic number : a number in the national numbering plan in which part of the 49 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 digital structure has a geographic significance used to route calls to the physical location of the network termination point (NTP). Non-geographic number : a number in the nat ional number ing plan wh ich is not a geographic number. These are primarily mobile numbers, free phone numbers and premium- rate numbers. National numbering plan: the resource consisting of all numbers that can be used to identify the fixed or mobile termination points of telephone networks and services, to route calls and to access internal resources from the networks. A national numbering plan is a segment of the international numbering plan (E164) . It es tab l i shes p rocedures and cond i t ions for reserv ing and a l loca t ing numbering resources. Network termination point (NTP): the physical point at which a subscriber accesses a public communication network. In the case of networks that use switching and routing, the NTP is identified by a specific network address that can be linked to the subscriber's name or number. Reservation: a decis ion by the nat ional regulatory authority, following its examination of the corresponding application, to grant a telecommunication network operator an option with respect to a numbering resource for a specified period of time. Ar t ic le 2: Ob jec t ives and scope 1. The purpose of this Supplementary Act is to harmonize procedures for the management of numbering and of numbering plans within the ECOWAS zone. 2. This Supplementary Act lays down the rules of a harmonized approach by the Member States for the use and al locat ion of call numbers so as to guarantee free competition and open the market to new operators. These rules concern in particular the establishment and management of a numbering plan, the implementation of a procedure for requesting the issuance of numbers and for withdrawing them, the planning of the direct allocation of numbers for end users, and the determination of charges for numbering, as well as roaming, portability, migration, rates, competition and harmonization. CHAPTER II: GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR MANAGING THE NUMBERING PLAN Art ic le 3: General p r inc ip les for number ing 1. The Member States shall ensure that the national regulatory authorities have control over the ass ignmen t of all the nat ional numbering resources and the management of the national numbering plans. 2. The national regulatory authority may decide to delegate administrative responsibility for the numbering plan. In that case, it must ensure that the rules for allocating, reserving and using numbers are strictly adhered to. The Member States shall ensure that an annual audi t of the body hav ing admin is t ra t ive responsibility for the plan is conducted by the national regulatory authority. 3. The Member States shall ensure that adequate numbers and numbering series are reserved in the number i ng p lans for all telecommunication services accessible to the public. 4. The pr inc ipa l e l emen ts def ined in the preceding paragraph must be public, available from the national regulatory authorities on request , and pub l i shed in an of f ic ia l , transparent manner. In the interests of national security, the numbering capacity reserved for police and defense purposes need not be made public. 5. The procedure for a l locat ing number ing capacity shall be followed in a transparent, non-discriminatory manner, in accordance with objective criteria and following the principles, respectively, of reservation, allocation and withdrawal. 6. The Member States must ensure proper utilization of the prefixes, numbers, number blocks and codes that are allocated. These shal l not be p ro tec ted by indust r ia l or intellectual property rights, nor shall they be transferred without the agreement of the national regulatory authority. 7. The Member States must ensure that the administration of the numbering plan allows for the publication of directories of numbers and access to directory inquiry services. 50 * December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 8 The Member Sta tes sha l l ensu re that number ing p lans and the assoc ia ted procedures are implemented in a way that protects equality of treatment to all providers of telecommunication services available to the public. In particular, they shall ensure that companies to which a range of numbers is allocated do not engage in any discrimination against other te lecommunica t ion service prov iders as regards the sequences of numbers used to provide access to their services. Ar t ic le 4: Essent ia l p r inc ip les for manag ing the number ing plan 1. The Member States shall ensure that the managemen t of the i r numbe r i ng p lans respects the following essential points. i) The plan must be long-term and balanced. ii) The plan must take into account the need for short numbers and reserved special numbers for emergency , d i rectory, operator, and user assistance services, and ensure that prefixes and numbers or number blocks are allocated to public te lecommunica t ion operators , under ob jec t i ve , t r anspa ren t and non­ discriminatory conditions. iii) The plan must take into account the opin ion of opera tors , users and the national regulatory authority. iv) The plan must include a coherent, clear and published strategy. v) The p lan shou ld take into accoun t appl icable international standards, in par t icu lar rega rd ing access to international service, as well as the needs of neighbours, whether on the same continent or elsewhere in the world. vi) The plan must not be anti-competitive for telecommunication operators. vii) The plan must not be anti-competitive for users. viii) The plan must be compatible with sound appropriate management practice. ix) The plan must be open-ended and allow sufficient margins to meet any unexpected needs. 2. The numbers and blocks of numbers may not become the property of the applicants, or of the end-users. They may not be protected by means of industrial or intellectual property rights. They are allocated following reservation by the national regulatory authority for a limited duration of time, corresponding to the opera t iona l l i fe t ime of the serv ice or appl icat ion. When an appl icant gives up operation of its telecommunication service, for which numbering capacity has been allocated, that capaci ty can be al located to a new ass ignee on cond i t ion that the latter is authorized to operate the service and that a declaration to this effect has previously been submitted to the national regulatory authority. 3. Information about the reservation, allocation and withdrawal of numbering capacity is public, and must be p rov ided by the nat ional regulatory authority on demand. Ar t ic le 5: General me thods for manag ing the number ing plan Member States shall put in place in the long term the following methods to harmonize management of numbering plans at the regional level. a) Use of common databases for the assignment of numbers. b) Adoption of a harmonized emergency codes for the region. b) Promotion of appropriate number portability. d) Assigning lower initial digits to fixed lines, and reserving the higher ones to mobile. e) Allocation of number blocks against a fee. f) Planning for direct allocation to end users. g) Number ass ignment using geographica l , network or service codes. h) Allowing for migration to a closed plan. Ar t ic le 6: Coopera t ion and harmoniza t ion of n u m b e r i n g resou rces 1. Member States shall support the harmonization of number ing resources within ECOWAS wherever necessary to foster the development of services within the ECOWAS zone. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 2. Member States shall ensure that their national numbering plans make it possible, subject to technical and economic feasibility, for users located in other ECOWAS Member States to have access to non-geographical numbers that are accessible throughout their national territory. 3. In order to ensure overall interoperability of services, the ECOWAS Member States shall, where appropriate, coordinate their positions within the international organizat ions and authorit ies in which decisions concerning issues related to number ing, naming and addressing for communication networks and services are taken. CHAPTER III: FURTHER PRINCIPLES FOR MANAGING THE NUMBERING PLAN Art ic le 7: Reserva t ion m e c h a n i s m s 1. The national regulatory authority shall examine all app l i ca t ions to reserve number ing capacities that meet the following conditions: a) the application must be addressed to the national regulatory authority by registered letter or by any other legally recognized means, and must be dated and signed by, or on behalf of, the applicant wishing to operate the numbering capacity; b) the applicant, who must be a natural person or legal entity, must provide details of position and credentials; c) the application must give the name and complete address of the applicant, along wi th the bus iness address in the ECOWAS country in question; d) processing fees to cover the costs for processing the application must be paid in advance; e) the appl icat ion must conta in all the in format ion spec i f ied in the sect ion following below. 2. To allow the national regulatory authority to process the application in accordance with the criteria in §3 below, the applicant must provide, free of charge, the following information, which will be considered as confidential: a) a clear list of the type and amount of numbering capacity desired; b) a detailed description of a) the services and applications that use the numbering capacity, b) technical network elements and their interrelationship, c) routing principles to be implemented, d) future numbering capacity needs, e) charging principles, if the applicant considers it useful, f) principles the applicant intends to fo l low in a l loca t ing the rout ing capacity obtained for the end-users, c) the applicant must demonstrate that it has no v iab le techn ica l or commerc ia l alternative to operating its services and app l i ca t i ons wi th the reques ted numbering capacity; d) changes over time, for the information provided in point 2.2 above; e) the applicant must demonstrate that it has complied with the provisions of the present Supplementary Act. 3. The application shall be evaluated by the national regulatory authority on the basis of the following criteria: 1) sound m a n a g e m e n t of number ing capacity, a finite resource; 2) the need for sufficient numbering capacity to meet future needs; 3) the work needed to achieve optimum compatibi l i ty between the numbering plans of different applicants; 4) existing reservations; 5) potential for satisfying developments in the ECOWAS zone and internationally; 6) potent ia l for sat is fy ing the re levant in te rna t iona l ag reemen ts , recommendations and standards; 7) techn ica l l im i ta t ions and concre te implementation; 52 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 8) impact on the numbering plans of other applicants; 9) fees, if any; 10) routing questions; 11) issues relating to tarifing principles; 12) geographical issues; 13) possible alternatives; 14) end-user interests, including ease of use; 15) specific needs of emergency services; 16) commercial impact. 4. Numbering capacity may not be reserved for applicants unless the provisions of the present Supplementary Act are met. 5. If the national regulatory authority approves a given application, then the numbering capacity is reserved. Therefore, numbering capacity may only be allocated to the initial applicant, and for the pu rposes spec i f ied in the application. The date on which the application becomes official is also considered as the date of reservation. A reservation may be cancelled by the app l i can t . A reserva t ion shal l automatically expire one year after the date of reservation, if no effective allocation or extension, pursuant to §7, has taken place in that time. 6. If two or more applicants request the same numbering capacity, the first to file a valid application will have priority. If more than one valid application is filed on a given day for the same number ing capaci ty , the nat iona l regulatory authority shall organize mediation to allocate primary rights, secondary rights, tertiary rights and so on. 7. A reservation may be renewed each year by submitting a valid new application at least one month before it expires. If the extension is accepted, then the original reservation date is maintained as the official reservation date. 8. The national regulatory authority must notify the applicant of its decision no later than two months after receipt of the application. 9. If the national regulatory authority considers that the application is incomplete, or wishes to have additional information or explanations, it must inform the applicant. The deadline for the national regulatory authority mentioned in the previous paragraph shall be extended by the length of time that the applicant needs to modify the application. Such an extension shall not exceed one month. If, at the end of this t ime, the appl icant has not modif ied the application, it shall be annulled. 10. If the national regulatory authority refuses to grant a reservation, it must provide reasons. There is no entitlement to be reimbursed in the event of a refusal. 11. Any changes to the information provided pursuant to the present art ic le shall be communica ted to the nat ional regulatory authority in good time. ARTICLE 8: A l l oca t ion Mechan isms 1. The national regulatory authority shall, under objective, transparent and non-discriminatory conditions, assign prefixes and numbers, or number blocks, to operators who have made an application, against a fee stipulated in the regulations to cover the costs of managing the numbering plan and controlling its utilization. » 2. The national regulatory authority may select the type of mechanism to be used to allocate numbers: by block, case by case, or by auction. The authority may set aside special numbers, or blocks or ranges of numbers, upon request from the operators, against annual fees to cover the costs of managing the numbering plan and controlling its utilization. 3. Certain categories of numbers may be subject to a special allocation procedure in order to ensure that operators have access to the number ing resources in a t ransparent , objective and non-discr iminatory manner. Thus, the national regulatory authority may: make a resource allocation; make a temporary resource allocation; make an a l locat ion cover ing only a portion of the resources requested; refuse to make a resource allocation. 4. The national regulatory authority shall allocate to operators, under the same conditions, the codes used for routing communications. C O December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 5. The decision on allocation shall specify the applicable conditions. The decision binds the holder of the allocation to observe all of the condi t ions for ut i l izat ion of the al located resource. 6 In all cases, number al locat ions must be technology-neutral, non-discriminatory, and compatible with number portability. Ar t ic le 9: Dead l ines 1. Numbering capacity is only allocated if, during the reservation period, numbering capacity is in fact put into serv ice for the dec lared purpose. The date on which it is put into service must be communicated to the national regulatory author i ty at least 30 days in advance. The allocation of numbering capacity remains valid only for as long as all of the following conditions are respected: a) the allocated numbering capacity is used exclusively for the purposes indicated in the initial application; b) sub-allocation to end-users is controlled by the original applicant; c) annual fees are paid pursuant to the provisions of Article 10 of the present Supplementary Act; d) the applicant maintains statistics on the percentage of allocated capacity that is being used, and periodically provides them to the national regulatory authority in accordance with rules which it has established. 2. Applications for numbering capacity for six months or less shall be treated as having lower priority, and may not be extended. The annual fee described in Article 10 below is therefore to be reduced by one half. 3. While numbers are in principle allocated on a long-term basis, they may be changed or withdrawn for operational reasons. Ar t ic le 10: Reservat ion fees and a l loca t ion fees 1. Member States shall determine the size of processing fees charged for the reservation of numbering capacity pursuant to Article 7 of the present Supplementary Act, depending on the type of number i ng reques ted , in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, according to objective and published criteria. 2. Member States shall determine the annual fees for allocation of numbering capacity pursuant to Article 8 of the present Supplementary Act, depend ing on the type of number ing reques ted , in a t ransparen t and non­ discriminatory manner, according to objective and publ ished cr i ter ia. If the number ing capacity is allocated in portions, the annual fee shall be reduced proportionately. 3. Member States shall set a deadline for the payment of the fees mentioned in paragraph 2 above in the year for which they are due. For the year in which the numbering capacity is allocated, fees shall be reduced to the same proportion as the number of complete months that remain in the calendar year on the date the allocation is made, and shall be paid within 30 days of that date. 4. Member States shall fix the penalty charged for overdue fees. The level of penalty is to be calculated on the basis of the number of days payment is overdue. 5. The sizes of the fees mentioned in the present decision shall be adjusted annually. 6. The withdrawal of numbering capacity that was previously reserved or allocated does not entail any entit lement to any indemnity or reimbursement of some or all of the fees mentioned in the present Supplementary Act. Ar t ic le 11: Delegat ion to ou ts ide opera tors 1. In some cases, the holder of a numbering resource may entrust an outside operator with the distribution of that resource to the final customer or customers. In such cases, a dist inction is made between the operator holding the allocation for the resource and the delegated outside operator who distributes the resource to the end-clients. 2. An outside operator may only be involved in this way if the following conditions are met: - the de lega ted opera to r must have dec la red to the nat ional regulatory authority the activity that is necessary for operation of the resource in question; the operator holding the allocation must have noti f ied the national regulatory authority by A /R registered mail, about the resource or resources to be put at the disposit ion of the delegated operator, along with a description of the service that is to be provided via said resource or 54 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 resources. Such notification must have been done before any legal provisions on delegation come into force between the operator holding the allocation and the delegated operator. 3. In the case of resources allocated by block, delegation may involve the entire resource or an entire portion thereof. 4. The operator holding the allocation remains responsible for compliance with all obligations associated with the allocation of the resource. 5. In add i t i on , the ope ra to r s invo lved in delegation must guarantee portability for the end-users. Art ic le 12: Transfer 1. Application for an allocated resource to be transferred must be submitted to the national regulatory authority by the final beneficiary of a l l oca t i on , o b s e r v i n g the form and the cond i t i ons s t ipu la ted in Ar t i c le 7 and accompanied by the signed concurrence of the original operator holding the allocation. 2. The decision to allocate a resource to a new ho lder is s tud ied and taken under the conditions stipulated in Article 8. Art ic le 13: Revocat ion and w i thd rawa l of an a l locat ion dec is ion 1. An allocation decis ion may be revoked or withdrawn in the cases stipulated in §§2-4 below. 2. If revocation takes place at the request of the holder, the latter must inform the national regulatory authority by A / R registered letter, accompanied by a copy of the request for cancellation of the resource in the networks of other operators, of the fact that the service will be discontinued and the holder wishes to free the corresponding numbering resource. The resource will stop being subject to fees as of the day this letter is received. At that t ime, the ho lder is to be not i f ied of the revocation of the dec is ion to al locate the resource in question. 3. If resources are not used in a manner that conforms to the conditions of their allocation and utilization, or if a significant part of the resou rce rema in u n u s e d , the nat iona l regu la tory author i ty may w i thdraw the numbers. 4. A resource for which revocation or withdrawal has been pronounced becomes free again, but it may not be reallocated until at least six months have expired, except if it is requested by the former allocation holder. If the resource has b e e n w i thdrawn for r eason of unsat is factory ut i l izat ion, pursuant to §3 above, the resource may not be allocated again until at least six months have expired, regardless of the applicant. Art ic le 14: T ime- f rames for t ranspos i t ion 1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to adapt their national sectoral legislation to this Supplementary Act no later than two years following the date of its entry into force. They shall inform the Commission of those steps immediately. 2. The legal texts agreed to shal l contain a reference to this Supplementary Act or shall have such a reference attached to them when they are officially published. Art ic le 15: Imp lemen ta t i on 1. When , based on this Supplementary Act, national regulatory authorities take decisions that are liable to have an impact on exchanges be tween M e m b e r S ta tes and on the establishment of the single market, and: a) concern the implementation of the tariff policy applicable to telecommunication services; b) c o n c e r n the imp lementa t ion of the universal service development policy; c) concern interconnection; d) relate to the arrangements for authorizing the es tab l i shment , operat ion and/or provision of telecommunication services open to the public, Member States shall ensure that the measures and subs tan t i a t i ng a rgumen ts are communicated to the Commission one month prior to their implementation. 2. The national regulatory authority shall take into c o n s i d e r a t i o n the o b s e r v a t i o n s of the Commission. 3. The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the national regulatory authority that they are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 55 tLuvvt ta vjrficiai journal Vol. 50 4. Under exceptional circumstances, where the nat ional regulatory authority cons iders it urgent to take action to safeguard competition and protect users ' interests, it may adopt p ropor t ionate m e a s u r e s immed ia te ly , * applicable for a limited period only. Those measures shall be communicated without delay to the Commission for comment. 5. When Member States adopt transposit ion measures for this Supplementary Act, they shall ensure that the planned measures along with subs tan t i a t i ng a rgumen ts are communicated to the Commission one month prior to implementation of the measures. 6. Member States shall take into consideration the observat ions of the Commiss ion . The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the Member States that the measures proposed are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 7. Member States shal l communicate to the Commission any provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field governed by this Supplementary Act. Art ic le 16: In fo rmat ion repor t Member States shal l , no later than six months fol lowing the date of entry into force of this S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t , c o m m u n i c a t e to the Commission the steps taken or which are in the course of approva l or implementat ion for the purpose of implementing this Supplementary Act. Art ic le 17: Pub l i ca t ion This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of Authority. It shall also be published by each Member State in its National Gazette within the same time frame. Art ic le 18: Entry into force 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon its publication. Consequently, signatory States and E C O W A S Institutions pledge to commence the implementation of its provisions on its entry into force. 2. This Supplementary Act is annexed to the E C O W A S Treaty of which it is an integral part. Art ic le 19: Depos i to ry author i ty This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Commiss ion which shal l transmit certified true copies thereof to all the Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations and such other organisat ions as Counci l may determine. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES, HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19™ DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Excel lency Tf iofnas Boni Yayi President of ther'Republic of Benin His Excel lency Blaise Compaore Chairmarf of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso President of the Republic of Cabo Verde His Excel lency Laurent Gbagt President of the Republic of Cote D/lvoire 56 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea Her Excel lency El len Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia His Excel lency Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali His Excel lency O lusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His Exce President 6Tt foulaye Wade le Republic of Senegal Hon. Mohammed Daramy Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excel lency Faure Essozirriha Gnass ingbe President of the Togolese Republic 57 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 SUPPLEMENTARY ACT A/SA.5/01/07 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF THE RADIO-FREQUENCY SPECTRUM THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 33 of the said treaty, which provides that Member States shall, in the area of t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , d e v e l o p , m o d e r n i z e , coord ina te and s t a n d a r d i z e their na t iona l telecommunication networks in order to provide reliable interconnection among Member States, and sha l l coord ina te their efforts with a v iew to mobi l iz ing national and international f inancial resources through participation of the private sector in the provision of telecommunication services; M I N D F U L of Dec is ion A / D E C . 1 4 / 0 1 / 0 5 on the adoption of a regional telecommunication policy and development of G S M regional roaming in the E C O W A S Member States; M I N D F U L of Dec is ion A / D E C . 1 1 / 1 2 / 9 4 on the establishment of an E C O W A S technical advisory committee on telecommunication regulation; MINDFUL of Decision A / D E C . 12/12/94 on tariff- set t ing and te lephone traff ic in the a rea of telecommunications; IN V I E W of D e c i s i o n A / D E C . 16/5 /82 on the telecommunication program of E C O W A S ; CONSIDERING that the direct interconnection of modern te lecommunica t ion sys tems between Member States is a prerequisite for sub regional economic integration; C O N S I D E R I N G that the Community has resolutely e m b a r k e d upon a p r o c e s s of l i be ra l i z ing telecommunication services and infrastructures by 2007; C O N S I D E R I N G that this liberalization process is giving rise to f lourishing markets cal l ing for a framework that is conduc ive and attractive to investment; NOTING that the strong growth in the number of users of ICT services is liable to lead to a serious shortfall in numbering resources; WISHING, T H E R E F O R E , to elaborate sub regional regulations in regard to optimum management of the radio-frequency spectrum; ON THE P R O P O S A L of the Meeting of Ministers in Charge of Telecommunication held in Abuja on 11 t h May 2006 ON T H E R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the fifty-seventh s e s s i o n of the C o u n c i l of M in i s te rs held in Ouagadougou from 18 to 19 December, 2007. AGREE AS FOLLOWS CHAPTER I: DEFINITIONS, OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE Ar t ic le 1: De f in i t i ons 1. For the purposes of this Supplementary Act, the definitions contained in Supplementary Acts A/SA.1/01/07 shall apply. 2. The following additional definitions shall also apply: radio frequencies or radio-frequency spectrum: f r equenc ies or spec t rum of electromagnetic waves propagated naturally in the 3 kHz to 300 G H z band, used for the t r a n s m i s s i o n and recept ion of telecommunication signals. frequency-spectrum management: all administrative and technical actions, taken as a whole, aimed at ensuring a rational use of the radio-frequency spectrum by users. Art ic le 2: Ob jec t i ves and scope 1. The purpose of this Supplementary Act is to harmonize procedures for the management of the radio-frequency spectrum by E C O W A S Member States. 2. This Supplementary Act aims to establish a framework of guidelines and legal provisions within E C O W A S to assure policy coordination and, where applicable, the harmonization of conditions with respect to the availability and efficient use of the radio spectrum necessary for the establishment and functioning of the domestic ICT market in the E C O W A S zone. 3. To that e n d , this S u p p l e m e n t a r y Act establ ishes procedures with a view to the following: 58 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 a) to facilitate the defining of policies in regard to s t ra teg ic p lann ing and harmonization of the use of the radio spectrum in the E C O W A S zone, taking into account in particular the economic, security, health, public-interest, freedom- of-expression, cultural, scientific, social and technical aspec ts of Communi ty policy, as well as the different interests of communit ies of radio-spectrum users, with a view to optimizing the use of the radio spectrum and eliminating harmful interference; b) to assure the effective implementation of the r a d i o - s p e c t r u m po l i cy within E C O W A S , and, in particular, to establish a general methodology for assuring the harmonization of conditions relating to the availability and effective utilization of the radio spectrum; c) to assure the coordinated and timely d i ssemina t ion of informat ion on the allocation, availability and utilization of the radio spectrum within E C O W A S . Art ic le 3: Object ives of rad io - f requency spec t rum m a n a g e m e n t 1. The Member States shall assure coordinated management of the radio-frequency spectrum within the E C O W A S zone, on the basis of the following objectives: a) economic efficiency: ensuring that the allocation of frequencies to users, having regard to the uses, results, on the market, in higher value being derived from the resource; ensuring that there is a swift, flexible response to changing markets and techno log ies , with new serv ices being accommodated as they become technically and commercially viable; and minimizing transaction costs, barriers to entry and any other cons t ra in ts on efficient economic activity; b) technical efficiency: assuring intensive use of limited spectrum, and adherence to t echn i ca l l im i ta t ions b a s e d on in te r fe rence c o n s i d e r a t i o n s ; and promot ing the d e v e l o p m e n t and introduction of new spec t rum-sav ing technologies where the cost of such technologies is justified by the value of the spectrum saved. c) gene ra l po l i cy : ensu r i ng that it is consistent with overall government policy; safeguarding certain areas of spectrum use for the efficient functioning of national defense, emergency services and other public services; and ensuring that any change in spectrum use in an E C O W A S Member State always remains consistent with Member States' international and regional obligations. CHAPTER II: GENERAL PRINCIPLES Art ic le 4: Def ini t ion of a c o m m o n f ramework for spect rum management in the ECOWAS zone Member States shall define a common framework for economically efficient spectrum management with a view to meeting the objective of liberalizing the ICT market within E C O W A S . Art ic le 5: Pr inc ip les of ef f ic ient spec t rum m a n a g e m e n t Member States shall ensure that all classes of user are encouraged to make opt imum use of the spectrum they occupy. Art ic le 6: Spec t rum pr ic ing 1. Member States shall adopt a frequency pricing system in cases where demand is greater than supply and neither frequency auctioning nor frequency trading are used. Determination of the price calculation method, which is generally based on spectrum opportunity costs, may also take account of any objectives defined by the State. 2. Member States shall ensure that in the majority of frequency bands where demand is greater than supply, they follow the principle of a positive price for spectrum access where there are other potential uses for a given block of spectrum, i.e. where the opportunity cost is greater than zero. Where demand does not exceed supply, the price may be equal to the administrative costs or to a value consistent with government policy. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Art ic le 7: Auc t i ons Where demand is greater than supply, Member States shall make preferential use of auctions as a means of assigning major spectrum l icenses to competing applicants, in the interests of ensuring transparency, objectivity and impartiality in the transfer (or assignment) process. Art ic le 8: Serv ice res t r i c t i ons M e m b e r S ta tes sha l l e n s u r e that spec t rum management bodies in the E C O W A S countries make every effort to keep license conditions to the minimum necessary for efficient spectrum use. To this end, existing l icenses should be amended to remove restrictions not needed for reasons of in ternat iona l coo rd ina t i on or in te r fe rence management, and new licenses should be issued with as few restrictions as possible. Art ic le 9: Gener ic l icenses for spec t rum use In the interests of greater flexibility and as an aid to economic development, Member States may adopt a system of generic l icenses for frequency usage within certain frequency ranges. Art ic le 10: Conformi ty w i th the g lobal and regional regu la tory f r amework Member States shall manage spectrum in ways that promote f lexib i l i ty wh i le r espec t i ng the ITU international allocations. CHAPTER III: PRINCIPLES OF SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT Art ic le 11: Coord inat ing spec t rum management across c iv i l and governmenta l 1. Member States shall establish a framework which permits the effective coordination of all spectrum use, at the national, regional and international levels. 2. Member States shall promote the merging of separa te regulatory bod ies dea l ing with spec t rum use in the b r o a d c a s t i n g and telecommunication spheres. 3. W h e r e gove rnmen t requ i remen ts for a par t icu lar f r e q u e n c y band are ze ro or negligible, such spectrum may be permanently reallocated to civil uses, following a definitive renunciation by the government. Art ic le 12: Role of nat ional regulatory author i t ies In the interests of having a management regime that e m b r a c e s the pr inc ip le of techno log ica l neutrality, Member States shall ensure that radio spectrum management powers are vested in the nat iona l regu la to ry author i ty o v e r s e e i n g telecommunications by giving that entity a mandate covering ICT in the broadest sense. Art ic le 13: Radio spec t rum coord ina t ion commi t tee 1. Member States shall ensure that, in those countries of the E C O W A S zone that manage the radio spectrum according to the multi- jurisdictional model , an inter-departmental committee is establ ished with the following rules of operation: a) The committee shall in the first instance establish a policy agenda and guidelines for regulations. b) The committee shall comprise members of key government agencies involved in spectrum management, as well as key non-governmental stakeholders. c) Official records shall be kept of meetings of the committee and be made public, excep t where this may compromise national security interests. d) G o v e r n m e n t represen ta t i ves on the committee shall be appointed by a high- level member of government for a period not exceeding five years, renewable only o n c e . T h e y sha l l e lec t a cha i rman amongst themselves, who shall remain in that function for a period not exceeding two years. 2. M e m b e r S ta tes wh ich es tab l i sh such a committee shall ensure that it also includes members from the civil society, chosen from a list of applicants drawn up pursuant to an open public select ion process. Their committee memberships shall not exceed three years. 3. The committee shall not exceed 12 persons, including the Chairman. 4. Member States shall ensure that the committee is required to publish an annual report, to be c o m m u n i c a t e d to the government and published on the committee's website. The committee shall also publish all its work and all other re levant mater ia l , subject to a confidentiality clause, on a dedicated website. The webs i t e of e a c h par t ic ipat ing 60 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 gove rnmen ta l commi t t ee m e m b e r ' s depar tment shou ld conta in a link to the committee's website. 5. Two members of each national committee shall be nominated to sit on a regional committee comprising members from all the E C O W A S countries. The regional committee shall meet once a year, in one of the countries of the region, to d iscuss matters of international r e l e v a n c e in the con tex t of spec t rum management and matters of mutual interest. Art ic le 14: Regional Spec t rum Management Coord ina t ion Commi t tee 1. Member States sha l l es tab l i sh a spec ia l E C O W A S committee comprising the spectrum m a n a g e m e n t bod ies of e a c h E C O W A S Member State, with the task of defining a common approach to spectrum management. 2. The committee shall examine the spectrum assignments and allocations of the E C O W A S countries and recommend a harmonized policy for promoting broadband wire less access serv ice provis ion ac ross the region. The committee shall report its findings by the end of June 2007. CHAPTER IV: HARMONIZATION OF DOCUMENTATION AND MONITORING AT REGIONAL LEVEL Art ic le 15: Common f ramework for documen t ing and mon i t o r i ng s p e c t r u m use Member States shall establish, possibly under the auspices of E C O W A S , a common methodology for documenting and monitoring spectrum, sharing as necessary the costs of developing a software tool for that purpose. Member States shall l ikewise promote the establishment, under the auspices of E C O W A S , of a forum bringing together those responsible for spectrum management for the purpose of: a) exchanging information and experiences to foster the harmonization of spectrum management rules; b) p repar ing c o m m o n pos i t i ons to be p resen ted to r eg i ona l , then g loba l bodies; c) pooling existing expertise. Art ic le 16: Common f ramework for a publ ic database and estab l ishment of a nat ional al locat ion table to enable in ter ference management Member States shall: a) es tab l i sh a c o m m o n f ramework for developing a public database of technical and locational information about radio communication systems; b) in the near future, provide the data necessary to define a common template for the es tab l i shmen t of a nat ional frequency table in each country. CHAPTER V: FINAL PROVISIONS Art ic le 17: T ime- f rames for t ranspos i t i on 1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to adapt their national sectoral legislation to this Supplementary Act no later than two years following the date of its entry into force. They shall inform the E C O W A S Commission of those steps immediately. 2. The legal texts agreed to shal l contain a reference to this Supplementary Act or shall have such a reference attached to them when they are officially published. Art ic le 18: Imp lemen ta t i on 1. When , based on this Supplementary Act, national regulatory authorities take decisions that are liable to have an impact on exchanges be tween M e m b e r S ta tes and on the establishment of the single market; and a) concern the implementation of the tariff policy applicable to telecommunication services; b) c o n c e r n the imp lementa t ion of the universal service development policy; c) concern interconnection; d) relate to the arrangements for authorizing the es tab l i shment , operat ion and/or provision of telecommunication services open to the public, Member States shall ensure that the measures and subs tan t i a t i ng a rguments are communicated to the Commission of E C O W A S one month prior to their implementation. 61 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 2. The national regulatory authority shall take into cons ide ra t i on the o b s e r v a t i o n s of the Commission. 3. The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the national regulatory authority that they are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 4. Under exceptional circumstances, where the national regulatory authority cons iders it urgent to take action to safeguard competition and protect users ' interests, it may adopt p ropor t ionate m e a s u r e s immed ia te ly , applicable for a limited period only. Those measures shall be communicated without delay to the Commission for comment. 5. When Member States adopt transposit ion measures for this Supplementary Act, they shall ensure that the planned measures along with subs tan t i a t i ng a rgumen ts are communicated to the E C O W A S Commission one month prior to implementat ion of the measures. 6. Member States shall take into consideration the observat ions of the Commiss ion . The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the Member States that the measures proposed are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 7. Member States shal l communicate to the Commission any provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field governed by this Supplementary Act. Art ic le 19: In fo rmat ion repor t Member States shal l , no later than six months fo l lowing the date of entry into force of this S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t , c o m m u n i c a t e to the Commission the steps taken or which are in the course of approva l or implementat ion for the purpose of implementing this Supplementary Act. Art ic le 20: Pub l i ca t ion This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Executive Secretariat in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Cha i rman of Authority. It shall a lso be published by each Member State in its National Gazette within the same time frame. Art ic le 2 1 : Entry into force 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon its publication. Consequently, signatory States and E C O W A S Institutions pledge to commence the implementation of its provisions on its entry into force. 2. This Supplementary Act is annexed to the E C O W A S Treaty of which it is an integral part. Art ic le 22: Deposi tory Author i ty This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Commiss ion which shal l transmit certified true copies thereof to all the Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations and such other organisat ions as Counci l may determine. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES, HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19™ DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Ex Presid i fnas Boni Yayi Republic of Benin His Excel lency Blaise Compaore Chairrtjaff of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso 62 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 President of the Republic of Cabo Verde His Excel lency Laurent Gbagbo President of the Republic of Cote D'lvoire President of the Republic of The Gambia Hon. Sidibe Fatoumata KABA Minister of International Cooperation For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea His ExcelleiTcy--J6~hh A. Kufuor President o f the Republic of Ghana His Excel len President of th Joao Bernardo Vieira 'Republic of Guinea Bissau Her Excel lency Ellen Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia His Excel lency Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger His Excel lency Abdou laye Wade President of the Republic of Senegal His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali d. His Excel lency O lusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Hon. Mohammed Daramy Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excel lency Faure Essozimria Gnass ingbe Presfdent of the Togolese Republic C O December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A / S A . 6 / 0 1 / 0 7 ON UNIVERSAL ACCESS/SERVICE THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 33 of the said treaty, which provides that Member States shall, in the area of t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , d e v e l o p , m o d e r n i z e , coord ina te and s t a n d a r d i z e their na t iona l telecommunication networks in order to provide reliable interconnection among Member States, and shal l coord ina te their efforts with a v iew to mobi l iz ing national and international f inancial resources through participation of the private sector in the provision of telecommunication services; M INDFUL of Decis ion A / D E C . 14/01/05 on the adoption of a regional telecommunication policy and development of G S M regional roaming in the E C O W A S Member States; M INDFUL of Decis ion A / D E C . 11/12/94 on the establishment of an E C O W A S technical advisory committee on telecommunication regulation; MINDFUL of Decision A / D E C . 12/12/94 on tariff- set t ing and t e l ephone traf f ic in the a rea of telecommunications; M I N D F U L of Dec is ion A / D E C . 16/5/82 on the telecommunication program of E C O W A S ; CONSIDERING that the direct interconnection of modern te lecommunica t ion sys tems between Member States is a prerequisite for sub regional economic integration; N O T I N G that the C o m m u n i t y has resolute ly e m b a r k e d upon a p r o c e s s of l i be ra l i z ing telecommunication services and infrastructures by 2007; C O N S I D E R I N G that this liberalization process is giving rise to f lourishing markets cal l ing for a framework that is conduc ive and attractive to investment; A W A R E of the need to p rov ide al l of the Community's populations, regardless of geographic location, with a minimum set of high-quality and affordable telecommunication services; RECOGNIZ ING that the concept of universal service is bound to evolve as a result of technological p r o g r e s s , market d e v e l o p m e n t s and user requirements; WISHING to achieve, as rapidly as possible, the dfgital opening-up of the Member States; ON THE P R O P O S A L of the meeting of the Ministers in Charge of Telecommunication held in Abuja on 11 t h May 2006 ON THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the fifty-seventh s e s s i o n of the C o u n c i l of M in i s te rs held in Ouagadougou from 18 to 19 December 2006; AGREE AS FOLLOWS CHAPTER I: DEFINITIONS, OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE Art ic le 1: De f in i t i ons 1. For the purposes of this Supplementary Act, the definitions contained in Supplementary Act A/SA.1/01/07 shall apply. 2. The following additional definitions shall also apply: Universal access/service: access to a basic g roup of s e r v i c e s as de f ined in this Supplementary Act, within the territory of the Member States of E C O W A S , for all citizens, regardless of their geographic location, at affordable rates. Public payphone: a telephone station made available to the public, for use against payment in the form of coins and/or credit or debit cards and/or prepayment cards, including cards used with numbering codes. Public telephone network: a telecommunication network used to provide pub l ic ly a c c e s s i b l e te lephone s e r v i c e s . Between network termination points, it permits the t r a n s m i s s i o n not only of vo ice communicat ion but a lso of other forms of communication such as facsimile and data transmission. Publicly accessible telephone service: service made available to the public to enable people to make and receive domestic and 64 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 international calls, and to access emergency serv ices by dial ing one or more numbers establ ished for that purpose in national or international numbering plans. It may also include the provision of one or more of the following services, where applicable: operator a s s i s t a n c e ; t e l e p h o n e and /o r d i rec tory in format ion ; pub l i c p a y p h o n e s ; other spec ia l i zed serv ices ; spec ia l serv ices for disabled persons or persons having specific social needs; and non-geographic services. Art ic le 2: Ob jec t ives and scope 1. The purpose of this Supplementary Act is to harmonize condi t ions so as to enable all citizens to connect to communication networks accessible to everyone at affordable rates. 2 This Supplementary Act lays down the rules applicable to universal access/service within the countries of the E C O W A S zone, and sets out in particular the role of Member States in establishing and implementing rules in the following areas: a) c rea t ing a regu la to ry and po l icy env i ronment f avo rab le to un ive rsa l access/service; b) des ign ing and identi fying regulatory reform measures; c) promoting innovative regulatory policies; d) assu r ing a c c e s s to in format ion and communication infrastructures; e) providing subs id ies for f inancing and managing universal access/service policy; f) assuring cooperation in the provision of service; g) assur ing the oversight and review of policies; h) es tab l i sh i ng an ob l iga t ion to put emergency services in place. CHAPTER II: ROLE OF THE AUTHORITIES Art ic le 3: Creat ion of a regulatory and pol icy env i r onmen t c o n d u c i v e to un iversa l a c c e s s / s e r v i c e Member States shall take all necessary measures in order: a) at the highest possible political level, to identify ICT as a tool for socio-economic development, designating to that end a national focal point such as a ministry, government department or well-known individual to champion the cause of ICT development; b) to e s t a b l i s h na t iona l regulatory authorities and provide them with the means to play a key role in implementing un i ve rsa l a c c e s s po l i c i es , first by address ing the market eff iciency gap (letting the market del iver un iversal access/service), and then by tackling the true access gap; c) to make national regulatory authorities responsib le for implementing policies geared towards the provision of services that are of the highest possible quality, reliable and affordable, and which satisfy the needs of users both present and future; d) to d e v e l o p their c o m m u n i c a t i o n s frameworks through telecommunication sector, institutional and legislative reform in line with international best practices but with due regard for local requirements; e) to include, in the definition of universal access/service policies, all citizens and elements of the population regardless of ethnic origin, soc io-economic level or geographic location. Art ic le 4: Des ign ing po l ic ies and de termin ing regu la tory re fo rm measures 1. M e m b e r Sta tes sha l l take all necessa ry measures in order to: a) formulate a national policy that identifies 65 uecemoer zuuo/january 20U / ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 appropr ia te and rea l i s t i c un i ve rsa l access/service objectives which take into accoun t the d i f f e rences be tween universal access (public access to ICTs) and un i ve rsa l s e r v i c e (pr ivate or household access to ICTs); b) as frequently as possible, conduct public consultations with stakeholders to identify their needs and modify universal access/ service policies, regulations and practices accordingly; c) design universal access/service policies, regu la t ions and p rac t i ces to c reate incentives for the private sector to extend universal a c c e s s to communica t ions services; d) use a mu l t i -p ronged a p p r o a c h to add ress ing un iversa l a c c e s s / s e r v i c e challenges and opportunities, relying on complementary strategies to meet the targets that have been set; e) es tab l i sh a fair and t ransparen t telecommunication regulatory framework that promotes universal access to ICTs while al lowing the market to address universal access/service to the greatest extent possible, intervening only where the market has failed or seems likely to do so. This entails: i) promoting technological ly neutral licensing practices enabling service providers to use the most cost- ef fect ive techno logy to prov ide services for end users; ii) adopting a transparent and non­ d i sc r im ina to ry i n te rconnec t ion framework in which interconnection rates are linked to costs; iii) reducing regulatory burdens to lower the costs of providing services to end users; iv) p romot ing compet i t i on in the prov is ion of a full range of ICT s e r v i c e s to i n c r e a s e a c c e s s , affordability, availability and use of ICTs. 2 Where it is necessa ry for regulators and pol icymakers to intervene to facilitate the delivery of universal access/service: a) pub l ic a c c e s s s t ra teg ies shou ld be explored in addition to private universal service strategies; b) both pay and play strategies should be employed, but where possible operators should be encouraged to invest in rural, remote and low-income populations and areas; c) countries can use regulatory reform as the first s tep in ach iev ing un iversa l access , recognizing that further steps may be necessary to achieve ubiquitous access to ICTs, e.g. in rural areas or for users with special needs; d) appropriate licensing schemes for rural service providers could be set up to meet the needs of unserved and underserved areas. Art ic le 5: P romot ing innovat ive regulatory pol ic ies Member States shall: a) p romote a c c e s s to low-cos t b roadband interconnectivity from the local level to the internat ional leve l , involving government authorities, companies and non-governmental organizations; b) adopt regulatory f rameworks that support app l i ca t i ons s u c h as e -educa t ion and e-government; c) adopt policies aimed at increasing access to the internet and broadband services, based on their own market structure, such that the policies reflect diversity in culture, language and social interests; d) ensure that national regulatory authorities work with s takeho lde rs to expand broadband coverage and use through multi-stakeholder pa r tne rsh ips , in para l le l to government initiatives to promote financially sustainable programs, particularly with a view to bridging the market gap that may ex is t in some countries; e) adopt regulatory regimes that facilitate the use of all transport media, whether wire line, power l ine , c a b l e , w i r e l e s s or any other new technology; 66 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 f) ensure that national regulatory authorities put forward init iatives for encourag ing public access to broadband and internet services in schools, libraries and other community centers; g) ensure that national regulatory authorities implement harmonized spectrum allocations consistent with the ITU radio communication con fe rence p r o c e s s and e a c h count ry 's national interest. CHAPTER III: ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURES Art ic le 6: General p r i nc ip l es With a view to facilitating access to information and communicat ion infrastructures, Member States shall: a) within a competit ive framework, foster the introduction of innovative services using new technologies at an affordable level of pricing; b) promote affordable ICT equipment, which could include national manufacturing of ICT equipment, reduced customs tariffs and duties and end-user loans to make ICT equipment more affordable; c) develop a full range of public access options, including the creation of public telecenters and multipurpose community centers; d) develop local projects and input, including content that is useful for local populations, thereby increasing their relevance and hence their long-term financial sustainability; e) institute education and training programs to encourage the use of ICTs and their impact on local people, thereby increasing the long- term financial sustainability of ICT projects. Art ic le 7: Avai lab i l i ty of un iversa l access/serv ice Without prejudice to more generous domest ic measures, Member States shall commit themselves to taking the necessary steps to ensure that, as a minimum, the entire population within their territories have access to the services listed in this chapter, regardless of their geographic location and at affordable prices. Art ic le 8: Prov is ion of the te lecommun ica t i on service Member States shal l ensure that requests for connection to a telecommunication network are sat isf ied by at least one operator and may, if necessary, designate one or more operators to that effect, such that all parts of the national territory are covered. The connection provided must be such as to enable the user to make domestic and in ternat iona l c a l l s , s e n d and rece ive vo ice messages and fax and data transmissions, and connect to the internet with an adequate transfer rate. Art ic le 9: D i rec to r ies and te lephone i n fo rma t i on serv ices 1. Member States shall ensure that: a) a directory, which may be printed of e l ec t ron i c or bo th , con ta in ing the credentials of all subscribers, including their f i xed and mobi le te lephone numbers, is made available to users in a form approved by the national regulatory authority; b) at leas t one te lephone in format ion service covering all listed subscribers is available to all users, including users of public telephone booths; c) companies providing the above services apply the principles of non-discrimination to the processing and presentation of in format ion p rov ided to them by operators. 2. Member States shall undertake to give effect to these provisions with all due respect for the applicable legal and regulatory provisions in force in regard to personal data and privacy protection. In particular, where subscribers expressly so request, their information shall not be included in any directory. Art ic le 10: Emergency serv ices Member States shall ensure that emergency calls can be made free of charge from any fixed or mobile telephone, including telephone booths. Art ic le 11: Publ ic access and publ ic payphones 1. In order, among other things, to enable users ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 not subscribed to the telephone service to have a c c e s s there to , M e m b e r S ta tes undertake to ensure that public payphones are installed, under reasonable conditions, in terms of quantity and geographic distribution. 2. Without prejudice to more generous domestic legislation, Member States shall ensure that national regulatory authorities are in a position to impose schedules for the deployment of public payphones, with the aim of having at least one public payphone in each locality number ing 500 inhab i tan ts or more by 31 December 2010. E C O W A S will monitor the implementation of this measure on an annual basis. Art ic le 12: Speci f ic measures in favour of certa in soc ia l g roups Where the need exists, Member States shall take spec i f i c m e a s u r e s to ensure that users with disabilities or special social needs have equivalent and a f fo rdab le a c c e s s to pub l i c ly ava i l ab le te lephone se rv i ces , including emergency and directory services at an affordable price. Art ic le 13: Rev iewing the scope of un ive rsa l access / se rv i ce 1. With a view to monitor ing and reviewing policies, Member States must, on the one hand, adopt measurable targets for improving connectivity and access to ICT use, which can be based on distance, population density or length of time needed to have access to ICTs, and, on the other hand, hold periodic reviews of un i ve rsa l a c c e s s / s e r v i c e po l i c i es , regulations and practices in order to adapt to the evolving nature of ICT services and end- user needs. 2. Member States shall periodically review the scope of the universal service, in particular with a v iew to mak ing p roposa l s for its modification or redefinit ion. The first such review shall be held not later than two years following the date of entry into force of this Supplementary Act, and thereafter a review shall be held every three years. 3. The review shal l take account of soc ia l , economic and technological developments, and shal l have part icular regard to data mobility and transfer rates for the technologies most w ide ly u s e d by the majori ty of subscribers. Member States shall inform the Commission of any changes. Art ic le 14: Mandato ry add i t iona l serv ices E C O W A S Member States may decide to make additional services accessible to the public, within their national territory, beyond those services that already come under the heading of universal service obligations as defined in this chapter. CHAPTER IV: IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT OF UNIVERSAL ACCESS/SERVICE Art ic le 15: Coopera t ion and management of un i ve rsa l access /se rv i ce Cooperat ion in this area must be explored on several levels: a) between the private sector and communities, so that where possible the market can deliver universal access/service; b) between communit ies, government and the private sector, to ensure that the access gap is dealt with in a manner that is relevant to communities; c) within government, to reap the full benefits of ICTs, beyond infrastructure and technology, and extending to health, education, agriculture and other sectors. Art ic le 16: A r rangements for imp lementa t ion 1. Member States shal l determine the most e f fec t ive and app rop r ia te app roach for ensur ing the implementat ion of universal service, with due respect for the principles of objectivity, transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality. They shall endeavour to keep market d is to r t ions to a m in imum, particularly where they take the form of service provision at rates or under conditions which differ from those normally prevail ing in a commercial operation, while protecting the public interest. 2. To these ends, Member States may, where 68 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 necessary, designate one or more companies to ensure the provision of universal service, as defined in Articles 7, 8, 9 and 10, such that all parts of the territory can be covered . Member States may designate companies or different groups of compan ies to provide different components of universal access / service and/or to cover different parts of the national territory. 3. Where Member States designate companies to fulfill universal service obligations over all or part of the national territory, they shall do so through a mechan ism that is effective, objective, transparent and non-discriminatory, and which does not exclude any company a priori. Art ic le 17: Qual i ty of the serv ice prov ided by des igna ted c o m p a n i e s 1. M e m b e r S ta tes sha l l e n s u r e that the companies entrusted with the task of providing users with the services referred to in Articles 7, 8, 9 and 10 of this Supplementary Act provide the national regulatory authority with a regular account of their activities and results achieved in that regard. 2. National regulatory authorities shall establish pe r fo rmance ob jec t i ves for c o m p a n i e s a s s u m i n g un i ve rsa l s e r v i c e ob l iga t ions pursuant to Art icles 7, 8, 9 and 10 of this Supplementary Act, in accordance with the procedures described in the present article. 3. Pursuant to the Supplementary Act on the ha rmon iza t i on of r e g i m e s app l i cab le to telecommunicat ion network operators and service providers, individual l icenses may specify results to be achieved for the provision of universal access/service. 4. An entity's persistent failure to achieve the performance object ives and quality levels specified for the implementation of Article 3 of this S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t may enta i l the app l ica t ion of sanc t i ons by the nat ional regulatory authority. 5. National regulatory authorities are entitled to requi re i ndependen t ver i f i ca t ion of an operator 's performance of the obl igations incumbent upon it pursuant to Articles 7, 8, 9 and 10 of this Supplementary Act. CHAPTER V: FINANCING AND MANAGEMENT OF THE UNIVERSAL ACCESS POLICY Art ic le 18: Level and s t ruc tu re of pr ices 1. National regulatory authorities shall ensure that the un iversa l serv ice is provided to everyone at affordable rates. They may, at the request of the minister in charge of the sector, require companies designated pursuant to Article 14 to make available to low-income or s p e c i a l - n e e d s u s e r s p r i ces , opt ions or s c h e m e s that differ from those normally p reva i l i ng in a c o m m e r c i a l opera t ion , particularly with a view to ensuring universal service. 2. The conditions under which such facilities are granted must be proportional, transparent and non-discriminatory, and publicly promulgated. Art ic le 19: Calcu la t ing the cos t of un iversal service 1. To assist national regulatory authorities in determining whether provision of the universal service places an unjustified burden on the companies designated as providers, Member States undertake to provide for the adoption of a method for calculating the costs of the universal service, based on net costs. 2. The net cost corresponds to the difference between the investment and operational costs assoc ia ted with provision of the universal service and the relevant revenues. Relevant revenues are the direct and indirect revenues generated by the universal service. 3. The net cost of any specia l pr ice-scheme of fers made by an opera to r to cer ta in categor ies of subscr ibers to ensure their a c c e s s to the un iversa l serv ice shal l be deducted from that operator's contribution to the universal service fund. 4. The calculation of the net cost of the universal service obl igat ions shal l be submitted for auditing by an entity that is unconnected with the body responsible for managing the fund. The result of the net cost calculation and the audit conc lus ions shal l be made publicly available. 69 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Art ic le 20: Fund ing of un iversa l access /serv ice 1. Funding and subsidies must be targeted, and are to be determined and de l ivered in a manne r that is t r anspa ren t , non ­ discriminatory, inexpensive and competitively neutral. 2. Subs id ies can be provided using severa l means, including: a) a universal service fund, which should be deve loped as a mechan i sm within a broader market-or iented approach to achieving universal access; b) universal service funds can be financed by a broad range of market p layers, managed by neutral bod ies such as regulators, and be used to kick-start public a c c e s s projects that meet the needs of the local community; c) governments may a lso consider a full range of other financing mechanisms; d) competitive minimum subsidy auctions could be used, as an option, to reduce the amount of f inancing necessary for public a c c e s s projects f inanced by a universal service fund; e) public access projects can be designed to a c h i e v e long- te rm f inanc ia l sel f - sus ta inab i l i t y , e s p e c i a l l y whe re consideration is given to innovative low- cost technologies. CHAPTER VI: FINAL PROVISIONS Art ic le 2 1 : T ime- f rames fo r t ranspos i t i on 1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to adapt their national sectoral legislation to this Supplementary Act no later than two years following the date of its entry into force. They shall inform the Commission of those steps immediately. . 2. The legal texts agreed to shal l contain a reference to this Supplementary Act or shall have such a reference attached to them when they are officially published. Art ic le 22: Imp lemen ta t i on 1. W h e n , based on this Supplementary Act , national regulatory authorities take decisions that are liable to have an impact on exchanges be tween M e m b e r S ta tes and on the establ ishment of the common market and concern implementa t ion of the universal service development policy, Member States sha l l e n s u r e that the m e a s u r e s and substantiating arguments are communicated to the Commiss ion one month prior to their implementation. 2. The national regulatory authority shall take into c o n s i d e r a t i o n the obse rva t i ons of the Commission. 3. The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the national regulatory authority that they are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 4. Under exceptional circumstances, where the nat ional regulatory authority cons iders it urgent to take action to safeguard competition and protect users ' interests, it may adopt p ropor t iona te m e a s u r e s immedia te ly , appl icable for a limited period only. Those measures shall be communicated without delay to the Commission for comment. 5. When Member States adopt transposit ion measures for this Supplementary Act, they shall ensure that the planned measures along with subs tan t i a t i ng a rgumen ts are communicated to the Commission one month prior to implementation of the measures. 6. Member States shall take into consideration the observat ions of the Commiss ion . The measures shall take effect one month after the date on which they were communicated, unless the Commission informs the Member States that the measures proposed are incompatible with this Supplementary Act. 7. Member States shal l communicate to the Commission any provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field governed by this Supplementary Act. 70 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Art ic le 23: In fo rmat ion repor t Member States shal l , no later than six months fo l lowing the date of entry into force of this S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t , c o m m u n i c a t e to the Commission the steps taken or which are in the course of approval or implementat ion for the purpose of implementing this Supplementary Act. Art ic le 24: Pub l i ca t ion This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its s ignature by the Chairman of Authority. It shall also be published by each Member State in its National Gazette within the same time frame. Art ic le 25: Entry in to force 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon its publication. Consequently, signatory States and E C O W A S Institutions pledge to commence the implementation of its provisions on its entry into force. 2. This Supplementary Act is annexed to the E C O W A S Treaty of which it is an integral part. Art ic le 26: Deposi tory Author i t y This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Commiss ion which shal l transmit certified true copies thereof to all the Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations and such other organisat ions as Counc i l may determine. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES, HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19™ DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Excel lency Thomas Boni Yayi President of jthe Republic of Benin His Excel lency Blaise Compaore Chairjjtan of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 President of the Republic of The Gambia Hon. Sidibe Fatoumata KABA Minister of International Cooperation For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea His Excel(ej iey^JoJ^rrA7Kufuor President of^he^Republ'c of Ghana His Excel lenc President of the / Joao Bernardo Vieira Republic of Guinea Bissau Her Excel lency Ellen Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali His Excel lency Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger His Excel lency Olusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His Exce President ! cy Abdou laye Wade the Republic of Senegal • U ^ Hon. Mohammed Daramy" Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excel lency Faure Essozimna Gnass ingbe President of the Togolese Republic 72 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol . 50 SUPPLEMENTARY ACT A/SA.7/01/07 RELATING TO THE ADOPTION OF THE AMENDED VERSION OF THE E C O W A S A N T H E M A N D THE HARMONIZED LYRICS IN THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended establishing the Authority of Heads of States and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.2/5/2000 adopting the E C O W A S Anthem; M I N D F U L of the recommendat ion of the 55th Session of the Council of Ministers held in Niamey in J a n u a r y 2005 reques t i ng the E x e c u t i v e Secretariat (Commission) to harmonize the French & English lyrics of the E C O W A S Anthem; ON T H E P R O P O S A L of the meetings of the Panel of Experts in literature, Music, and linguistics, which took place in Dakar and Abuja from 2nd to 5th August 2006 and 31st September to 1st October, 2006 respectively, relating to the harmonization of tbe English and French Lyrics of the E C O W A S anthem. A L S O ON THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the Council of Ministers held in Ouagadougou 18 and 19 December, 2006. AGREE AS FOLLOWS: ARTICLE 1 The amended version of the E C O W A S anthem is hereby adopted. The musical scores are attached as annex 1 to this Supplementary Act. ARTICLE 2 The harmonized French and English lyrics of the anthem are also hereby adopted and attached as annex 2 to this Supplementary Act. ARTICLE 3 This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of Authority. It shall also be published by each Member State in its Official Gazette within the same time frame. ARTICLE 4 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon its publication. Consequently, signatory M e m b e r S ta tes and the Inst i tut ions of E C O W A S under take to c o m m e n c e the implementation of its provisions on its entry into force, 2. This Supplementary Act is annexed to the E C O W A S Treaty of which it is an integral part. ARTICLE 5 This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Commiss ion which shal l transmit certified true copies thereof to all Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations and such other organizat ions as Counc i l may determine. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES, HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Exce l l ency^ f i omas Boni Yayi Presider^qf-tf ie Republic of Benin His Excjetfency Blaise Compaore ChaipTian of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 President of the Republic of Cabo Verde President of the Republic of The Gambia Hon. Sidibe Fatoumata KABA Minister of International Cooperation For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea His Excel lency Laurent Gbagbo President of the Republic of Cole D'lvoire His Excel lency John! A. Kufuor President of the Republic of Ghana His Exce l lency /Joao Bernardo Vieira President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau Her Excel lency El len Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali His Excel lency Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger His Exc^lleVicy Abdou laye Wade Presidewlpf the Republic of Senegal His Excel lency O lusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria v Hon. Mohammed Darar Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excel lency Faure Essoz imha Gnass ingbe President of the Togolese Republic 74 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ECOWAS ANTHEM 1 . West African States, of historic solidarity, come, mite aid hilt a buoyant Economic community! free from the bondage of the yast, Rich, strong our new honi ever shall last! it is no mystery, we wfll make history. from the ocean, to rain forests ani the Savannahs-, working hani in hand, Each ani every land, we shall yrogress hayyily in ECOWAS§ 2. Peace ani. unity ani social justice everywhere, Cultural integration ani liberty we ieclarel Together, with our resources ani mlflht, we will hey our health, wealth ani future all hriflhtl it is no mystery, We have maie history. from the sea shores to the iesert, through the Savannahs: Each ani every lani, A l l mU, hani in hani, Ever yrogress hayyily in ECOWAS! December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 SUPPLEMENTARY ACT A/SA.8/01/07 ADOPTING THE E C O W A S P O L I C Y ON D I S A S T E R REDUCTION THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 29 of the said Treaty relating to the environment, which commits member States to cooperate in the event of natural disasters, adopt policies, strategies and programmes at national and regional levels and establish appropriate institutions to protect and enhance the environment; MINDFUL of Article 3, paragraphs (f) and 0) of the Protocol relating to the Mechan ism for Conflict P r e v e n t i o n , M a n a g e m e n t and R e s o l u t i o n , Peacekeeping and Security, which set for E C O W A S the ob jec t i ve , a m o n g o the rs , of c rea t ing implementing institutions for appropriate policies c a p a b l e of fac i l i ta t ing the coo rd ina t i on of humanitar ian and rescue miss ions as well as adopt ing env i r onmen ta l p ro tec t ion and rehabilitation measures; R E C A L L I N G the achievements of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduct ion (1990 - 2000); R E C A L L I N G further the Yokohama International Strategy for Disaster reduction (ISDR) launched in 2000; R E C A L L I N G also the "Hyogo Framework of Action 2005 - 2015", which defines the orientations and the five measures for expanding and deepening local and/or international actions for minimising disaster risks; TAKING A C C O U N T of the regional initiatives of the African Union in col laboration with the N E P A D Secretariat, which led to the formulation of an African strategy for disaster risk reduction (the African Strategy) with the support of the Secretariat of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the African Development Bank; T A K I N G F U R T H E R A C C O U N T of the recommendations of the 10th African Ministerial Meet ing on the environment, which led to the endorsement of the "African Strategy"; B E A R I N G IN MIND the recommendations of the A f r i can Un ion S u m m i t he ld in 2004 , wh ich prescribed the formulation of a programme of action for the implementation of the 2005 - 2010 "African Strategy"; C O N S I D E R I N G that the operat ional mandate g ran ted E C O W A S by Ar t i c le 29 a f o r e - s a i d , empowers it to integrate disaster risk reduction into its sub-regional disaster risk reduction programme and into its sub - reg iona l p rogramme for the reduction of poverty and the promotion of security and sustainable development; NOTING that in that regard, E C O W A S adopted disaster risk reduction as one of its operational themes and consequently took part in appraisal meetings and seminars on disaster risk reduction organised by the UN/ ISDR; C O N S I D E R I N G that the fifty-first session of the Council of Ministers held in Accra in 2003 instituted a technical committee, which it charged with defining a m e c h a n i s m for d i sas te r managemen t and formulating a pol icy for the reduction of such disasters; D E T E R M I N E D to provide the sub-region with a disaster reduction policy; U P O N THE RECOMMENDATION of the fifty-seventh s e s s i o n of the C o u n c i l of M in is te rs , held in Ouagadougou from 18 to 19 December 2006; AGREE AS FOLLOWS: ARTICLE 1 The E C O W A S Po l i cy on D isas ter Reduct ion , attached hereto, is hereby adopted. ARTICLE 2 This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its s ignature by the Chairman of the Authority. It shall also be published within the same time frame by each Member State in its National Gazette. 76 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ARTICLE 3 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon its publication. Consequently, member signatory States and E C O W A S Institutions pledge to commence the implementation of its provisions on its entry into force. 2. This Supplementary Act shall be attached as an annex to the E C O W A S Treaty of which it is an integral part. ARTICLE 4 This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Commission, which shall submit certified true copies thereof to all the Member States, and shall register the Supplementary Act with the African Union, the Un i ted Na t i ons O r g a n i s a t i o n and with any organisation as may be determined by Council. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES, HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 1 9 t h DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Ex/cellenpy^Thomas Boni Yayi Presiaejit 'of the Republic of Benin His Excel lency Blaise Compaore O a l r m a n of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso President of the Republic of Cabo Verde His Excel lency Laurent Gbagbo President of the Republic of Cote D' I voire 77 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Hon. Sidibe Fatoumata KABA Minister of International Cooperation For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea Her Excel lency El len Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia His E x c e l l e n t Joao Bernardo Vieira President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali His Excel lency Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger His Excel lency O lusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His ExC| President y Abdou laye Wade Republic of Senegal Hon. Mohammed Daramy Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Expediency Faftire Essoz imna Gnass ingbe president of the Togolese Republic 78 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 A n n e x e Thir ty-f i rst Ordinary Summit of the Au thor i t y of Heads of State and Government ECOWAS POLICY FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION ECOWAS COMMISSION, OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19™ DAY OF JANUARY 2007 7 Q December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 •ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACMAD African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development AMCEN African Ministerial Conference on the Environment AU The African Union DES-PADS Deputy Executive Secretary - Political Affairs, Defence and Security DM Disaster Management DHA Department of Humanitarian Affairs DMOs Disaster Management Organisation ECOMOG E C O W A S Ceasefire Monitoring Group EERT ECOWAS Emergency Response Team EPF ECOWAS Peace Fund lACPs Inter Agency Contingency Plans ECOWAP E C O W A S Agricultural Policy ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States HFA Hyogo Framework for Action HIV/AIDS Human Immuno Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome IDPs International Development Partners ISDR International Strategy for Disaster Reduction NEPAD New Partnership for African Development OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OMC Observation and Monitoring Centre PADEP Peace and Development Programme PRSPs Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers SEAF Special Emergency Assistance Fund UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations International Children Educational Fund UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees UN/ISDR United Nations Inter-Agency Secretariat of ISDR WSSD World Summit on Sustainable Development EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In general, disasters triggered by natural hazard event have increased in occurrence and severity in the sub-region, particularly the Sahelian zone, s ince the last three d e c a d e s . Fur thermore, disasters and conflict are linked and are mutually reinforcing. Consequently, the increasing interest of E C O W A S in disaster risk reduction has mainly been driven by efforts to fulfil its peace and security mandate , inc lud ing the management of humanitarian outcomes of conflicts. The focused attention on d isaster issues culminated in the es tab l i shment of d isas te r reduct ion as an operat ional theme. The E C O W A S Counc i l of Ministers 51st Session in December 2003 in Accra establ ished a Technical Committee on Disaster Management to recommend ways to operationalize a disaster prevention and reduction capacity. This Policy document is presented in two parts. Part I provides the background to the Pol icy in an introduction, a summary of reviews of disaster management practise and capacities in West Africa, including key challenges, and, justification for the policy for disaster risk reduction for West Africa. Part II cove rs the pol icy v is ion , statement, objectives, scope and principles, in addition to the focus areas, strategies and priorities for action under the policy. The key principles of the policy include: (a) playing a catalytic role in enhancing self-protection by people and communities, (b) providing material, f inanc ia l and other emergency management assistance to member states, and (c) adopting multi-stakeholder participatory approaches that are gender and cultural sensitive. The objectives of the Policy are to: advoca te for and ra is ing awareness on disaster risk reduction integrate d isas te r risk reduct ion into deve lopment po l i c ies , p lanning and programmes. deve lop and st rengthen inst i tut ions, mechanisms and capacities to build resilience to hazards incorporate risk reduct ion approaches in emergency preparedness, rehabilitation and recovery 80 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 enhance the contr ibut ion of the d isaster reduction to peace and security of the sub- region. The Pol icy focuses on reducing d isaster risk through development interventions by looking at reducing risk as a development challenge. Hence, the recommendations cover actions in sustainable development aimed at strengthening the sub-region capacity for disaster risk management. The Policy addresses disasters triggered by natural hazards that may be exacerbated by conflict but will not contain explicit interventions on conflicts. Priorities for actions under the Policy include: supporting development and sub-regional networking of national platforms for disaster reduction promoting expans ion of the var ious early warning system in operation and facilitating their coordination and harmonisation supporting public awareness and advocacy of disaster reduction integrating disaster risk reduction principles in the harmon isa t ion programme and Agriculture Policy of E C O W A S and in national development policies developing sub-regional disaster response capability based on the E C O W A S Standby Force and the E C O W A S Emergency Response Team (EERT) CONTENTS PARTI 1. I n t r o d u c t i o n 2. Rev iew o f d i s a s t e r r e d u c t i o n and management in West A f r i ca : s ta tus and major cha l lenges . 2.1 The disaster problem in West Africa 2.2 Status and major cha l lenges of the disaster reduction in West Africa 3. J u s t i f i c a t i o n fo r a p o l i c y fo r d i sas te r reduct ion in West Afr ica PART II 4. The ECOWAS Po l i cy fo r D isas te r Risk R e d u c t i o n 4.1 Vision 4.2 Policy statement 4.3 Goals 4.4 Scope of the policy 4.5 Principles 5. Policy focus areas, strategies and priority ac t ions PART III 6. O p e r a t i o n a l a r r a n g e m e n t s fo r imp lement ing the Pol icy 6.1 Implementing structures 6.2 Implementat ion respons ib i l i t ies and functions 7. Financing the Pol icy 7.1 Sources of financing 7.2 Resource mobilization and partnership issues 8. Mon i to r ing and rev iewing the Pol icy 8.1 Institutional responsibilities 8.2 Monitoring indicators 8.3 Means of verification 8.4 Country progress reporting arrangements 8.5 Policy review process 81 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 1. I n t roduc t i on Disasters arise from the interaction of hazard with vulnerability. In West Africa, several natural hazards const i tute d isas ter threats. T h e s e inc lude geological events (such as earthquakes), hydro meteorological phenomena (such as flood, drought and windstorms) and biological factors (such as disease epidemics). Due to the high vulnerability of individuals and communities, the occurrence of these natural hazards often results in disasters that destroy life, property and the environment and undermine West Africa's development. Disasters also jeopardise achievement of the Mil lennium Development Goals and slow down the process towards sustainable development. However, efforts are underway at all levels to address the problem. At the international level, the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduct ion (1990 - 1999), Yokohama Strategy for a Safer World and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) launched in 2000 focused global attention on the need to address the issue of disaster reduction. The 2000 Wor ld Summi t on Sus ta inab le Deve lopment ( W S S D ) a d d r e s s e d d isas ter reduct ion as a key i ssue of sus ta inab le development, Consequently, the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 - 2015 provides strategic directions and set five areas of priority for further expanding, deepen ing and st rengthening loca l , nat ional , regional and internat ional act ions to reduce disaster risks. At the regional level, the African Union has, together with the NEPAD Secretariat, developed the African Regional Strategy for Disaster (the African strategy), with the support of the UN Inter -agency Secretariat of ISDR (UN/ISDR), in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Afr ican Development Bank. The Strategy was endorsed by the 10th Meeting of Africa Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and was favourably noted by the 2004 African Union Summit which called for the formulation of the Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Afr ica Strategy (2005-2010) . Implementat ion of the strategy rests at the sub-regional and national levels. The organization mandate and programme mix of E C O W A S allow its Secretariat to coordinate the deve lopment of a sub- reg iona l strategy and programme that integrates disaster risk reduction into the sub-regional poverty reduction, security and sustainable development agenda. Articles 22 and 29 of the Revised Treaty of E C O W A S provided for cooperation by members to strengthen existing institutions to manage natural calamities, provide food aid in the event of serious food shortage and to establish early warning systems. The Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for conflict Prevention, Managemen t , Reso lu t i on , Peacekeep ing and Security mandated the development of effective policies that will help alleviate the suffering of the populat ion and restore life to normalcy after complex humanitarian emergency and disasters. Consequent ly , over the last couple of years , E C O W A S has increasingly focused its attention on disaster issues culminating in the establishment of disaster risk reduction as an operational theme. The Secretariat participated in reviews of disaster risk reduction by the UN/ISDR in 2002, for the Africa Strategy in 2003 and in some workshops. Then, the E C O W A S Council of Ministers 51st Session in December 2003 in Accra established a Technical committee on Disaster Management to recommend ways to operationalize a disaster prevention and reduction capacity. A meeting of the Committee in March 2005 outlined the scope of the E C O W A S mechanism for disaster management into this Policy. 2. R e v i e w of d i s a s t e r r e d u c t i o n and management in West A f r i ca ; s tatus and major cha l lenges 2.1 . The disaster prob lem in West Afr ica Disas te rs t r iggered by natural events have increased in occurrence and security in the sub- region, particularly the Sahelian zone, since the last decades. However, both the incidence of droughts and the number of people affected have declined. Other significant hazards include diseases", pest (particularly locust invasions), deforestation, forest degradation, flooding, sea erosion, sea level rise, coasta l wet lands degrada t ion , invasive al ien species, and wildland fire. Lower and more variable rainfall levels during the last three to four decades have contributed to worsening desertification, food security, natural resource degradation and coastal vulnerability. Climate change factors are likely to worsen drought conditions and coastal erosion, change vegetation patterns, and increase tidal waves and storm surges. Large-sca le seismic activity is rare but active fault areas experience earthquake swarms involving minor tremors. Other hazards include transportat ion, industrial and chemical accidents and technological systems failure. The extent of vulnerability to hazards determines the extent of the impact of disasters. Vulnerability to natural hazards in the sub-region will likely worsen due to several factors, including the high poverty level, negative population and demographic trends, deve lopment genera ted factors , such as inadequate public investment to maintain and enhance resil ience, fragile environment, conflict, and HIV/AIDS. 82 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 2.2. Status and major challenges of disaster reduction in West Africa Recent reviews'" done by the U N / I S D R have identi f ied gaps in f ive a reas of d isas ter risk reduction in West Africa. 2.2.1. Prioritizing disaster risk management and developing institutional base Status: National authorities recognize the need to develop and strengthen institutions required to build resilience to hazards. Consequently, political commitment to disaster risk reduction is increasing in the sub-region. Countries are establishing and developing national platforms for promoting disaster risk reduction in the context development, including Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. The effort in developing the E C O W A S disaster management mechanism with a financing facility is further evidence of this. However, many countries are yet to develop national pol ic ies, legis lat ion, or plant for d isaster risk reduction. Some countries recognize grassroots disaster volunteers™ and community level structures of civil protection organizations, but national policies and plans have not explicitly focused on either risk reduction or strengthening local coping strategies. Major challenges: the major challenge is to how to make d isas ter risk reduct ion a priority development concern, including strengthening the capacity of the E C O W A S Secretariat to support disaster risk reduction in the sub-region. 2.2.2. Developing and strengthening disaster risk assessment and early warning Status: Disaster risk assessment is weak in the sub-region: data collection on hazards, particularly small-scale hazards and impacts is not common or systematized, risk indexing is yet to begin, risk maps are generally unavailable and land use capacity maps do not indicate natural hazard risks. Early warning systems covering food security, drought and climatic factors operate in the sub-region v . However , m e c h a n i s m s for warn ings on desertification and other major hazards are largely undeveloped or are limited to risk surveillance and monitoring. The emerging E C O W A S Peace and Security Observation and Monitoring System is yet to be integrated in disaster early warning systems. National early warning institutions are weakening but improved network ing and partner ing arrangement with external partners have helped to alleviate the constraint of weak data collection and analysis capabilities. The capacities of several sub-regional institutions" that provide vital services for risk assessment and early warning need to be strengthened and their output made more people- centered. Major challenges: (a) promoting the practice of hazard and vulnerability assessment, monitoring and early warning; (b) strengthening all elements of famine and food security early warning systems in operation in the sub-region and harmonizing the various systems; (c) monitoring desertification and climate impacts. 2.2.3. Enhancing use of knowledge and innovation to reduce disaster risks Status: Nat ional information systems are not geared towards genera t ing , ana lyz ing and disseminating information on disasters. There does not exist a sub-regional disaster information clearing house. On the demand side, the capacity within disaster management organizat ions (DMOs) to ana lyze ava i lab le data is often weak. Some countries have made public information more easily available through press pluralism that bodes well for disaster mitigation and response but public a c c e s s to d isas te r informat ion is general ly inadequate. A C M A D init iated an innovat ive approach to disseminating weather information to farmers in the S a h e l through so lar rechargeab le radios but expansion is hampered by the relatively high cost of the radios. Education and training systems do not incorporate instruction in disaster risk reduction while research and analysis on risk behaviours in the sub-region is relatively lacking. Various means are utilized to create public awareness of disaster risk reduction, including official events and the media but the language and mode of media presentations are often not people-centered. Major challenges: (a) expanding and enhancing generat ion and d isseminat ion of disaster risk information (b) integrating disaster risk reduction informal and informal education, (c) enhancing research and innovation in disaster management. 2.2.4. Reducing development risk factors Status: Rain-dependent agrarian and primary- commodi ty based econom ies and poverty contribute to the high vulnerabi l i ty to natural hazards in the sub-region. Countries have pursued pro-poor growth policies but some policies have not enhanced the resi l ience status of the sub- region while food insecurity persists. The E C O W A P Agr icu l ture Po l i cy ( E C O W A S ) is a imed at sustainable food security and poverty reduction partly by reducing famine and other disasters triggered by natural hazards through interventions in early warning, hazard management, post-conflict food cr ises and other areas. National disaster management frameworks also emphasize food security as a requirement for disaster risk reduction through several interventions"1. To further manage 83 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 natural hazards and environmental degradation, countries have implemented interventions to protect and better safeguard the natural capital base but many factors, including lack of effective legislation, hamper compliance. National authorities have developed policies to regulate and ensure integrated land resource use but physical planning and economic planning are not integrated. Consequen t l y , the regulatory framework for land use planning and physical deve lopment is weak whi le comp l iance with settlement planning and development pol icies, controls, and standards is low. This is partly because national d isaster management pol ic ies do not clearly aim to integrate disaster risk reduction in nat ional deve lopment po l i c ies , p lanning and implementation processes. A lso , many national poverty reduction strategies do not directly link with disaster risk reduction. Major challenges: These include: (a) improving the design and enforcement of public regulations on physical development; (b) meeting food security challenges with existing drought and desertification management p rog rammes ; (c) address ing regional, trans-boundary and emerging risks, such as crop pest in festat ion, migratory l ivestock herd ing, and invas ive a l ien s p e c i e s ; (d) coordinat ion and ensur ing complementar i t ies between d isas ter risk reduct ion and conf l ict management ; (e) expand publ ic-pr ivate partnerships; (f) enhance and expand measure for social protection. 2.2.5. Strengthening preparedness and response Status: p repa redness p lanning invo lves cont ingency p lann ing , ear ly warning and evacuation. Countries have developed national contingency and evacuation plans but the quality varies"". Also, countries are unable to rehearse contingency plus i x . Severa l countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'lvoire, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger and Togo have competed Inter Agency contingency Plans ( lACPs) with O C H A , UNHCR, UNICEF and other agencies of the United Nations system to coordinate the assistance of development agencies to national response efforts but the institutional and physical infrastructure for emergency management remains l imited. For example, most countries lack central facilities for coordinat ion, command and control response intervent ions in e m e r g e n c i e s . The recent deve lopment of a m iss ion control centre for emergency management by Niger ia offers an example of good practice. Early warning systems contribute positively to emergency preparation and response in the sub-region but the integration of early warning into emergency management planning is limited and, disaster management information systems do not adequately distinguish between localized crises and acute emergency situations. Deve lop ing partners provide humani tar ian assistance in times of disasters but are increasingly focusing their assistance on long-term development while the ability of countries in the sub-region to adequately finance disaster response requirements is l imited. Log is t i cs prob lems persist in the management of emergency assistance, targeting commodity distribution can be inadequate, and there are sometimes imbalances between the mix of food and non- food a s s i s t a n c e . However increasingly innovative approaches to emergency response l inking rel ief to deve lopment are emerging, including cash-for relief, instead of food, small-scale water harvesting, integration of food, health and functional education programmes. Major challenges: (a) enhancing the capacity for sub- reg iona l emergency response and contingency planning; (b) integrating early warning into disaster management; (c) harmonizing national emergency systems; (d) strengthening interaction between d isaster managers and development pract i t ioners; (e) deve lop ing voluntar ism in emergency managements. 3. J u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r a p o l i c y d i sas te r reduct ion in West Afr ica There are severa l reasons for designing and implement ing a common pol icy for d isaster reduction in West Africa, including the following: a) Increasing disasters in the sub-region, due partly to increasing vulnerability and emerging hazards, can only be addressed effectively through disaster reduction interventions at both national and sub-regional levels. b) There is growing recognit ion that globally investment in disaster reduction saves far more expenditures on response. c) Resources spent on responding to disasters that recur frequently need to be reallocated to development interventions that help reduce the risk of future disasters. d) There is the need to utilize post-disasters recover and reconstruction opportunities to reduce disaster risks through risk-sensitive development interventions. e) There is a global move towards balancing disaster response with disaster reduction in managing disasters. f) Disaster reduction is a deyelopment challenge 84 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 that should be a d d r e s s e d through development interventions that help prevent and reduce disaster risk. g) Countries in the sub-region are developing frameworks for disasters risk reduction; there is the need for a sub- reg iona l pol icy framework to support national efforts in this direction. h) E C O W A S has inc reas ing ly f ocused its attention on disaster issues in accordance with the R e v i s e d Treaty; it requ i res a pol icy framework for disaster reduction to guide its actions in moving forward. i) The policy fulfils mandatory requirements of E C O W A S under the Revised Treaty and the Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, peace­ keeping and Security. j) Regional Economic Communities are required to des ign d isaster reduct ion pol ic ies and programmes under the Afr ica Strategy for disaster Risk Reduction. 4. The ECOWAS P o l i c y f o r D i sas te r Risk Reduc t i on 4.1. Vision The vision ef the Policy is a sub-region of resilient countries and communities in which natural hazards do not negatively impact development and where development processes do not lead to accumulation of disaster risks from natural hazards. 4.2. Policy statement The policy for disaster reduction of E C O W A S is to facilitate sustainable integration and development of West Af r ica states through promoting and supporting effective disaster risk management that helps create safer and resilient communities and countries in social, economic and environmental terms. 4.3. Objectives The objectives of the E C O W A S Policy for Disaster Risk Reduction Policy are to: Advocate for and raise awareness on disaster risk reduction Integration d isas te r risk reduct ion into deve lopment po l i c ies , p lanning and programmes Development and strengthen institutions, mechanism and capacities to build resilience to hazards Incorporate risk reduct ion approaches in emergency preparedness, rehabilitation and recovery interventions Enhance the contribution of disaster reduction to p e a c e , secur i ty and susta inab le development of the sub-region. 4.4 Scope of the Policy This document presents the E C O W A S policy framework for disaster risk reduction in the sub- reg ion. The pol icy would focus on a reas of importance to the West African situation under the guidance of the Hyogo Framework for Action. The Pol icy focuses on reducing disaster risks through development interventions. Hence, the Policy would look at reducing disaster risks as a development challenge. Recommendation under the Policy would not narrowly focus on disaster management, but cover actions in sustainable development a imed at strengthening the sub- regional capacity for disaster risk management. Issues of conflict and their humanitarian implications are at the cent re of E C O W A S intervent ions current ly and are provid ing the impetus for developing sub-regional capacities in disaster risk reduction. There exists a two -way relationship between d isas te rs and conf l ic ts : not only do conflicts affect disaster outcomes but type, onset and intensity of conflicts are also influenced by environmental factors and circumstances. Because both natural and conflict disaster situations result in humanitarian crises that undermine individual, country, regional and ecosystem security, both will be addressed in a complementary manner under the peace and security mechanism of E C O W A S . Thus, the Policy will address disasters triggered by natural hazards exacerbated by conflict but will not contain explicit interventions on conflicts, except in areas of collaboration under the E P F Peace and Development Programme (PADEP) . Furthermore, achieving the objectives of the Policy will contribute to reduction of conflict. The Policy is not a detailed prescription or blueprint for national action but it is an expression of agreed principles, objectives, priorities and institutional aspects of deve lop ing effect ive, efficient and sustainable disaster risk management in the sub- region. Consequently, the Policy would not contain details on operational matters or detail descriptions of components of priority actions. The latter would be the covered in two follow-on documents: (a) The Mechanism for Disaster Reduction, and (b) The P rog ramme of Act ion for the Implementation of the E C O W A S Policy and Mechanism for Disaster Reduction. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 4.5. Principles of the Policy The Policy will be guided by the following principles: 1) Recognizing that effective disaster reduction involves empower ing people and local communit ies to act to protect their l ives, property and the environment, ECOWAS will play a catalyt ic role in enhanc ing self- protection by promoting adoption of effective coping capacities at the national and local level. 2) Mindful of the in te r -connectedness of livelihood, technological, political and other threats and hazards, ECOWAS will adopt a multi-hazard approach that addresses small recurrent and localized disasters and large infrequent disasters t r iggered by natural, technological and other threats. 3) In the event that the capabilities and resources of member states are unable to cope with impending, occurr ing or past d isasters , ECOWAS will provide material, financial and other emergency management assistance to member states upon their request to develop emergency preparedness and response activities. 4) Aware of the need to utilize existing disaster management capabi l i t ies , ECOWAS wil l address disaster issues by supporting and supplementing local, national and international capacities and efforts in disaster reduction and management. 5) Recognizing that the effects of emergencies last after the physical manifestation of hazards end, and recognizing that rick reduction as a key objective of rehabilitation and recovery in policy and in practice, ECOWAS will adopt a cont inuum, long approach involv ing the simultaneous delivery of relief, rehabilitation and development services. 6) Aware that disaster reduction is not a stand­ alone sector but that it requires integrating capacities across stakeholders, ECOWAS will adopts mult i -stakeholder participatory approaches, inc luding communi ty and Volunteer par t ic ipat ion, in designing and implementing programmes and activities under the Policy. 7) The Policy will also pay attention to the gender perspective and the cultural diversity of the sub-region. 8) The development and implementat ion of programmes under the Policy will emphasize cost-sharing by all partners. 9) To ensure ef fect iveness of sub-regional disaster management, the Policy will promote support partnerships at three levels: (a) Between different role players, including civil society, within countries, (b) Among member states, and (c) Between countries, ECOWAS and the * international community. 10) Recognizing the need to ensure sustainability of interventions under the Policy, the Technical Committee and member states will agree on what condit ions will tr igger the ECOWAS assistance under the Policy and the terms which member nat ions can access that assistance. Issues to consider will include: (a) eligibility criteria (b) the quantum of support to be provided under each access, (c) number of times a country can access support under the facility, (d) expected cost- shar ing and other complementary inputs by accessing countries. 5. Policy focus areas, strategies and priority ac t i ons The policy comprises five areas of focus and associated strategies and priority actions as fellow: 5.1 F o c u s area 1 : E n h a n c i n g d i sas te r reduct ion by making it a development priori ty w i th the requis i te ins t i tu t iona l capaci t ies Strategy 5.1.1: Making disaster risk reduction a priority in ECOWAS requires incorporat ing disaster risk reduction pr incip les in the deve lopment agenda and programmes of the Community. To emphasize priority status of disaster reduction in the agenda of ECOWAS, the Authority of the Heads of State and Government will take a Decision to adopt the policy. To fur ther demonst ra te strong and committed leadership, the Authority will dedicate a portion of the ECOWAS Peace Fund to financing the Policy and facilitate co-financing of the Policy by all stakeholders. Priority of Action: Promote integration of DRR into the ECOWAS deve lopment agenda and programmes, including agreeing a Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Policy. Strategy 5.1.2: Committed leadership empowers those at risk to achieve protection from disaster impacts by 86 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 discharging its governance responsibil it ies. A major responsib i l i ty is the deve lopment of conductive institutional conditions for disaster risk reduct ion. The Po l i cy wil l contr ibute to the development of national framework for disaster risk reduct ion by promot ing the es tab l i shment or strengthening of national platforms for disaster risk reduction. Priorities for Action: Support creat ion, strengthening and sub- regional networking of national platforms for disaster reduction with strong policy, legislation and resource base , and , communi ty and volunteer participation. Strategy 5.1.3: Disaster risk reduction systems can play significant catalytic roles in enhancing self-protection by safeguard ing and s t rengthen ing loca l cop ing mechan isms, capac i t ies and institutions. This requires that local survival strategies inform national and sub-regional disaster assistance interventions. The Policy proposes to facilitate strengthening of sub- reg iona l capac i ty for d i sas te r reduct ion, inc luding through i nc reased use of local consultants and service providers in the sub-region. Priorities for Action: Develop and strengthen special sub-regional institutions for d isaster risk management services Develop database on and strengthen disaster risk management capacity, including local expert capacity and coping strategies, in the sub- reg ion , par t icu lar ly as part of the E C O W A S E m e r g e n c y R e s p o n s e Team (EERT), and in Africa. Strategy 5.1Ar E C O W A S recognizes that it can beset meet its responsibilities in humanitarian assistance if it builds the internal capaci ty to support d isas ter risk reduction. The Policy will, consequently, focus on progress ive ly enhanc ing the capac i ty of the Executive Secretariat in disaster risk reduction, including through institutional structuring, human resource development and technical assistance. A major component of this capacity is a mechanism for concerted sub-regional action to support efforts to reduce d isasters in the long run and meet emergency needs in the immediate aftermath of disasters. Priorities for Action: Develop disaster risk reduction capacity of the E C O W A S Secretariat, including creation of a sub-regional Mechan ism for Disaster Risk Reduction with a financing facility 5.2. Focus Area 2: Reducing disasters by improving identification, assessment, monitoring and early warning of risks Strategy 5.2.1: West Africa is best with a multitude of hazards and threats; consequently, the risk setting changes frequently. Therefore, reducing disasters effectively requires a multiple risk approach underpinned by comprehens ive and cont inuous monitoring of hazard and vulnerability threats. Such a monitoring system has to foster understanding of disaster risk trends and be useful for normal development planning and for disaster early warning during times of cr ises. It should also contribute to learning, adaptat ion and accountabi l i ty. The Pol icy will support the deve lopment of s tandard risk assessment and monitoring instruments based on participatory approaches for the sub-region. It will also achieve this by coordinating agreement on a common set of risk data collection formats and analysis methodologies, indicators and presentation guidelines. Priorities for Action; Promote the understanding and practice of risk ident i f icat ion and a s s e s s m e n t , including through development and supporting use of guidelines, standard procedures, operational manuals, handbooks, maps, training modules and similar tools; Strategy 5.2.2: The policy will also support strengthening of the technological capacit ies for risk data collection, storage and exchange. In addition, it will develop the seasonal climate outlook forums scheme as a useful model for seasonal forecasting of climate- related hazards , and , strengthen sub-regional disaster management service institutions. Priorities for Action: support s t rengthening hazard monitoring capacities, particularly: • disaster risk information capacity, including national statist ical records, collection and management deve lopment of sys tems of indicators of disaster risk and vulnerability at national and sub-regional levels the techno log ica l base (equipment and systems) for risk surveillance and monitoring regional d i sas te r management serv ice institutions; 87 v u ^ . n u & ^ukjujjui iuuiy ^ u u / ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Strategy 5.2.3: For risk reduction to be effective, improved risk knowledge and strengthened technical monitoring need to feed into people-centered systems x. This will ensure timely and accurate dissemination of informative et comprehensible warnings and other information on all hazards targeted at those at risk. This depends on strengthening the institutional base of warnings. Consequently, the policy will facilitate balanced and coordinated development of the major international drought and food security warning systems in operation in the sub-region, emphasizing the dissemination and preparedness elements. The policy will also support interventions to directly link risk assessment process and early warning systems, and, to develop risk databases, including indicators of complex humani tar ian emergencies. Priorities for Action: promote understanding of the concept of and requirements for early warning, involving risks knowledge, technical monitoring and warning service, dissemination and preparedness; promote expansion of the scope of hazards coverage, timeliness of warnings, accessibility to people of various early warning systems in operation and facilitating their coordination and harmonization. deve lop gender -sens i t i ve d isas ter and humanitarian indicators for integration in the early warn ing sys tem of the E C O W A S Observation and Monitoring Centre (OMC) and in the PADEP. 5.3 Focus Area 3; Building safe and resilient societies by enhancing the use of knowledge Strategy 5.3.1: The pol icy be l i eves that d i sas te rs can be substantially reduced if people are well informed, guided and motivated to deve lop a culture of d isas ter prevent ion and res i l i ence through improved access to knowledge, information and communication on disaster risk reduction. This requires the development and strengthening of capac i t ies to t ransform risk informat ion and knowledge (from education, training and tradition) into sound disaster risk reduction judgment and action at all levels. The policy will adopt various approaches to help enhance public awareness of d isaster reduct ion inc lud ing : (a) support ing increased interactions between disaster managers and the public through the media, (b) promoting integration of disaster education in formal and non- formal education systems, and, (c) disseminating good practices. Priorities for Action: support public awareness and advocacy of disaster reduction Strategy 5.3.2: To further help enhance access to information and expand information dissemination, the Policy will support a pilot regional disaster risk reduction information service based on networking of national information services and the general strengthening of public communication mechanism. The policy will promote public-private partnerships that increase the availability and adaptive use of modern informat ion and communicat ion technolog ies, including space technology and geographica l information sys tem, for d isaster reduct ion. T h e s e par tnersh ips will s t ress the integration of these modern technologies with local and traditional modes. Priorities for Action: develop and strengthen disaster information systems and networks, including development of pilot sub-regional disaster information develop disaster education, training, research and technology programmes Strategy 5.3.3: To enhance research and innovation in disaster reduction, support for the development of training programmes in disaster reduction will be tied to the strengthening of sub-regional disaster service institutions under the policy. Priority issues to research inc lude: the r isk, impl icat ions of development interventions, cost-benefit of disaster risk reduct ion in tervent ions, deve lopment constraints to disaster risk reduction, prospects for risk sharing instruments as disaster management tools, and climate change effect in West Africa. Priorities for Action: support programmes to monitor and review national progress in disaster risk management, including undertaking and publishing sub- regional and national baseline assessments 5.4 Focus Area 4: Reducing underlying risk factors by addressing priority development concerns through disaster reduction interventions Strategy 5.4.1: Reduc ing risk factors require mainst reaming disaster risk reduction in development policies, planning and implementation. This should start with a fundamental attitudinal change: both development and disaster communities need to recognize that disaster risk reduction is a development challenge. Meeting this challenge depends on promoting risk- 88 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 sensitive development and development-oriented risk reduction. Towards this end, Policy interventions in Focus Area 3 above to enhance dialogue and col laborat ion between disaster management practitioners, and development policy makers and planners will directly contribute to mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in development. Priorities for Action: Integrate disaster risk reduction principles in the economic and financial policy harmonizing programme of ECOWAS and nat ional development policies Strategy 5.4.2: In addition, the Policy will promote the integration of disaster reduct ion in nat ional susta inable development strategies, as the PRSP and UNDAF. Also, the Policy wil l be coord inated with the ECOWAS to facilitate achievement of food security, stable agricultural incomes and integrated land and water management. Given the very strong linkages between the environment, vulnerability and poverty in Africa, the Policy will encourage the integrated and susta inable use and management of environment and natural resources, including management of effects of climate variability and change. Priorities for Action: promote integration of disaster reduction in the implementation of the ECOWAS Agriculture policy, emphasizing gender aspects, to ensure food security for resilience support integrat ion of d isaster reduct ion strategies with climate adaptation, particularly drought management and desert i f icat ion control faci l i tate susta inab le ecosys tems and environmental management Strategy 5.4.3: The Policy will emphasize disaster risk reduction through in tervent ions to address sources of vulnerability including the major health challenges in the sub-reg ion. Epidemics of malar ia and communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cholera and cerebrospina l meningi t is (CSM) ei ther constitute, or predispose people to, disaster. Also, disaster from natural hazards can create favourable environmental and other conditions for disease epidemic. Consequently, the Policy will support mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in health interventions and promote utilization of the health and human resources development programmes of ECOWAS to address the complex factors driving these health challenges in the sub-region. Priorities for Action: support mains t reaming of disaster risk reduct ion into health sector development interventions. Strategy 5.4.4: It is essential that physical planning integrates socio-economic and spatial planning to promote sustainable land use. Settlement development, critical infrastructure protection, and public safety. The Policy will encourage national authorities to st rengthen regulatory in tervent ions, provide incentive to those who apply such measures, and, show the way through demonstrat ion of good practice. In addi t ion, the policy will work with const ruct ion of profess ional associat ions to promote increased compliance by their members with these standards and codes while encouraging the private sector and other role players to ensure universal compliance. Priorities for Action: collaborate with appropriate authorities and groups to enhance public regulation on land use, physical development and infrastructure protection Strategy 5.4.5: Financial tools endow individuals and communities with the financial wherewithal to strengthen their prevention and coping capabilities. The Policy will encourage initiatives that promote effective financial in termediat ion to widen access to affordable financing, and risk spreading and transfer, such as through micro-finance and insurance schemes. Priorities for Action: support ident i f icat ion of v iable f inancial instruments for disaster risk reduction 5.5 Focus Area 5: Improving effectiveness of response through stronger disaster preparedness Strategy 5.5.1: Enhancing response through more effective preparedness requires developing strong and efficient response preparedness with disaster risk reduction focus. Disaster management can be strengthened and re-oriented towards the disaster risk reduct ion approach by ensuring complementarities between disaster mitigation and disaster response. The Policy will linkage between hazard risk management, response capability and long-term recovery by supporting measures to strengthen preparedness for effective response. Ensuring this linkage also requires integration of disaster risk reduction into post-disaster relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction processes through risk-reducing interventions during the response phase. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Priorities for Action: support strengthening of national disaster response capacities and their re-orientation towards a disaster risk management focus develop programmes for information sharing and cooperation between disaster managers and the development community Strategy 5.5:2 Minimizing the divergence between emergency management and development requires adequate and prompt financing of post-disaster development activities. Integrating emergency management and development also depends on local capacity of nat ional d isas ter author i t ies to manage comprehensive recovery programme involving rehabilitation and reconstruction with international assistance. The Policy will adopt and encourage strategies that develop response capacity and ba lance immediate emergency needs with measures to bridge the relief-rehabilitation gap. A key E C O W A S tool for foster ing post -d isaster deve lopment is the P e a c e and Deve lopment Programme (PADEP) of the E C O W A S Peace Fund (EPF). The policy will promote integrated post-disaster development by support ing implementat ion of gender-sensitive interventions under or linked to PADEP, particularly those that promote economic recovery of local economies in post-emergency periods. The Policy will also strengthen the process of deve lop ing zona l bureaus for emergency monitor ing by implement ing recovery and rehabilitation interventions through the bureaus. Priorities for Action: enhance sub-regional contingency planning through preparat ion of a Sub- reg iona l Emergency Management Plan that links the disaster mechanism to relevant programmes such as the O M C and PADEP. Strategy 5.5.3: The ability of member States to respond effectively to disasters depends on their internal response capabilities, both civil and non-civilian, and the ability to rapidly deploy such response mechanisms in emergencies before external assistance arrives. A cruc ia l component of this internal response capacity is the complement of trained civi l ian experts, including volunteers, in relevant multi- d iscipl inary f ields of humani tar ian ass is tance management who are located in situ in member States and are available for rapid deployment, either alone or together with security and agencies, in times of emergencies. Thus a key strategy will be to nurture the spirit of volunteerism, particularly from civil society at community levels, and to support deve lopment of ef fect ive c iv i l ian-mi l i tary cooperat ion in emergency management . The existence of such capability in member States will facilitate sub-regional coordination of emergency response interventions. A key tool for achieving these objectives is the planned E C O W A S Emergency Response Team (EERT) which will constitute civil deployment along emergency and peacekeeping missions. The EERT will be used to deve lop capab i l i t ies of first responders to emergencies (such as the fire, police, military and medical services) at the national level. The- E E R T will also provide the basis for national emergency planning and for coordinating sub- regional response, particularly to managing cross- border emergencies. Consequently, the Policy will promote development of the E E R T and its integration in the both disaster emergency and peace support operat ions of E C O W A S . Priorities for Action: deve lop sub- reg iona l d isas ter response capability, including the EERT, as part of the sub- reg iona l m e c h a n i s m for d isaster management coordinate and support review and rehearsal of sub- reg iona l p reparedness and contingency plans for major hazards 6. O p e r a t i o n a l a r r a n g e m e n t s fo r imp lement ing the Pol icy 6.1. Implementing structures 6.1.1. Existing institutions and structures Various institutional actors have key roles to play in implementing the Policy. These are: E C O W A S Council of ministers E C O W A S Disaster Management Technical Committee E C O W A S Executive Secretariat National Governments Major groups, including civil society, private sector and the scientific community African Union Commission National Governments , including National P la t form for D isas te r Risk and nat ional chapters of the E C O W A S Emergency Response Team United Nations System International Development partners 90 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Figure 1: Organogram of structures for implementing the ECOWAS Policy for Disaster Risk Reduction E C O W A S Afr ican Union Commiss ion Counc i l of Min is ters Min is ter ia l Disaster Management S teer ing Disaster Management Technical Commit tee EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT In te r -Depar tmenta l Coord ina t ing Commi t tee Department for Humani tar ian Affairs International Development partners & United Nations System D isas te r Management Uni t Major g roups ( inc lud ing civ i l soc ie ty ) A Nat ional Governmen ts 91 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 6.1.2. Proposed new structures All the above institutions and structures already exist but, to ensure effective management of the Policy, three new structures will be created within ECOWAS. These are as follows: a) A committee of ECOWAS Council of Ministers to be cal led the Min is ter ia l Disaster Management Steering committee; b) An Inter-Departmental Coordinating committee within the ECOWAS Secretar ia t to be composed of Directors of the Departments of Humanitarian Affairs, Defence and Security, Observation and Monitoring Center (OMC), Political Affairs, Agriculture and Environment, and Human Resource Development. The Committee will be coordinated out of the office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Political Affairs, Defence and Security (DES-PADS); c) A Disaster Management Unit wi th in the Humani tar ian Affairs Depar tment of the ECOWAS Secretariat. The links between all these structures is shown in an organogram in figure 1. 6.2 Implementation responsibilities and functions The respective responsibilities of the key structures in implementing the Policy are as follows: 6.2.1. ECOWAS 6.2.2. ECOWAS Ministerial Disaster Management Steering Committee a) Provide overall oversight of the Policy. b) Act on behalf of and report to the Council of ministers. Reduction 6.2.3. ECOWAS Disaster Management Technical Committee a) Provide technical oversight of the Policy; b) Provide consultations platform for the review of the Policy; c) Report to the Council of Ministers. 6.2.4. ECOWAS Executive Secretariat a) Coordinate the implementation of the Policy within ECOWAS, between ECOWAS and member states and between ECOWAS and other Regional Economic Communi t ies (RECs), the African Union Commission and International Development partners; b) Provide guidance on implementation of the Policy to states; c) Coordinate states initiatives under the Policy at the sub-regional level; d) Faci l i tate prov is ion of vital sub-regional information services for disaster risk reduction, such as early warning and research that support disaster management; e) Facilitate and coordinate sub-regional financial resource mobilization to supplement national efforts; f) Facilitate, support and coordinate sub-regional capacity development initiatives under the Policy; g) Development of sub-regional and national indicators and prepare period reporting on progress towards achiev ing the Afr ica Regional Strategy for the Disaster Risk Reduction objectives to assist countries measure their progress towards achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These responsibilities of the Executive Secretariat wil l be met through the funct ions of the Inter Departmental Coordinating Committee and the Disaster Management Unit as indicated below. 6.2.5. Inter-Departmental Coordinating Committee a) Coord inate operat iona l programmes of ECOWAS Departments that bear on disaster reduction particularly those of Agriculture and Env i ronment , Human Development, Infrastructure and Industry, Defence and Security, and, OMC; b) Provide management oversight of ECOWAS response actions under the Policy during regional disasters and national disasters with sub-regional impacts; c) Recommend ini t iat ion of sub-regional emergency management procedures during emergencies to the Executive Secretary; d) Promote incorporat ion of disaster risk reduct ion approaches in ECOWAS programmes; e) Report to the Deputy Executive Secretary for Political Affairs, Defence and Security (DES- PADS). 6.2.6. Disaster Management Unit a) Faci l i tate incorporat ion of disaster risk reduction approaches in ongoing thematic ECOWAS programmes; b) Provide secretarial and other support services to the in ter -Depar tment Coordinat ing Committee; c) Support coordination and harmonization of national disaster risk reduction practices and 92 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 capacities based on a framework for inter- country cooperation in disaster operations; d) Initiate and coordinate f inancial resource mobilization to support activities under the Policy; e) Support capacity building at the national level in disaster risk reduction and management; f) Operate as a centra l point of call for emergency assistance to states in the sub- region; g) Process requests from member states for emergency assistance under the Policy for review by the Inter-Department Coordination committee; h) Coordinate multi-country disaster assistance requests to in ternat ional deve lopment partners in cases of multi-country disasters or national disasters with sub-regional impact; i) Undertake joint risk assessment and disaster management information in the sub-region; j) Operate as a c lear ing house of disaster management information in the sub-region; k) Manage sub-regional monitoring of disaster reduction interventions at country level. 6.2.7. National Governments a) Exercise pr imary responsib i l i ty for implement ing the Pol icy at nat ional and community levels; b) Create conducive environment for disaster reduction interventions all local and national levels; c) Provide strategic guidance to major groups and partners in imp lement ing disaster reduction initiatives; d) Monitor implementation of the Policy at local and national levels. 6.2.8. Major Groups a) Participate in developing the Policy; b) Partner governments to design and implement disaster risk reduct ion init iatives at local, national and sub-regional levels. 6.2.9. The African Union (AU) commission a) Provide gu idance on sub-reg ional implementat ion of regional in i t iat ives in disaster risk reduction; b) Coordinate implementation of the Policy with the ARSDRR, other sub-regional strategies and international frameworks; c) Facilitate and manage ECOWAS access to f inanc ing under the Special Emergency Assistance Fund (SEAF) for sub-regional emergencies; d) Coordinate sub-regional impact into regional report ing on progress in achieving the ARSDRR and HFA objectives. 6.2.10. International development partners a) Provide assistance and resources for sub- regional initiatives; b) Encourage increased commi tment f rom national leaders for disaster risk reduction; c) Advocate for support for sub-regional disaster reduction programmes at international level; d) Support integrated and coordinated disaster reduction by harmonizing their assistance for disaster management at the country level. 6.2.11. The United nations and its programmes and specialized agencies a) Incorporate the Policy in country development assistance programming; b) Provide assistance and resources for sub- regional initiatives in disaster reduction; c) Develop global and regional indicators and prepare per iodic report ing on progress towards achieving the Hyogo Framework objectives to assist countries and ECOWAS measures their progress. 7.0. F inancing the Pol icy 7.1. Sources of financing Experience has shown that inadequate financial resources undermine the efficient and sustainable operation of disaster management mechanism, particularly during emergencies. Consequently, the Policy establishes a disaster management window under the ECOWAS Peace Fund to provide core f inancia l resources for implement ing its programmes and activities. Thus, the fund would serve as a principal source of financing the Policy and as seed funding to attract donor support. Other sources of financing the Policy will include complementary co-financing of related areas, such as conf l ic t mon i to r ing , deser t i f icat ion and, agr icul ture and new fund ing f rom states, development partners and the private sector. Regarding major groups, the Policy will encourage innovat ive approaches that al low cit izen contr ibut ion to risk reduct ion services. These 93 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 include participatory approaches that promote inter-group partnerships implementing the Policy at the national and community levels. 7.2. Resource mobilization and partnership issues The Policy will pursue an active strategy of resource mobilization and partnerships with role players, particularly the private sector, civil society and international development partners (IDPs). Priority areas for action will include the organization of a forum for IDPs, as part of the process of finalizing the Policy. This Forum will agree on a financing f ramework for the Pol icy and report ing arrangements between the ECOWAS Secretariat and IDPs on partner resources. Partnership principles and arrangements for North-South and South-South , as wel l as in t ra-ECOWAS cooperation. 8.0 Mon i to r i ng and rev iew Disaster risk reduction policy-making needs to be evidence-based. Effective tracking of movement towards disaster reduction objectives at community, national and sub-regional levels and beyond depends on monitoring information on disaster risks. 8.1. Institutional responsibilities The ECOWAS Secretar iat, acting through the Disaster Management Unit, is responsible for devis ing sub-reg ional ind icators for nat ional authorit ies to report on. These indicators will represent milestones in implementing the Policy and in achieving agreed outcomes and impacts. The Secretariat will report on progress towards achieving the Policy and the objectives of the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction to member countries and development partners. Nat ional governments wil l have pr imary responsibility for monitoring the Policy at the country level, using participatory approaches. Sub-regional disaster management service inst i tut ions will provide scient i f ic and spec ia l ized data and information to facilitate identification, assessment and monitoring of hazards. 8.2. Monitoring indicators At the sub-regional level, several indicators will be utilized to monitor the implementation outcomes, and impact of disaster reduction interventions under the Policy, including the following: Adoption of the Policy and its Programme of Action by the Council of Ministers. Number of countries with national platforms for disaster risk reduction. Avai lab i l i ty of f inancing for emergency assistance under the ECOWAS Peace Fund. Number of counties undertaking risk mapping Number of countries operating early warning system. Extent of public awareness of early warning. Number of countr ies introducing disaster management as part of school curricula. Number of research programmes in disaster risk management in sub-regional institutions. Number of count r ies including disaster reduct ion inc luded in Poverty Reduct ion Strategy Papers (PRSPs) or other development strategy frameworks. Adopt ion of d isaster safe pr inciples by professional associations of engineers. Adopt ion of guidel ines for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in development by national disaster management authorities and major groups. Number of countries revising their emergency management plan to include disaster risk reduction principles. Number of count r ies inst i tut ing EERT structures. 8.3. Sources of monitoring information Existing national statistical systems and relevant international database will provide the means to verify evidence on movement towards meeting disaster reduction objectives monitoring formats and protocols to be agreed will be consistent with the Hyogo Framework for Act ion and feed into monitoring requirements of the African Regional Strategy. 8.4. Country progress reporting arrangements Countries will report periodically to ECOWAS on progress in implementing the Policy. The Disaster Management Unite and states will agree the scope and frequency of report ing, reporting formats, feedback arrangements and validation procedures. 8.5. Policy review process It is important that the experience gained from monitoring should inform the management of the Policy through effective learning from monitoring. This would lead to effective review of the Policy. The Policy will be reviewed every five years within established ECOWAS procedures for reviewing its policies. 94 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 West Africa accounted for 15 percent of cumulative disaster events in Africa 1975 and 2002 but the number of disasters in the sub- region rose by 94 percent from the 1970s to the 1990s. Already 154 disasters have occurred during the first five years of this decade, compared to 136 during the past two decades. "Epidemics accounted for 40% of disasters in the sub-region during 1975 to 2003, compared to 20% by flood and drought, and cause most human fatalities and debilitation. However, the most pervasive disasters in terms of the numbers of people affected and disruption to livelihood support systems are those due to flood, drought and famine. "These include: (1) the global review of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Risk (ISDR) in 2002; (2) sub-regional review of early warning for the Second International Early warning Conference in 2003: (3) review of disaster risk management in Africa for developing the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2003; (4) national reporting by some ECOWAS countries for the World conference on Disaster Reduction in 2005. "Volunteers are persons and institutions that chose to assist in providing disaster management services, are registered in a volunteer's register and trained to be part of emergency management teams at the local levels. Legal frameworks need to cover developing the capacity, command structures, activation and deployment, indemnity and compensation of the volunteers. Major international drought and food security warning systems in the Sub-region are the Famine Early Warning System Information Network (FEWSNET). Food insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS). Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (OIEWS). Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM) and the Early Warning and Agricultural production Forecast Project (AP3A) of CUSS. "These include the Africa Centre for Meteorological Applications to Development (A GRHYMET), and the Regional Remote Sensing Centre (CRTO), Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE) in Senegal, and the Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems (CERGIS). These include as support for small-holder production, minimization of on-farm risks, land and environmental resource conservation, community productive capacity development, early warning to ensure safety of food stocks. Vulnerability assessment for planning mitigating interventions and relief interventions. " in terms of coverage of key response interventions scope of national and hazard coverage, integration of sectoral contingency plans, coordination of various role players in emergencies and incorporation of risk-reduction practices in relief assistance. " Simulation pays off in enhancing response. The authorities the Gambia simulated a transportation disaster in 1999 that revealed critical issues, including: confusion among the actors as to their roles, inadequate materials for response, long-lead time in assembling members of tasks forces, inadequate recognition of the key role of local people, and inadequate public awareness and readiness. When the Jola boat disaster occurred in the Senegal a neighbouring country soon after, the lessons of the simulation became incalculable in shaping the Gambia's response to the disaster. 'Early warning systems should comprise four components for: (a) hazard detection, observation and forecasting, (b) warning formulation, (c) warning dissemination (d) response to warnings. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 SUPPLEMENTARY ACT A/SA.9/01 /07 AMENDING ARTICLES 1, 3, 6, AND 21 OF THE REVISED TREATY THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.4/12/99 transforming the ECOWAS Fund into a Regiona l Hold ing Company; MINDFUL of new Article 21 of the ECOWAS Treaty establishing the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and its subsidiaries, namely, the ECOWAS Regional Investment Bank (ERIB) and the ECOWAS Regional Development Fund (ERDF); MINDFUL of new Article 1 of the ECOWAS Treaty defining EBID, ERIB and ERDF; MINDFUL of Article 3, new paragraph 2(n), of the ECOWAS Treaty making the establishment of EBID, ERIB and ERDF a first step towards the realisation of the objectives of the Community; MINDFUL of Article 6, new paragraph 1(g), of the ECOWAS Treaty making EBID, ERIB and ERDF Community institutions; MINDFULof Decision A/DEC.16/01/06 transforming the Execut ive Secre ta r ia t of E C O W A S into Commission; MINDFULthe Supplementary Protocol A/SP1/06/06 amending the revised Treaty; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.3/06/06 reorganising the ECOWAS Bank for Inves tment and Development Group; CONSIDERING that the realisation of the objectives of EBID requires that the inst i tut ion's current organisational structure be modified; CONVINCED that a reorganised EBID that brings its management under one umbrella and enhances the centralisation of its activities can minimise its operational costs and render its management structures more efficient; DESIROUS of ensuring that the provisions of Protocols A/P1/12/01 amending Articles 1, 3, 6 and 21 of the revised Treaty and A/P2/12/01 relating to the E C O W A S Bank for Inves tment and Development are consistent with the provisions on the reorganisation of EBID as prescribed in Decision A/DEC.3/06/06; AGREE AS FOLLOWS: ARTICLE 1: Protocols A/P1/12/01 amending Articles 1, 3, 6 and 21 of the Revised Treaty and A/P2/12/01 relating to the E C O W A S Bank for Investment and Development are hereby repealed. ARTICLE 2: Articles 1, 3 paragraph 2(n), 6, paragraph 1(g) and 21 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty are amended as follows: New Art ic le 1: For the purpose of this Treaty: 1. "Arbitration Tribunal" shall mean the Arbitration Tribunal of the Community established under Article 16 of this Treaty; 2. "Authority" shall mean the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Community established under Article 7 of this Treaty; 3. "Chairman of the Authority" shall mean the current Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Community, elected in accordance with the provisions of Article 8(2) of this Treaty; 4. "Council" shall mean the Council of Ministers of the Community established under Article 10 of this Treaty; 5. "Commission" shall mean the Specialised Technical Commissions established under new Article 22 of this Treaty; 6. "Commun i t y " shal l mean the Economic Community of West African States referred to under Article 2 of this Treaty; 7. "Community citizen or citizens" shall mean any national(s) of Member States who satisfy the conditions stipulated in the protocol defining Community citizenship; 96 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 8. "Court of Justice" shall mean the Court of Justice of the Community established under Article 15 of this Treaty; 9. "Import duties" shall mean customs duties and taxes of equivalent effect, levied on goods by virtue of their importation; 10. "President of the Commission" shall mean the President of the Commission appointed in accordance with the provisions of new Article 18 of this Treaty; 11. "Economic and Social Council" shall mean the Economic and Social Counci l establ ished under Article 14 of this Treaty; 12. "Commission" shall mean the Commission established under new Article 17 of this Treaty; 13. "Commiss ione rs " shal l mean the Commissioners appointed in accordance with the provisions of new Article 18 of this Treaty; 14. "Export duties" shall mean all customs duties and taxes of equivalent effect levied on goods by virtue of their exportation; 15. "EBID" shal l mean E C O W A S Bank for Investment and Development establ ished under new Article 21 of the Treaty; 16. "Member State" or "Member States" shall mean a Member State or Member States of the Commun i t y as de f ined under Ar t ic le 2, paragraph 2; 17. "Non-tariff barriers" shall mean barriers which hamper t rade and wh ich are caused by obstacles other than fiscal obstacles; 18. "Communi ty Par l iament" shal l mean the Parliament established under Article 13 of this Treaty; 19. "Pro toco l " shal l mean an ins t rument of implementation of the Treaty having the same legal force as the latter; 20. "Region" shall mean the geographical zone known as West Africa as defined by Resolution CM/RES.464 (XXVI) of the OAU Council of Ministers; 2 1 . "Third country" shall mean any State other than a Member State; 22. "Treaty" shall mean this Treaty; 23. "Statutory Appo in tees " shal l mean the Pres iden t of the C o m m i s s i o n , the Commissioners, the President of ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, the Judges of the Community Court of Justice, the Director-General of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), the Deputy Director- Genera l of W A H O , the Admin is t ra t i ve Secretary of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), the Deputy Administrative Secretary of GIABA, the Financial Controller and any other high official of the Community appointed by the Authority or Council; 24. "Board of Governors", the EBID Board of Governors composed of regional and non- regional members. Regional members shall comprise Ministers of Finance or Ministers of Regional Integration. Regional members shall consist of one full-fledged member and one alternate member. Each Member State shall appoint its full-fledged and alternate members and notify the EBID President thereof. Non- Reg iona l m e m b e r s shal l cons is t of representatives of all other economic blocs appointed for this purpose by each member. New Art ic le 3 paragraph 2(n): The establ ishment of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development. New Art ic le 6 - paragraph 1 (g): The E C O W A S Bank for Investment and Development and all the subsidiaries which the Board of Governors may subsequently establish; New Art ic le 2 1 : 1. An E C O W A S Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) is hereby established. 2. EBID shal l be gove rned by Ar t ic les of Assoc ia t i on adop ted by its Board of Governors. 3. All activities previously assigned to EBID, as well as those of ECOWAS Regional Investment Bank (ERIB) and ECOWAS Regiona l Development Fund (ERDF) are absorbed by E C O W A S Bank for Investment and Development. EBID is hereby substituted for r\—? December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 these entities in respect of their rights and obligations. In the protocols, decisions, resolutions and other Community instruments adopted since 1975, the te rms " E C O W A S Fund for Coope ra t i on , C o m p e n s a t i o n and Deve lopment " and " E C O W A S Bank for Inves tment and D e v e l o p m e n t and its subsidiaries" are hereby replaced with the term "ECOWAS Bank for Inves tmen t and Development". ARTICLE 3: 2. ARTICLE 4: This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon its publication. Consequently, signatory M e m b e r Sta tes and the Ins t i tu t ions of E C O W A S under take to commence the implementation of its provisions on its entry into force. This Supplementary Act is annexed to the ECOWAS Treaty of which it is an integral part. ARTICLE 5: This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its s ignature by the Chairman of the Authority. It shall also be published within the same time frame by each Member State in its National Gazette. This Supplementary/V. i shall be deposited with the Commission which shall transmit certified true copies thereof to all Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations and such other organisat ions as Council may determine. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES, HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19™ DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Excel lency Thomas Boni Yayi President of^tne Republic of Benin His Excel lency Blaise Compaore Chairjrteln of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso President of the Republic of Cabo Verde His Excel lency Laurent Gbaqbo President of the Republic of Cote/D'lvoire 98 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea Her Excel lency El len Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali His Excel lency Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger 4 . His Excel lency O lusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His E Presid bdoulaye Wade the Republic of Senegal Hon. Mohammed Darar Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excel lency Faure Essozimrta Gnass ingbe President of the Togolese Republic 99 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 SUPPLEMENTARY ACT A/SA.10701/07 RELATING TO THE ADOPTION OF SELECTION CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING MEMBERSHIP OF ECOWAS MEMBER STATES ON THE AFRICAN UNION PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June establ ish ing the Authority of Heads of States and Government and defining its composition and function; MINDFUL of Articles 41 and 52 of the ECOWAS Protocol relating to the Mechanism on Conflict Prevention Management Resolution Peacekeeping and Security of 1999 which mandates ECOWAS cooperation with other International Organizations and with the African Union Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution; RECOGNIZING the primary responsibility of the African Union for the maintenance of peace and security within the African Continent; CONSIDERING the Protocol establishing the African Union Peace and Security Council adopted in Durban, South Africa on 9th July 2002; HAVING noted that four (4) seats has been allocated to the West African Sub-Region by the African Union on its Peace and Security Council; M INDFUL of the need to ensu re E C O W A S membership on the Afr ican Union Peace and Security Council thereby ensuring West African involvement in the decision-making process at the level of that Council; DESIROUS therefore of adopting a formula to be applied in determining ECOWAS membership on the African Union Peace and Security Council; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the meeting of the Mediation and Security Counci l which held in Ouagadougou on 20th December 2006. AGREE AS FOLLOWS: ARTICLE 1 The selection criteria for determining membership of ECOWAS Member States on the African Union Peace and Security Council to encumber the four (4) Seats a l located to West Afr ica is hereby adopted as follows: Appointment of the Member State holding the chairmanship of ECOWAS in the year when appointment is due; Appointment of two (2) other Member States on a rotational basis in alphabetical order for the seats reserved for ECOWAS within the Council; Appointment of Nigeria to occupy the fourth seat on a permanent basis ; re-enlisting,- at the bottom of the list during the selection process, Member States that have already occupied seats. ARTICLE 2 This select ion criteria shall be applied by the Mediation and Security Council at the Ministerial level, in determining ECOWAS representation at the African Union Peace and Security Council. ARTICLE 3 This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of Authority. It shall also be published by each Member State in its National Gazette within the same time frame. ARTICLE 4 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon its publication. Consequently, signatory States and ECOWAS Institutions pledge to commence the implementation of its provisions on its entry into force. 2. This Supplementary Act is annexed to the ECOWAS Treaty of which it is an integral part. ARTICLE 5 This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Commission which shall transmit certified true copies thereof to all the Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations and such other organisat ions as Council may determine. 100 Vol. 50 ECOWAS Official Journal December 2006/January 2007 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES, HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19™ DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Ex^cellencv/Thomas Boni Yayi Presraent j ?Hne Republic of Benin His Excel lency Blaise Compaore Chaiffnan of the Council of Ministers ^ President of the Faso President of the Republic of Cabo Verde His Excel lency Laurent Gbagbo President of the Republic of Cotq'D'lvoire President of the Republic of The Gambia President of the Republic of Ghana Hon. Sidibe Fatoumata KABA Minister of International Cooperation For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea His Excel len President of th Joao Bernardo Vieira Republic of Guinea Bissau December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Her Excel lency El len Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali His Excel lency Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger 4 His Excel lency O lusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria President of the Republic of Senegal Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President » of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excel lency Faure Essozimna Gnass ingbe President of the Togolese Republic 102 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A /SA .11 /01 /07 CHANGING THE NAME "COUNCIL OF ELDERS" IN THE E N G L I S H V E R S I O N OF THE 1999 PROTOCOL RELATING TO THE MECHANISM FOR CONFLICT PREVENTION AND EXTENDING THE TENURE OF THE SAID COUNCIL FROM ONE TO THREE YEARS THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended, establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 19 (3c) of the said Treaty under which sectoral meetings shall be convened by the Pres iden t of the C o m m i s s i o n with a v iew to examining sectora l i ssues which promote the achievement of the objectives of the Community; MINDFUL of the Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security, adopted in Lome on 10 December 1999; MINDFUL of Articles 15 and 20 of the said Protocol relating, on the one hand, to the functions of the President of the Commission, and on the other, to the composition and mandate of the Counci l of Elders; MINDFUL of Decision A / D E C . 26/01/06 approving the appointment of new members of the Council of Elders; C O N C E R N E D about the various conflicts that still - affect a number of States of the sub-region; CONSIDERING that the conciliation, mediation and facilitation roles of the Counci l members call for proven experience, wisdom and talent on the part of such members; CONSIDERING that the aforementioned qualities are not necessarily reflected in the concept used in the English version of the 1999 Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention; CONSIDERING the satisfactory manner in which the appointed mediators accomplish their mission; NOTING, however, that the brevity of the tenure of the Council of Elders, which is one year, makes it , impossible for the Council members to carry through their activities, notwithstanding their satisfactory performances; C O N V I N C E D that a longer tenure will ensure effective accomplishment of their missions; WISHING to adopt a more appropriate title for the Council of Elders in the English version of the 1999 Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention and to extend its tenure to three (3) years; On the R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the meeting of the Med ia t i on and S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l , held in Ouagadougou on 20th December 2006; AGREE AS FOLLOWS: Art ic le 1: In the English version of the 1999 Protocol relating to the Mechan ism for Confl ict Prevent ion, the E C O W A S Counc i l of E lde rs shal l henceforth assume the title "Council of the Wise." Art ic le 2: The tenure of the E C O W A S Council of the Wise is hereby extended from one (1) to three (3) years. Art ic le 3: This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Off icial Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its s ignature by the Chairman of the Authority. It shall also be published within the same time frame by each Member State in its National Gazette. Art ic le 3: 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon publication. Consequently, the signatory Member States and Institutions of E C O W A S undertake to start implementing its provisions upon its entry into force. 2. This Supplementary Act is annexed to the E C O W A S Treaty of which it forms an integral part. Art ic le 4: This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Commiss ion , which shall transmit certified true copies thereof to all Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations Organisation and such other organisations as the Council of Ministers may determine. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 IN FAITH WHEREOF, WE, THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS), HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF JANUARY 2007 IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Exc^llency^Tfi iomas Boni Yayi President gpthe Republic of Benin His Excel lency Blaise Compaore Chajt^nan of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso Hon. Sidibe Fatoumata KABA Minister of International Cooperation For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea His Excel len President of th< Joao Bernardo Vieira Republic of Guinea Bissau 104 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Her Excel lency El len Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia 4li His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali His Excel lency lyiamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger d. His Excel lency O lusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His ExcejK nay Abt iou laye Wade President'^efWie Republic of Senegal Ton. Mohammed Daramy Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excel lency Faure Essozirnna Gnass ingbe president of the Togolese Republic December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 S U P P L E M E N T A R Y A C T A / S A . 1 2 / 0 1 / 0 7 E S T A B L I S H I N G THE S U B - R E G I O N A L MECHANISM FOR COORDINATION OF BIRD FLU ERADICATION AND CONTROL IN WEST AFRICA THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, MINDFUL of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 25 of the Treaty relating to Agricultural Development and Food Security; MINDFUL of Decision / D E C . 11/01/05 adopting the E C O W A S Agricultural Policy; M I N D F U L of the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s made at international and regional meetings on bird flu, particularly those of Nairobi of September 2005, Geneva of November 2005, Brazzaville, Beijing and Bamako of January 2006 and Ouagadougou of February 2006; A P P R E C I A T I N G the init iatives and support of development partners to the efforts being made by Member States to map out and implement concerted and coordinated strategies with a view to effectively eradicating and controlling bird flu; TAKING into account the Dakar Declaration adopted at the ministerial meeting on bird flu eradication and control, held in Dakar (Senegal) on 22 and 23 February 2006; U P O N THE P R O P O S A L of the meeting of Ministers in charge of A n i m a l Husband ry , Hea l th and Integration from E C O W A S Member States, the Islamic Republ ic of Mauri tania, Cameroon and Chad, held in Abuja on 12 May 2006, and ON THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the fifty-seventh s e s s i o n of the C o u n c i l of M in i s te rs , held in Ouagadougou on 18 and 19 December 2006; AGREE AS FOLLOWS: ARTICLE 1 A sub-regional mechanism for coordinating bird flu eradication and control in E C O W A S Member States is hereby established. The objectives, the organization, the tasks, the f i nanc ing and opera t ing moda l i t i es of the mechanism are outlined in the annexes attached to this Supplementary Act. ARTICLE 2 The E C O W A S C o m m i s s i o n sha l l ensure the effective implementation of this Supplementary Act and in par t i cu la r p rov ide suppor t for the establishment of the mechanism's organs, namely, the M in is te r ia l S tee r i ng Commi t t ee and the Technical Secretariat. ARTICLE 3 Member States shall support and facilitate solidarity and partnership activities undertaken within the framework of the sub-regional mechanism. ARTICLE 4 1. The Commission shall undertake necessary c o o p e r a t i o n m i s s i o n s to the re levant authorities of E C O W A S border countries, with a view to ensuring the effective implementation of the sub-regional mechanism referred to in Article 1 of this Supplementary Act. 2. The Commiss ion shal l , in conjunction with donor a g e n c i e s , on the one hand , take n e c e s s a r y m e a s u r e s with a v iew to establishing, as a matter of urgency, a fund to facilitate effective control of bird flu, and, with development partners, on the other, in order . to secure their support for the implementation of the S u b - r e g i o n a l M e c h a n i s m for Coord inat ion of Bird Flu Eradicat ion and Control. ARTICLE 5 This Supplementary Act shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the Community within thirty (30) days of its s ignature by the Chairman of the Authority. It shall also be published within the same time frame by each Member State in its National Gazette. ARTICLE 6 1. This Supplementary Act shall enter into force upon publication. Consequent ly, Signatory M e m b e r S ta tes and the Inst i tut ions of E C O W A S undertake to start implementing its provisions upon its entry into force. 2. This Supplementary Act shall be annexed to the E C O W A S Treaty of which it shall form an integral part. 106 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ARTICLE 7 copies of this Act to all Member States and shall register it with the African Union, the United Nations This Supplementary Act shall be deposited with the Organization and any organization that the Council Commiss ion , which shall transmit certified true of Ministers may determine. IN FAITH WHEREOF, WE, HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES HAVE SIGNED THIS SUPPLEMENTARY ACT. DONE AT OUGADOUGOU, THIS 19™ DAY OF JANUARY 2007. IN SINGLE ORIGINAL IN THE ENGLISH, FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, THE THREE (3) TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC. His Excel lency T l i t imas Boni Yayi P r e s i d e ^ o H h e ' Republic of Benin His Excej ief icy Blaise Compaore Chairn^afi of the Council of Ministers President of the Faso President of the Republic of Cabo Verde His /Excel lency Laurent Gbagbo President of the Republic of Cote p'lvoire December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 Hon. Sidibe Fatoumata KABA Minister of International Cooperation For and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Guinea His Excel lency Joao Bernardo Vieira President of tne Republic of Guinea Bissau Her Excel lency El len Johnson-S i r lea f President of the Republic of Liberia His Excel lency Toumani Toure President of the Republic of Mali 4 His Excel lency Mamadou Tandja President of the Republic of Niger His Excel lency O lusegun Obasanjo President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His Ex cy Abdou laye Wade President of the Republic of Senegal Hon. Mohammed Daramy Minister of Development and Economic Planning, for and on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excel lency Faure Essozimna Gnass ingbe 'President of the Togolese Republic 108 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 REGULATION C/REG.1/12/06 APPROVING THE BUDGET OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION FOR THE 2007 FINANCIAL YEAR THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of the provisions of Article 69 of the ECOWAS Treaty which relate to the budget of the Community Institutions; MINDFUL of the Financial Regulations and Manual of Accounting Procedures of the Institutions of ECOWAS amended by Regulation C/REG.2/12/95 of 13th December 1995; HAVING CONSIDERED the budget of the ECOWAS Commission proposed by the thirty-sixth meeting of the Administration and Finance Commission, held in Abuja from 22 to 27 November 2006 and in Ouagadougou on 15 and 16 December 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The budget of the ECOWAS Commission for the 2007 f inancial year, ba lanced in income and expenditure at the sum of seventy million, seventy seven thousand three hundred and seventy six units of account (70 ,077 ,376 UA) is hereby approved. ARTICLE 2 1. An amount of sixty one million five hundred and fifty two thousand two hundred and eighty eight units of account (61,552,288 UA) shall be derived from resources obtained from the Community Levy. 2. An amount of six million two hundred and sixty two thousand, eighty one Units of Account (6,262,081 UA) shall be derived from external funding. 3. An amount in the sum of two million, three thousand, two hundred and seventy-one Units of Account (2,003,271 UA) shall be derived from arrears of contributions. 4. An amount in the sum of two hundred and fifty nine thousand seven hundred and thirty six Units of Account (259,736 UA) shall be derived from other sources. ARTICLE 3 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL REGULATION C/REG.2/12/06 APPROVING THE BUDGET OF THE COMMUNITY PARLIAMENT FOR THE 2007 FINANCIAL YEAR THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 13 of the ECOWAS Treaty establishing the Community Parliament; MINDFUL of Protocol A/P.2/8/94 defining the composition, functions, powers and organisation of the Community Parliament; MINDFUL of the provisions of Article 69 of the ECOWAS Treaty which relate to the budget of the Community Institutions; MINDFUL of the Financial Regulations and Manual of Accounting Procedures of the Institutions of December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 E C O W A S amended by Regulation C/REG.2/12/95 of 13th December 1995; H A V I N G C O N S I D E R E D the budget of the Community Parliament proposed by the thirty-sixth meet ing of the Admin i s t r a t i on and F i n a n c e Commission, held in Abuja from 22 to 27 November 2006 and in Ouagadougou on 15 and 16 December 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The budget of the Community Parliament for the 2007 f inancia l year, ba lanced in income and expenditure at the sum of seven million eight hundred and seventeen thousand and thirty seven Units of A c c o u n t ( 7 ,817 ,037 U A ) is hereby approved. ARTICLE 2 1 An amount of six million eight hundred and forty seven thousand and thirty seven Units of Account (6,847,037 UA) shall be derived from resources obtained from the Community Levy. 2. An amount in the sum of six hundred thousand Units of Account (600,000 UA) shall be derived from excess funds. 3 A sum of two hundred and fifty thousand Units of Account (250,000 UA) shall be derived from arrears of contributions. 4. A n amount of one hund red and twenty thousand units of account (120,000 UA) shall be derived from other sources. ARTICLE 3 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E COUNCIL REGULATION C/REG.3/12/06 APPROVING THE BUDGET OF THE COMMUNITY COURT OF JUSTICE FOR THE 2007 FINANCIAL YEAR THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10. 11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; M I N D F U L of Article 15 of the E C O W A S Treaty establishing the Community Court of Justice; M I N D F U L of Protocol A /P . 1/7/91 defining the composition, functions, powers and organisation of the Community Court of Justice; M INDFUL of the provisions of Article 69 of the E C O W A S Treaty which relate to the budget of the Community Institutions; MINDFUL of the Financial Regulations and Manual of Account ing Procedures of the Institutions of E C O W A S amended by Regulation C/REG.2/12/95 of 13th December 1995; H A V I N G C O N S I D E R E D the budget of the Community Court of Justice proposed by the thirty- sixth meeting of the Administration and Finance Commission, held in Abuja from 22 to 27 November 2006 and in Ouagadougou on 15 and 16 December 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The budget of the Community Court of Justice for the 2007 financial year, balanced in income and expenditure at the sum of six million two hundred and ninety four thousand seven hundred and seventy five Units of Account(6,294,775 UA) is hereby approved. ARTICLE 2 1. An amount of six million one hundred and twenty seven thousand, one hundred and ninety nine Units of Account (6,127,199 UA) shall be derived from resources obtained from the Community Levy. 2. A n amoun t in the sum of one hundred thousand Units of Account (100,000 UA) shall be derived from arrears of contributions. 110 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 3. An amount of sixty seven thousand five hundred and seventy six units of account (67,576 UA) shal l be der ived from other sources. ARTICLE 3 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E C O U N C I L REGULATION C/REG4/12/06 APPROVING THE BUDGET OF THE WEST A F R I C A N HEALTH O R G A N I S A T I O N ( W A H O ) FOR THE 2007 FINANCIAL YEAR THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Protocol A/P. 2/7/87 relating to the creation of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO); MINDFUL of the provisions of Article 69 of the E C O W A S Treaty which relate to the budgets of the Community Institutions; MINDFUL of the Financial Regulations and Manual of Account ing Procedures of the Institutions of E C O W A S amended by Regulation C/REG.2/12/95 of 13th December 1995; HAVING C O N S I D E R E D the budget of the West African Health Organisation proposed by the thirty- sixth meeting of the Administration and Finance Commission, held in Abuja from 22 to 27 November 2006 and in Ouagadougou on 15 and 16 December 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The budget of the West African Health Organisation for the 2007 financial year, balanced in income and expenditure at the sum of seven million five hundred and thirty one thousand three hundred and twenty eight Units of Account (7,531,328 UA) is hereby approved. ARTICLE 2 1. An amount of three million three hundred and ninety five thousand five hundred and forty eight Units of Account (3,395,548 UA) shall be derived from resources obtained from the Community Levy. 2. A n amount of two mi l l ion f ive hundred thousand Units of Account (2,500,000 UA) shall be derived from excess funds. 3. An amount of one million three hundred and sixty seven thousand eight hundred and ninety eight Units of Account (1,367,898 UA) shall be derived from external funding. 4. An amount in the sum of one hundred and sixty seven thousand eight hundred and eighty two Units of Account (167,882 UA) shall be derived from other sources. 5. A n amount in the sum of one hundred thousand Units of Account (100,000 UA) shall be derived from arrears of contributions. ARTICLE 3 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of u e u K i u u e r zuuo/january 20U7 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONEATOUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL HAVING C O N S I D E R E D the budget of the Intergovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa proposed by the thirty- sixth meeting of the Administration and Finance Commission, held in Abuja from 22 to 27 November 2006 and in Ouagadougou on 15 and 16 December 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The budget of the Intergovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering- in West Africa for the 2007 f inancial year, ba lanced in income and expenditure at the sum of three mill ion three hundred and ninety eight thousand six hundred and seventy two Units of Account (3,398,672 UA) is hereby approved. REGULATION C/REG.5/12/06 APPROVING THE B U D G E T OF THE I N T E R G O V E R N M E N T A L A C T I O N G R O U P A G A I N S T M O N E Y LAUNDERING IN WEST AFRICA FOR THE 2007 FINANCIAL YEAR THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of the provisions of Article 69 of the ECOWAS Treaty which relate to the budget of the Community Institutions; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.9/12/99 establishing GIABA and the Rev ised Statutes of the Intergovernmental Action Group Money Laundering in West Africa. MINDFUL of the Financial Regulations and Manual of Accounting Procedures of the Institutions of ECOWAS amended by Regulation C/REG.2/12/95 of 13th December 1995; ARTICLE 2 1. An amount of one million seven hundred and ninety three thousand three hundred and seventy seven Units of Account (1,793,377 UA) shall be derived from resources obtained from the Community Levy. 2. An amount in the sum of one million five hundred and ninety seven thousand and seventy five Units of Account (1,597,075 UA) shall be derived from external funding. 3. An amount in the sum of eight thousand two hundred and twenty Units of Account (8,220 UA) shall be derived from other sources. ARTICLE 3 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL 112 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 REGULATION C/REG.6/12/06 APPROVING THE AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT FOR THE 2004 FINANCIAL YEAR REGULATION C/REG.7/12/06 APPROVING THE AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE COMMUNITY COURT OF JUSTICE FOR THE 2004 FINANCIAL YEAR THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 75 of the said Treaty relating to the appointment of the External Auditor of the Institutions of the Community; MINDFUL of the Financial Regulations and Manual of Account ing Procedures of the Institutions of E C O W A S amended by Regulation C/REG.2/12/95 of 13th December 1995; HAVING E X A M I N E D the report of the External Aud i to rs on the F i nanc ia l S ta tements of the Executive Secretariat for 2004 Financial Year; ON THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the sixth meeting of the Audi t Commi t tee held in Dakar , 16-17 October, 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The Aud i ted S ta temen ts of the E C O W A S Commission for the 2004 financial year are hereby adopted. ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E C O U N C I L THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10,11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 75 of the said Treaty relating to the appointment of the External Auditor of the Institutions of the Community; MINDFUL of the Financial Regulations and Manual of Account ing Procedures of the Institutions of E C O W A S amended by Regulation C/REG.2/12/95 of 13th December 1995; HAVING E X A M I N E D the report of the External Aud i to rs on the F i nanc ia l Sta tements of the Community Court of Justice for 2004 Financial Year; ON T H E R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the sixth meeting of the Audi t Commi t tee held in Dakar, 16-17 October, 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The Audited Statements of the Community Court of Justice for the 2004 financial year are hereby adopted. ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONEATOUAGADOUGOU, HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E COUNCIL December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 REGULATION C/REG.8/12/06 ADOPTION OF A RATE FOR THE DAILY S U B S I S T E N C E ALLOWANCE AND TRAVEL FARES FOR EMINENT PERSONS ON OFFICIAL MISSION FOR THE COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS THE COUNCIL OFMINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10,11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Regulation C / R E G . 15/01/05 relating to the adopt ion of rev ised rates for the daily subsistence allowance for staff and other E C O W A S representatives on miss ion for the Community institutions; C O N S I D E R I N G that the Regulat ion referred to above has not made any prov is ion for dai ly subsistence allowance rates for eminent persons undertaking official missions for the Community institutions at the expense of the said institutions; C O N S I D E R I N G that the success of some activities requires the services of eminent persons and, in view of the need to dispatch them on mission for the Community institutions; C O N S I D E R I N G that, on account of the prominent roles they played, the precedence conferred on them by their status and the privileges generally granted them, eminent persons are in a category that is superior to the highest category of persons for which daily subsistence allowance rates have been provided in the Regulation referred to above; D E S I R O U S of fixing a rate for the daily subsistence al lowance as well as travel fares appl icable to eminent p e r s o n s on of f ic ia l m i s s i o n for the Community institutions; O N T H E R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the thirty-sixth meet ing of the Adm in i s t r a t i on and F i n a n c e Committee, held in Abuja from 22 to 27 November 2006 and in Ouagadougou on 15 and 16 December 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 1. The rate for dai ly subs is tence a l lowance applicable to former Presidents/Heads of State and former Prime Ministers is seven hundred United States dollars (US$700). 2. A lump sum of one thousand United States dollars (US$1,000) shall also be paid to them whilst on mission for the Community. ARTICLE 2 The former Speakers/President (Senate and House of Representatives), former Vice Presidents and the former Chief Just ices of Supreme Courts of Member States shall be paid a daily subsistence allowance of five hundred United States dollars (US$500). ARTICLE 3 The eminent persons refer to in articles 1 and 2 of this Regulation shall travel first class. ARTICLE 4 The rates indicated under Articles 1 & 2 of this Regulation shall be applied irrespective of the area where such missions are conducted. ARTICLE 5 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E C O U N C I L 114 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 REGULAT ION C/REG.9/12/06 CREAT ING A SALARY SCALE AND OTHER EMOLUMENTS FOR PROFESSIONAL STAFF GRADE D2 THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 69 of the said Treaty relating to the budget of the Institutions of the Community; MINDFUL of Decision C / D E C 2/11/89 relating to the adoption of a salary scale with elongated grade levels for staff of the Community; M I N D F U L of R e g u l a t i o n C / R E G . / 1 2 / 0 1 / 0 5 increasing the salaries of staff members of the Institutions of the Community; C O N S I D E R I N G that the restructuring of some Inst i tut ions of the C o m m u n i t y and the transformation of the Executive Secretariat into a C o m m i s s i o n led to the c rea t ion of a new Professional Staff category of Director D2 with 10 grade levels; C O N S I D E R I N G that Staff in the proposed D2 category operate as administrative heads of their institutions and discharge managerial functions; C O N S I D E R I N G the need to fix a salary scale and determine the benefits attached to this category; U P O N THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the thirty-sixth s e s s i o n of the Admin i s t ra t i on and F i n a n c e Commission, held in Abuja from 22 to 27 November 2006 and in Ouagadougou on 15 and 16 December 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The salary scale, expressed in Units of Account, in respect of the professional Staff category D2 with 10 grade levels is fixed as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. D2 38814 39808 40803 41798 42801 43871 44964 46077 47137 48222 ARTICLE 2 An Officer in category D2 shall be entitled to an official vehicle and driver and free telephone service at his/her residence up to a ceiling of one hundred and seventy dollars ($170) a month. ARTICLE 3 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E COUNCIL REGULATION C/REG. 10/12/06 RELATING TO PAYMENT OF C O M P E N S A T O R Y HOUSING ALLOWANCE TO THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF OF THE COMMUNITY THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 69 of the Treaty relating to the budgets of the Community Institutions; MINDFUL of Article 32(a) of the E C O W A S Staff Regulations of 2005 relating to housing allowances for the p r o f e s s i o n a l staff m e m b e r s of the Community Institutions; C O N S I D E R I N G that the Community has to provide residential accommodation for staff members in Member States where E C O W A S Institutions and Agencies are located; December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ON THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the thirty-sixth s e s s i o n of the Admin i s t r a t i on and F i n a n c e Commission, held in Abuja from 22 to 27 November 2006 and in Ouagadougou on 15 and 16 December 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 1. Compensatory housing allowances, calculated on the basis of current costs of rented property in the duty stations of staff of the Community are hereby granted for staff to whom residential accommodation is not provided for. 2. The approved housing a l lowances are as follows: a) Abuja: Professional staff Directors UA9.194 UA 13,520 b) c) d) C o t o n o u . Lome, Q y a g a d o u g o u and Bobo-D iou lasso : Professional staff UA 4,436 Directors UA 6,971 Dakar: Professional staff UA 7,605 Directors UA 10,140 Banju l : Professional staff UA 4,869 Directors UA 6,261 ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E C O U N C I L REGULATION C/REG.11/12/06 APPROVING A B U D G E T A R Y A L L O C A T I O N FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE ECOWAS LOGISTICS DEPOT IN SIERRA LEONE THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10,11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and function; M INDFUL of Article 58 of the E C O W A S Treaty relating to Regional Security; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.17/01/05 establishing the E C O W A S Logistics Depots in Mali and Sierra Leone; R E C A L L I N G that the Government of Sierra Leone has granted to E C O W A S , the Hastings Airfield Complex in Freetown for use as the E C O W A S Logis t ics Depot for s tock ing and maintaining E C O W A S peace support equipment and supplies; A L S O R E C A L L I N G the Headquarters Agreement for the logistics Depot between E C O W A S and the Government of Sierra Leone of 9th January 2006 which was later amended on 29th August 2006; A W A R E of the donation of a large supply of Peace Support equipment by the Government of the United States of America to E C O W A S which will be transferred from the U S A Murray Town Depot in Freetown to the .Hastings Airfield Complex; D E S I R O U S of providing counterpart funding for the management of the depot in Sierra Leone; O N THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the Thirty sixth Meeting of Administration and Finance Commission which held in Abuja from 22 - 27 November 2006 and in Ouagadougou on 15 and 16 December 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 1. A lump sum of one million, one hundred and thirty one thousand nine hundred United States do l lars ($1,131,900:00) is hereby approved as E C O W A S counterpart funding for the management of the logist ics depot in Sierra Leone. 2. The amount stated in paragraph 1 of this article which will be sourced from the E C O W A S P e a c e F u n d sha l l rep resen t the 2007 budgetary allocation for the said depot. 116 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONEAT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL REGULATION C/REG. 12/12/06 F O R M A L L Y E S T A B L I S H I N G A C O M M U N I T Y LEVY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AT THE ECOWAS COMMISSION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10,11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Article 72 of the ECOWAS Treaty introducing a Community Levy to generate revenue for financing the activities of the Community; MINDFUL of Protocol A/P1/7/96 on the conditions governing the application of the Community Levy; MINDFUL of Regulation C/Reg. 1/9/03 as amended by C/Reg.9/07/04 adopting measures to facilitate and accelerate effective implementation of the Community Levy; ACKNOWLEDGING THAT compliance with the Community Levy requirements by Member States has improved considerably; DESIRING however to improve on the existing mechanism for the collection and disbursement of the proceeds of the Levy; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Thirty-Sixth Meet ing of the Admin i s t r a t i on and F inance Committee which was held in Abuja, from 22 - 27 November 2007 and in Ouagadougou on 15 and 16 December 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 A Community Levy Management Committee is hereby formal ly establ ished at the ECOWAS Commission. ARTICLE 2 Members of the Community Levy Management Committee are as follows: 1. The Vice President - Chairman 2. The Financial Controller - Member 3. The Commiss ione r for Admin is t ra t ion & Finance - Member 4. The Commiss ioner for Trade & Customs, Industry, mines, free movement of persons & goods - Member 5. Heads of ECOWAS Institutions - Members ARTICLE 3 The functions of the Committee shall include: taking measures to ensure full implementation of the prov is ions of the Protocol on the Cond i t i ons for the App l i ca t i on of the Community levy; recommending political measures to address the difficulties encountered by Member States in the application of the Community levy; allocating the proceeds of the Community levy; making proposals for the allocation of sectoral and structural funds; taking necessary performance-enhancing measures; December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 explor ing avenues for the funding of the Community and preparing the annual report. ARTICLE 4 1. A sub-committee shall support the Community Levy Management Committee in its work and shall be composed of one representative each from the departments of Audit, Trade and Customs and Finance; 2. The sub-committee referred to in paragraph I shall carry out monitoring missions in Member States in col laborat ion with the E C O W A S National Units and the National Committees for the Management of the Communi ty Levy, based on terms of reference to be defined by the Community Levy Management Committee; 3. The Sub-committee shall prepare an annual report on behal f of the Commun i t y Levy Management Committee which will endorse it for submission to the Counc i l of Ministers through the Admin is t ra t ion and F i n a n c e Committee. ARTICLE 5 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E COUNCIL . REGULATION C/REG.13/12/06 ALLOCATING A LUMP SUM GRANT FOR LOCAL SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER OF THE COMMUNITY PARLIAMENT IN THE HOME STATE THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty establishing the Counci l of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of Supplementary Protocol A/SP1/06/06 amending the E C O W A S Treaty; MINDFUL of Supplementary Protocol A/SP3/06/06 amend ing Pro toco l A / P 2 / 8 / 9 4 relat ing to the Community Parliament; R E C A L L I N G especially Article 15 of Protocol A /P2 / 8/94 which provides for a non-residency status for the Speaker at the Headquarters of the Community parliament; A W A R E that the Speaker of the Parl iament is responsible for giving the necessary orientations, providing leadership and guaranteeing the efficient conduct of the affairs of the Parliament, even while being outside the headquarters of the Community Parliament; A S L O A W A R E that to achieve the above mentioned activities, the Speaker will operate mostly from this home State; D E S I R I N G the re fo re , to grant the Speake r , resources for local support services to maintain an office; U P O N T H E R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the thirty-sixth s e s s i o n of the Admin i s t ra t i on and F i n a n c e Commission, held in Abuja from 22 to 27 November 2006. ENACTS ARTICLE 1 A monthly lump sum allowance of two thousand US dol lars (US$2000) is hereby granted for local support services for the office of the Speaker of the Community Parliament in his home State. ARTICLE 2 The monthly lump sum allowance shall be paid to the Speaker of the Parliament during his tenure for the purpose indicated in Article 1 of this Regulation. 118 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ARTICLE 3 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. CONSIDERING the responsibilities attached to the position of Vice President. HAVING noted the special benefits provided for Statutory Appointees under Article 28(b) of the ECOWAS Staff Regulations of 2005. DESIRING to provide the Vice President with additional benefits in order to ensure that he/she discharges the responsibi l i t ies allotted to the position efficiently ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Thirty-Sixth meet ing of the Admin i s t r a t i on and F inance Commission held in Abuja from 22 - 27 November 2006 and in Ouagadougou f rom the 15 - 16 December 2006. ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission is hereby granted an additional benefit in the form of a responsibi l i ty a l lowance to facil i tate a more efficient discharge of the responsibilities attached to the position. ARTICLE 2 5% of the basic salary of the Vice President shall be paid to him/her as responsibility allowance. REGULATION C/REG. 14/12/06 GRANTING A RESPONSIBILITY ALLOWANCE TO THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of articles 10, 11, and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing their composition and functions, MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC. 16/01/06 transforming the Executive Secretariat into a Commission and establishing the positions of the President, the Vice President and Seven (7) other Commissioners for the Commission. ARTICLE 3 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. MINDFUL of the Supplementary Protocol A/SP. 1/06/ 06 Amending the Revised ECOWAS Treaty which re-affirms the creation of the above stated statutory positions within the Commission. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 REGULATION C/REG. 15/12/06 ADOPTING AN ECOWAS INTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of articles 10, 11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of the Decision C/DE.2/11/91 of the Council of Ministers on the adoption of the Scheme of Service for the Staff of the Inst i tut ions of Communi ty which establ ished the posit ion of Internal Auditors for Community Institutions; RECOGNISING that the purpose of internal auditing is to assist ECOWAS Inst i tut ions attain their objective through the provision of independent, object ive assurance and consul t ing serv ices designed to add value and improve the institutions' operations and programme administration; DESIROUS of adopting guidelines that govern the internal audit function in ECOWAS Institutions; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Third Meeting of the ECOWAS Audit Committee which took place in Abuja, 23-25 February 2006; • ENACTS ARTICLE 1 An ECOWAS Internal Audit Charter is hereby ' adopted as attached. ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. THIRD MEETING OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT, ABUJA 23 - 25 FEBRUARY, 2006 ECOWAS INTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER ECOWAS INTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER 1.0. Purpose 1.1. This Charter formally defines-the mission, scope and responsibilities independence, and authority of the internal audit function in ECOWAS Institutions. 2.0. Mission 2.1. The mission of internal audit is to assist ECOWAS Institutions to achieve their objectives by providing independent, objective assurance and consulting services designed to add value and improve the organisat ion's operat ions and programme administration. 3.0. Scope and responsibil i t ies 3.1. The general scope of audit coverage is organization-wide and no function, activity, or unit of ECOWAS institutions or related organisation is exempt from audit and review. No officer or staff member or contractor of ECOWAS may interfere with or prohibit internal auditors from examining any organisational records or interviewing any employee or contractor that the internal auditors believe is necessary to carry out their duties. 3.2. Internal audit shall prepare audit reports for submission to the Audit Committee and the Head of Institution on the extent to which operations and programme administration are in conformity with Community texts, provisions and procedures, and assure that the controls, risk management and governance processes and procedures in force at the Institution are effective, efficient and are cost effective. It shall assist managers to realise the objectives set for the organisation and improve performance by providing relevant and appropriate information, analyses, evaluation reports and recommendations. To this effect Internal Audit Office shall: 3.2.1. In consultation with the Head of ECOWAS Institutions develop a medium-term audit plan covering all the activities undertaken by the institution taking into account significant risks the institution is facing to be submitted for approval by the Audit Committee. 3.2.2. In consultation with the Head of ECOWAS Institutions prepare a flexible annual audit plan and programme using an appropr iate r isk-based methodology, including any risks or control concerns 120 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 identified by management, indicating missions to be undertaken and the objectives and scope of such missions to be submitted for approval by the Audit Committee. 3.2.3. Give adequate notice to the Head of ECOWAS Institutions prior to the commencement of an audit assignment. An entrance conference will be held which will discuss the objectives and scope of the audit assignment taking into account the views and concerns of the HOI in determining the audit objectives, resources and timeframe. In addition to regular communication with the official in charge of the activities audited during the course of the audit assignment, an audit exit conference will be held for the purpose of discussing the audit findings and recommendations. A final report shall be sent to the management for their comments on the audit findings and recommendations reflecting, where necessary, the comments received and corrective measures taken and feedback on the plans for implementation of agreed recommendations. 3.2.4. Examine and evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls and risk management processes. 3.2.5. Audit and report on the administration of ECOWAS operations and programmes, including the performance of services by outside contractors and consultants. The internal audits will also include the identification of opportunities for cost reduction and performance improvement. Such activities of the Internal Auditors will also include giving assurance that operations and programmes are managed in a reasonable, responsive and consistent manner, and utilise integrated, cost effective, secure and competent service standards. 3.2.6. Evaluate management plans for action and their implementation, designed to correct reported conditions, for satisfactory resolution of audit findings. If the action for resolution is considered unsatisfactory, the Internal Auditors will seek further discussions with the HOI to achieve a satisfactory resolution. In exceptional cases, the Internal Auditors may report the matter to the Audit Committee. 3.2.7. Review and follow up, from time to time, on the implementation of audit recommendations of previous audits conducted. 3.2.8. Respond to any specific requests for special audits by the HOI and the Audit Committee. 3.2.9. Submit an annual report to the Audit Committee. The report will include a summary of the main conclusions and recommendations formulated at the end of audit engagement and changes to the annual internal audit plan, including appropriate justifications for such changes. The report will also highlight the efficiency and effectiveness of the institutions' internal control, risk management and governance Systems, and evaluate the situation of the staff of the office of Internal Audit. 3.2.10. Ensure that the activities of the Internal Audit Office are in conformity with professional internal audit standards. 3.2.11. Work in close collaboration with external auditors to ensure that the institutions get the best audit services at reasonable cost. 3.3. Internal Auditors may also offer consultancy services at management request. In this role, however, it is important for management to understand that the internal auditor only offers advice and does not undertake the task on behalf of, or as a substitute for, management. Acceptance by management of the advice offered by the internal auditor does not transfer or reduce management's accountability for their own areas of responsibility. Conversely, management's retention of accountability does not allow the internal auditor to be any less diligent in exercising due professional care in developing the advice which they will offer. The consultancy role may include: 3.3.1. Facilitating management activities. This may include advice in "emergency situations" and serving as facilitators for workshop to brainstorm risks, controls and governance issues to inspire and provoke management into effective identification and analysis of - these issues. 3.3.2. Undertaking an educational role. Internal Auditors may be asked to support management by imparting appropriate risk and control skills and techniques so that managers are better equipped to undertake their own role effectively. This provides long term added value by improving skills in risk and control issues. 3.3.3. Offering specific advice on particular risk and control issues (including areas of development of new Systems or redevelopment of existing Systems). This may be at any level of the organisation, ranging from the corporate risk register and strategic governance System to detailed control of particular and low level risks relating to specific individual activities. 3.4. The consultancy service offered by internal audit is inextricably linked to the assurance role. 3.5. The Internal Audit Office shall develop and maintain a quality assurance programme designed to achieve compliance with internal auditing standards. The programme shall provide assurance that the internal auditing activity adds value and improves the organisation's operations and program administration. The quality assurance programme shall be monitored to determine its effectiveness. This shall be done through internal assessments and independent reviews. 3.6. Internal assessments shall include ongoing monitoring and periodic reviews. The internal audit office 1 9 1 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 shall be evaluated at least once every three years by a qualif ied, independent, outside reviewer, using appropriate guidelines to be determined by the Audit Committee and standards promulgated by the Institute of Internal Auditors and modified to take into account the needs of ECOWAS. At the completion of the quality assessments and reviews, the results shall be communicated to the Council of Ministers, through the Audit Committee. 4.0. Independence 4.1. The Internal Audit Office is headed by the Chief Audit Executive who reports to the Council of Ministers through the Audit Committee. This level of reporting allows the Internal Audit Office to accomplish its responsibilities, and ensure that the independence and objectivity of internal auditors is not impaired. Internal Auditors in performing their work shall not; 4.1.1. Have direct authority or responsibility for any of the activities reviewed. 4.1.2. Develop and install administrative and financial procedures, prepare records, or make management decisions or engage in any other activity that could be reasonably construed to compromise their independence or impair their objectivity. 4.1.3. Evaluate staff, with the exception of staff of the Internal Audit Office. 4.1.4. Take or implement decis ions on risk management or apcount for it. 5.0. Authority 5.1. Authori ty is granted for ful l , free, and. unrestricted access to any and all of ECOWAS records, physical properties, and personnel relevant to any function under review. All employees are requested to assist Internal Auditing in fulfilling their staff function. Internal Auditing shall also have free and unrestricted access to the Head of ECOWAS Institutions, the Audit Committee and the Chairman of Council of Ministers. 5.2. Documents and information given to Internal Auditing during a periodic review will be handled in the same prudent and confidential manner as by those employees normally accountable for them. 6.0. Amendment 6.1. Any proposed amendments to this Charter shall be approved by the Council of Ministers upon the recommendation of the Audit Committee. Chairman ECOWAS Council of Ministers REGULATION C/REG. 16/11/06 APPOINTING MR. JEAN DE DIEU SOMDA AS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles, 10,11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty (as amended) establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and function; MINDFUL of Article 2 of the Supplementary Protocol A/SP.1/06./06 amending articles 17 and 18 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993 and which prov ides for the appo in tmen t of nine (9) Commissioners for the ECOWAS Commission and the procedure for appointing them; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC. 16/01/06 transforming the Executive Secretariat into a Commission; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.5/06/06 allocating to Member States the positions of Commissioners within the ECOWAS Commission; BEARING IN MIND that the position of Vice President was allocated to Burkina Faso; RECALLING Regulation C/REG.1/06/06 approving the Organizational Structure of the Commission and determining the technical Areas/Departments to be supervised by each Commissioner; ALSO RECALLING Decision A/DEC.3/7/91 relating to the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appointees of the Community; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Tenth Meeting of the Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appo in tees held in Accra f rom 13th - 17th November, 2006. ENACTS ARTICLE 1 Mr. Jean de Dieu Somda is hereby appointed as the Vice- President of the ECOWAS Commission for a non-renewable term of four (4) years with effect from the date he assumes duty. ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within 122 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. REGULATION C/REG. 17/11/06 APPOINTING DR. (MRS.) A D A O H A C. O K W U O S A A S THE COMMISSIONER FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles, 10,11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty (as amended) establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and function; MINDFUL of Article 2 of the Supplementary Protocol A/SP.1/06./06 amending articles 17 and 18 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993 and which prov ides for the appo in tmen t of n ine (9) Commissioners for the ECOWAS Commission and the procedure for appointing them; MINDFULof Decision A/DEC. 16/01/06 transforming the Executive Secretariat into a Commission; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.5/06/06 allocating to Member States the positions of Commissioners within the ECOWAS Commission; BEARING IN MIND that the position of Commissioner for Administration and Finance was allocated to the Federal Republic of Nigeria; RECALLING Regulation C/REG. 1/06/06 approving the Organizational Structure of the Commission and determining the technical Areas/Departments to be supervised by each Commissioner; ALSO RECALLING Decision A/DEC.3/7/91 relating to the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appointees of the Community; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Tenth Meeting of the Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appo in tees held in Acc ra f rom 13th - 17th November, 2006. ENACTS ARTICLE 1 Dr. (Mrs . ) A d a o h a C. O k w u o s a is hereby appo in ted as the Commissioner for Administration and Finance of the ECOWAS Commission for a non-renewable term of four (4) years with effect from the date she assumes duty. ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONEATOUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 REGULATION C/REG. 18/11/06 APPOINTING MR. OUSSEINI SALIFOU AS THE COMMISSIONER FOR AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT & WATER RESOURCES OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles, 10,11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty (as amended) establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and function; MINDFULof Article 2 of the Supplementary Protocol A/SP.1/06./06 amending articles 17 and 18 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993 and which prov ides for the appo in tmen t of n ine (9) Commissioners for the ECOWAS Commission and the procedure for appointing them; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC. 16/01/06 transforming the Executive Secretariat into a Commission; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.5/06/06 allocating to Member States the positions of the Commissioners within the ECOWAS Commission; BEARING IN MINp that the position of Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment & Water Resources was allocated to the Republic of Niger; RECALLING Regulation C/REG. 1/06/06 approving the Organizational Structure of the Commission and determining the technical Areas/Departments to be supervised by each Commissioner; ALSO RECALLING Decision A/DEC.3/7/91 relating to the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appointees of the Community; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Tenth Meeting of the Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appo in tees held in Accra f rom 13th - 17th November, 2006. ENACTS ARTICLE 1 Mr. Ousseini Sal i fou is hereby appointed as the Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources of the ECOWAS Commission for a non-renewable term of four (4) years with effect from the date he assumes duty. ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. REGULATION C/REG 19/11/06 APPOINTING MR. COMLA KADJE AS THE COMMISSIONER FOR I N F R A S T R U C T U R E OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles, 10,11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty (as amended) establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFULof Article 2 of the Supplementary Protocol A/SR1/06./06 amending articles 17 and 18 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993 and which p rov ides for the appo in tmen t of n ine (9) Commissioners for the ECOWAS Commission and the procedure for appointing them; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC. 16/01/06 transforming the Executive Secretariat into a Commission; 124 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.5/06/06 allocating to Member States the positions of Commissioners within the ECOWAS Commission; BEARING IN MIND that the position of Commissioner for Infrastructure was allocated to the Republic of Togo; RECALLING Regulation C/REG. 1/06/06 approving the Organizational Structure of the Commission and determining the technical Areas/Departments to be supervised by each Commissioner; ALSO RECALLING Decision A/DEC.3/7/91 relating to the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appointees of the Community; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Tenth Meeting of the Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appo in tees held in Accra f rom 13th - 17th November, 2006. ENACTS ARTICLE 1 Mr. Comla Kad je is hereby appointed as the Commissioner for Infrastructure of the ECOWAS Commission for a non-renewable term of four (4) years with effect from the date he assumes duty. ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. REGULATION C/REG.20/11/06 APPOINTING MR. MOHAMMED DARAMY AS THE COMMISSIONER FOR TRADE, CUSTOMS, INDUSTRY, MINES AND FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS AND GOODS OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles, 10,11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty (as amended) establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFULof Article 2 of the Supplementary Protocol A/SP.1/06./06 amending articles 17 and 18 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993 and which prov ides for the appo in tmen t of nine (9) Commissioners for the ECOWAS Commission and the procedure for appointing them; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC. 16/01/06 transforming the Executive Secretariat into a Commission; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.5/06/06 allocating to Member States the positions of Commissioners within the ECOWAS Commission; BEARING IN MIND that the position of Commissioner for Trade, Customs, Industry, Mines and Free Movement of Persons and Goods was allocated to the Republic of Sierra Leone; RECALLING Regulation C/REG. 1/06/06 approving the Organizational Structure of the Commission and determining the technical Areas/Departments to be supervised by each Commissioner; ALSO RECALLING Decision A/DEC.3/7/91 relating to the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appointees of the Community; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Tenth Meeting of the Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appo in tees held in Accra f rom 13th - 17th November, 2006. ENACTS ARTICLE 1 Mr. Mohammed Daramy is hereby appointed as the Commissioner for Trade, Customs, Industry, Mines and Free Movement of Persons and Goods of the ECOWAS Commission for a non-renewable term of four (4) years with effect from the date he assumes duty. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E COUNCIL . BEARING IN MIND that the position of Commissioner for Macroeconomic Pol icy was allocated to the Republic of Cote d'lvoire; R E C A L L I N G Regulation C / R E G . 1/06/06 approving the Organizational Structure of the Commission and determining the technical Areas/Departments to be supervised by each Commissioner; A L S O R E C A L L I N G Decision A/DEC.3/7/91 relating to the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appointees of the Community; O N T H E R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the Eleventh Meeting of the Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appointees held in Ouagadougou on 19th December, 2006. ENACTS ARTICLE 1 Dr. L a m b e r t N ' g a l a d j o B a m b a is hereby appo in ted as the Commissioner for Macroeconomic Policy of the ECOWAS Commission for a non-renewable term of four (4) years with effect from the date he assumes duty. ARTICLE 2 REGULATION C/REG.21/11/06 APPOINTING DR. L A M B E R T N ' G A L A D J O B A M B A A S THE C O M M I S S I O N E R FOR M A C R O E C O N O M I C POLICY OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles, 10, 11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty (as amended) establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFULof Article 2 of the Supplementary Protocol A/SP.1/06./06 amending articles 17 and 18 of the E C O W A S Rev i sed Treaty of 1993 and which p rov ides for the appo in tmen t of n ine (9) Commissioners for the E C O W A S Commission and the procedure for appointing them; MINDFULof Decision A / D E C . 16/01/06 transforming the Executive Secretariat into a Commission; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.5/06/06 allocating to Member States the positions of Commissioners within the E C O W A S Commission; This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E COUNCIL . 126 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 REGULATION REG.22/12/06 ON THE ADOPTION OF A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR INTERNAL AUDITORS OF COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10,11, and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing the Council of Ministers and defining their composition and functions; R E C O G N I S I N G the need to promote a culture of e th ica l conduc t a m o n g in terna l aud i to rs in Community Institutions; H A V I N G N O T E D that internal audi t ing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity that helps an organisation accomplish its objectives by bringing a systemat ic discipl ined a p p r o a c h to eva lua t i ng and improv ing the effectiveness of risk management , control and governance processes; DESIRING therefore to adopt a code of conduct for internal Aud i to rs that wou ld enab le them discharge the function of internal auditing which will in turn add value and improve the operations of Community Institutions; O N T H E R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the Third meeting of the Audit Committee which held in Abuja 23 - 25 February 2006. ENACTS ARTICLE 1 A Code of conduct applicable to all internal Auditors working in Institutions of E C O W A S is hereby adopted as attached. ARTICLE 2 The Code defines and prescribes conduct expected of the internal auditors as well as fundamental principles governing the professional practice of internal auditing. ARTICLE 3 1. Any contravention of the Code of Conduct shall be reported to the Audit Committee wh ich sha l l m a k e appropr ia te recommendations to the Council of Ministers, 2. Appropriate disciplinary measures may be i m p o s e d in a c c o r d a n c e with ex is t ing Community Regulations. ARTICLE 4 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R THE COUNCIL . 1 ? 7 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 CODE OF CONDUCT FOR ECOWAS INTERNAL AUDITORS THIRD MEETING OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT, ABUJA FEBRUARY 2006 In t roduc t i on The Code of Conduct has been prepared with the aim of promoting a culture of ethical conduct among internal auditors in E C O W A S institutions. Internal audit is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve and organisation's operations. It helps an organisation accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. E C O W A S needs to adopt a Code of Conduct for internal auditors because only such a code can prov ide an ob jec t i ve a s s u r a n c e on risk management, control and governance processus. The Code of Conduct goes beyond the definition of the internal audit function and extends to the following two essential components: 1. Fundamenta l Pr inc ip les govern ing the professional practice of internal auditing; 2. R u l e s of C o n d u c t that d e s c r i b e the behaviour expected of internal auditors. The Principles can assist in the application of the fundamenta l Pr inc ip les and are aimed at promoting an ethical culture in the professional practice of internal auditing. The Code of Conduct and the other two reference documents, namely the Internal Audit Charter and the Internal Audi t Gu ide l i nes , spel l out rules governing the conduct of internal audi tors in E C O W A S Institutions. Scope of appl icat ion and compu l so ry nature of the Code of Ethics The E C O W A S Code of Conduct applies to internal auditors working in the Community institutions. Any contravention of the C o d e of Conduc t will be evaluated and treated in accordance with existing regulations by competent authorities such as the Audit Committee and the Council of Ministers. The fact that a particular form of behaviour is not specifically mentioned in the Code of Conduct will not make it less unacceptable or less honourable. Any con t raven t i on of the code wil l attract appropriate disciplinary action. Internal Audi tors in E C O W A S institutions are expec ted to app ly and upho ld the fo l lowing principles and Vules: 1.0. INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES The integrity of internal auditors establishes trust and thus provides the basis for reliance on their judgement. RULES Internal auditors: 1.1. Shal l perform their work with honesty, diligence, and objectivity. 1.2. Shall observe the law and make disclosures expected by the law and the profession. 1.3. Shall not knowingly be a party to any illegal act iv i ty, or e n g a g e in acts that are discreditable to E C O W A S institutions; 1.4. S h a l l r espec t and contr ibute to the leg i t imate and e th ica l ob jec t i ves of E C O W A S institutions; 1.5. Sha l l behave in such a way that their integrity and good name will never be in doubt. 2.0 OBJECTIVITY PRINCIPLES Internal audi tors exhibi t the highest level of professional objectivity in gathering, evaluating, and communicating information about the activity or process being examined. RULES Internal auditors: 2.1. Sha l l not part ic ipate in any activity or re la t i onsh ip that may impair or be presumed to impair the impartiality of their judgement. 2.2 Shall not accept anything that may impair or be presumed to impair their professional judgement. 2.3 Shall disclose all material facts known to them that, if not disclosed, may distort the reporting on audit activities undertaken. 2.4 Shall conduct their investigations without 128 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 any bias. In their conclusions, they should display a high sense of objectivity, neutrality and honesty. 2.5 Shall make a balanced assessment of all the relevant circumstances and shall not be unduly influenced by their own interests or by others in forming judgments. 3.0 CONFIDENTIALITY PRINCIPLES Internal auditors shall not disclose any information, facts or acts known to them in the course of their professional duties. RULES Internal auditors 3 .1 . Shall be prudent in the use and protection of information acquired in the course of their duties. 3.2. Shall not use information for any personal gain 6r in any manner that wou ld be cont rary to the legal p rov is ions or j eopa rd i ze the e th ica l ob jec t i ves of ECOWAS institutions. 3.3. Shall not reveal the content of audit reports to third parties, with the exception of those parts of the repor ts used by other professionals who are equally bound to protect professional secrets. 3.4. Shall respect the value and ownership of information they receive and do not disclose information without appropriate authority unless there is a legal or professional obligation to do so. 4.0. COMPETENCY PRINCIPLES Internal auditors shall engage only in those services for which they have the necessary knowledge, skill and experience. 4 .1 . Shall engage only in those services for which they have the necessary knowledge, skill and experience. 4.2. Shall perform internal auditing services in accordance with the standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing. 4.3. Shall continually improve their proficiency and ef fect iveness and qual i ty of thpir services. 4.4. Shall have sufficient knowledge to identify the indicators of fraud but are not expected to have the expertise of persons whose primary responsibi l i ty is detecting and investigating fraud. Where any irregularity or fraud is detected, the internal auditors shall inform their supervisory authorities immediately and examine with the authorities the best ways and means of conduc t i ng inves t iga t ions wi th the necessary tact and discretion. 4.5 Sha l l , upon p roduc t ion of necessary evidence and after consultation with their superv i so ry au tho r i t i es , refuse to participate in an audit exercise for which they lack the necessary competence or required resources, a situation that may impair the credibility of the results of the exercise. 5.0. INDEPENDENCE PRINCIPLES The laws, regulations, and code of ethics require internal auditors to maintain and be seen to maintain their independence which is one of the fundamental basis for the reliability of their opinion. RULES Internal auditors: 5.1 Shal l be hones t and s incere in the performance of their functions. They shall ensure fairness and not allow any bias or p reconce i ved ideas to impai r thei r independence. They shall remain neutral and their operations shall be free of any influence, actual or perceived, which may be considered, no matter the facts of the situation, as incompatible with the principles of integrity and objectivity. 5.2 Shall be free to establish their audit plan and work programme, define the scope of the i r i n te rven t i on , p repare and communicate the results of their audit activity. 5.3 Shall ensure that the collaborators and third parties assisting them in their work observe the principles of independence. 5.4 Shall be able to act independently so as to maintain their integrity and objectivity. They shal l a lso avoid any act that may be in te rp re ted as impa i rmen ts to their independence and objectivity. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 6. DUE PROFESSIONAL CARE PRINCIPLES In trio course of their professional duties, Internal Auditors should perform their work with professional care. RULES Internal auditors: 6 .1 . Shall apply the professional care and skill expected of a reasonably prudent and competen t in te rna l audi tor . Due pro fess iona l care does not apply infallibility. 6.2 Shall exercise due professional care by considering the: expec ta t i ons of the aud i ted , including the nature, schedule and communication of the results of the audit; extent of work needed to achieve the objectives of the audit activity; 7.2. Shall apply appropriate techniques and seek to obtain all relevant information pertaining to the operations of the units being audited, with a view to ensuring the quality of their work. 7.3. Shal l deve lop and mainta in a qual i ty assurance and improvement programme that covers all aspects of the internal audit act iv i ty and cont inuous ly monitors its e f fec t i veness . Th is p rog ramme shal l inc lude per iodic internal and external quality assessments and ongoing internal monitoring. Each part of the programme shall be designed to help the internal auditing activity add value and improve E C O W A S opera t i ons and to prov ide assurance that the internal audit activity is in con fo rm i t y wi th the in ternat iona l standards and the present Code of Ethics. 8. CONFLICT OF INTERESTS PRINCIPLES Internal audi tors must avoid being placed in situations which might create conflicts of interest. complex i ty , mater ia l i ty , or signif icance of matters to which assurance procedures are applied during each audit exercise; adequacy and effectiveness of risk m a n a g e m e n t , cont ro l and governance processes; probabil i ty of signif icant errors, irregularities, and non-compliance. 6. 1. Shall, in exercising due professional care, consider the use of computer-assisted audi t too ls and o ther data ana lys is techniques. 7. PERFORMANCE STANDARD PRINCIPLES Internal auditors should apply professional care and skill so as to ensure that the quality of each audit meets professional standards. RULES Internal auditors: 7.1. Shall, with the assistance of the relevant authorities, ensure that all the conditions for the success of their missions are met. RULES Internal auditors: 8.1 Shal l ref ra in f rom assess ing speci f ic operations for which they were previously responsible. 8.2 Shall not audit the activities of persons with whom they have close relations. Close relations as defined in Article 14 (a) of ECOWAS Staff Regulation. 8.3 Shall not audit the activities of institutions or agencies where they may come across situations that might create conflicts of interest. 8.4 Shall not participate in activities or enter into relations that might create conflicts of interest with ECOWAS institutions. 8.5 Shal l re fuse any miss ion which their conscience tells them might create conflicts of in te res t , t he reby impai r ing their independence, integrity and objectivity. 9. AUDIT TECHNIQUE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PRINCIPLES Internal auditors should be able to gather, analyse, and communicate information relating to the activity 130 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 or process being audited using audit techniques based on appropr ia te new in fo rmat ion and communication technologies (NICTs). RULES Internal auditors: 9.1. Shall have knowledge of key information technology risks and controls and available techno logy-based audit techniques to perform their assigned work. However, not all internal audi tors are expected to have the expertise of an internal auditor whose primary responsibi l i ty is computer auditing or information Systems auditing. 9.2 . Shall use appropriate new information and commun ica t i on t echno log ies in the performance of their duties. 10. PREPARATION AND DISSEMINATION OF REPORTS PRINCIPLES The internal auditor must prepare a report on any audit activity undertaken. All reports must comply with the format adopted by ECOWAS and hard or electronic copies should be communicated to the appropriate parties. RULES Internal auditors: 10.1 Shal l submi t wr i t ten repor ts to the supervisory authorit ies and or auditee, highlighting their f indings which should ref lect the observa t ions made by the officials in charge of the sectors audited from whom comments would have been received. 10.2 Shall prepare their reports using the format adopted by ECOWAS, sign the reports and communicate them in the form required. 10.3 Shall include in their report the comments of the management of the audited entity. 10.4 Shall have the obl igat ion to fol low up regular ly the imp lemen ta t i on of the recommendations they make. 10.5 Shall include in their report the objectives, scope, f i nd ings , conc lus ion and recommendat ions that result f rom the works they did. REGULATION C/REG.23/12/06 ADOPTING THE F R A M E W O R K FOR S T R E N G T H E N I N G C A P A C I T Y IN T H E D E V E L O P M E N T A N D INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF ENERGY STATISTICS IN THE ECOWAS REGION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; CONVINCED of the impor tance of stat ist ical information in the development and integration of the West African region; AWARE of the inadequac ies of the nat ional statistical systems with regard to the production of accurate and up- to-date energy stat ist ics on Member States; DESIROUS of putting in place a regional mechanism for the harmonious development of energy statistics in the region which would ensure the efficient collection, analysis, compilation and dissemination of energy data at both national and regional levels; CONSIDERING the conclusions of the experts group meeting on energy statistics held in Abuja from 7 to 9 August 2006; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the meeting of the Commission on Trade, Customs, Taxation, Statistics, Money and Payments, held in Abuja on 13 and 14 November 2006. ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The framework for strengthening capacity in the development and institutionalization of energy statistics in the ECOWAS region is hereby adopted and attached as an annex which is an integral part of this Regulation. ARTICLE 2 The objective of the framework is to strengthen the capac i ty to deve lop and ins t i tu t iona l ize the production of energy statistics at the regional level and in the national statistical systems of the Member States, within the context of the National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS), in order to build a sound base of energy statistics. 131 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ARTICLE 3 The Reg iona l C o m m i t t e e on energy and environment statistics shall amongst other duties, monitor the development of energy statistics at both the national and regional levels. ARTICLE 4 The Commission shall take appropriate measures to implement the framework, in close collaboration with Member States and the other sub-regional organisations. ARTICLE 5 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. REGULATION C/REG.24/12/06 ADOPTING THE F R A M E W O R K FOR S T R E N G T H E N I N G C A P A C I T Y IN T H E D E V E L O P M E N T A N D INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS IN THE ECOWAS REGION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10,11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; CONVINCED of the impor tance of stat ist ical information in the development and integration of the West African region; AWARE of the inadequacies of the existing national statistical systems with regard to the production of accurate and up-to-date environment statistics on Member States; DESIROUS of putting in place a regional mechanism for the harmonious development of environment statistics in the region which would ensure the eff icient col lect ion, analysis, compi lat ion and dissemination of environment data at both national and regional levels; CONSIDERING the conclusions of the experts group meeting on environment statistics held in Abuja from 7 to 9 August 2006; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the meeting of the Commission on Trade, Customs, Taxation, Statistics, Money and Payments, held in Abuja on 13 and 14 November 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The framework for strengthening capacity in the development and institutionalization of environment statistics in the ECOWAS region is hereby adopted and attached as an integral part of this Regulation. ARTICLE 2 The objective of the framework is to strengthen capacity and inst i tut ional ize the production of environment statistics at the regional level and in the national statistical systems of the Member States, within the context of the National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS), in order to build a sound base of environment statistics. 132 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ARTICLE 3 A Regional Committee on energy and environment statistics is hereby establ ished to monitor the development of energy and environment statistics. ARTICLE 4 The Commission shall take appropriate measures to implement the framework, in close collaboration with Member States and the other sub-regional organisations. ARTICLE 5 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. REGULATION C/REG.25/12/06 ESTABLISHING A R E G I O N A L C O M M I T T E E ON POVERTY STATISTICS AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS INDICATORS OF THE ECOWAS REGION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; CONVINCED of the importance of statist ical information in the development and integration of the West African region; AWARE of the inadequac ies of the nat ional statistical systems with regard to the production of accurate and up-to-date poverty statistics and Mi l lennium Deve lopment Goals Indicators in Member States; DESIROUS of putting in place a regional mechanism for the harmonious deve lopment of poverty statist ics and Mi l lennium Development Goals Indicators in the region which would ensure the eff icient col lect ion, analysis, compi lat ion and dissemination of data at national and regional levels; CONSIDERING the conclusions of the experts group meeting on ECOWAS Poverty Profile held in Abuja on 10 and 11 August 2006; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the meeting of the Commission on Trade, Customs, Taxation, Statistics, Money and Payments, held in Abuja on 13 and 14 November 2006 ENACTS ARTICLE 1 A Regional Committee is hereby established to monitor the development of poverty statistics and Millennium Development Goals indicators. ARTICLE 2 The objective of the Committee is to strengthen the capacity to develop and institutionalize the production of poverty statistics and Millennium Development Goals indicators at the regional level and in the national statistical systems of the Member States, within the context of the National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS), in order to build a sound base of poverty statistics. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ARTICLE 3 The Commission shall take appropriate measures to ensure the effective functioning of the Committee, in close collaboration with Member States and the other sub-regional organisations. ARTICLE 4 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. REGULATION C/REG.26/12/06 RELATING TO THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION IN COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS AND THE E S T A B L I S H M E N T OF THE POSIT ION/ OFFICE OF THE CHIEF INTERNAL AUDITOR OF THE COMMUNITY THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of articles 10, 11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; MINDFUL of the Decision A/DEC.2/11/91on the adoption of the Scheme of service of Staff of the Institutions of the Community establishing the position of Internal Auditor for all Institutions; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.15/01/06 relating to the establ ishment of an Audit Commit tee for ECOWAS to assist the Counci l of Ministers discharge its function of maintaining good financial control principles in the Community; MINDFULof the need to assist ECOWAS Institutions improve on budget management, funds control and inst i tut ional managemen t thereby promot ing transparency, accountabil i ty and probity in the overal l management of the resources of the Community; ALSO CONSIDERING the need to separate the control functions from those of Internal Audit to ensure the independence and objectivity of Internal Auditors; DESIRING therefore to achieve the above stated object ives by restructur ing the Internal Audit function within Community Institutions, strengthen the Internal Audit function and ensure compliance of internal contro l wi th ECOWAS Protocols, Supplementary Acts, Regulations, Decisions and Directives of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government and the Council of Ministers; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Sixth Meeting of the Audit Committee which was held in Dakar from 16-17 October 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The position of Chief Internal Auditor is hereby establ ished at a D1 Professional Category to manage the In terna l Aud i t func t ions of all Community Institutions. ARTICLE 2 The Chief Internal Auditor shall be located within the ECOWAS Commission and will report to the Council of Ministers through the ECOWAS Audit Committee. ARTICLE 3 The President of the Commission shall appoint staff of the Office of the Chief Internal Auditor in accordance with the ECOWAS Staff Regulations. This staff shall subsequent ly be appropriately deployed by the Chief Internal Auditor. The Chief Internal Auditor shall manage the budget of his/her office. The Internal Auditor shall report to the Chief Internal Auditor. 1 3 4 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ARTICLE 4 The attached organisat ion chart indicating the structure for Financial Control and the Internal Audit is hereby adopted. ARTICLE 5 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R THE COUNCIL . M I N D F U L of the p rov is ions of the F inanc ia l Regulations and Manual of Accounting Procedures of the Institutions of the Community of 1989 as amended, establishing the functions of the Financial Controller; MINDFULof the need to assist E C O W A S Institutions improve on budget management, funds control and inst i tut ional m a n a g e m e n t thereby promot ing transparency, accountabi l i ty and probity in the overal l managemen t of the resources of the Community; A L S O C O N S I D E R I N G the need to separate the control functions from those of Internal Audit to ensure the independence and objectivity of Internal Auditors; DESIRING therefore to achieve the above stated objectives by re-organising this office and through s u c h r e - o r g a n i s a t i o n , a l s o s t rengthen the performance of their duty of the Financial Controller and ensure compliance of internal controls with E C O W A S P r o t o c o l s , S u p p l e m e n t a r y Ac t s , Regu la t ions , Dec i s i ons and Direct ives of the E C O W A S Author i ty of H e a d s of State and Government and the Council of Ministers; ON T H E R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the Sixth Meeting of the Audit Committee which was held in Dakar from 16-17 October 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 The Financial Controller shall be responsible for all the financial control functions within Community Institutions. REGULATION C/REG27/12/06 RELATING TO THE RE-ORGANISATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE FINANCIAL CONTROLLER OF THE COMMUNTIY INSTITUTIONS THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFULof articles 10, 11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; M I N D F U L of the D e c i s i o n A / D E C . 4 / 1 2 / 2 0 0 1 reinstating the post of the Financial Controller of the Community; ARTICLE 2 The Financial controller shall continue to report to the C o u n c i l of M in i s te rs and a l so ava i l the Administrat ion and F inance Commiss ion with information relating to the budget and financial status of the Community. ARTICLE 3 The office of the Financia l Control ler shall be located at the Commission. The Financial Controller shall manage the budget of his/her office. ARTICLE 4 The President of the Commission shall appoint staff of the of f ice of the F i n a n c i a l Cont ro l le r in December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 accordance with the ECOWAS Staff Regulations, and this staff shall subsequently be appropriately deployed by the Financial Controller. The Staff shall report directly to the Financial Controller. ARTICLE 5 The attached organisation chart indicating the structure for the Offices of the Financial Controller and the Internal Auditor is hereby adopted. ARTICLE 6 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, CHAIRPERSON, FOR THE COUNCIL. REGULATION REG.28/12/06 ESTABLISHING NATIONAL MONITORING STRUCTURES ON FREE M O V E M E N T OF P E R S O N S ON THE HIGHWAYS A N D AT THE B O R D E R S WITH ECOWAS REGION THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFULof Articles 10,11, and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty as amended in June 2006 establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions, MINDFUL of Article 59 of the Treaty committing Member States to take measures to ensure that community citizens fully enjoy their rights in the area of free movement within ECOWAS; MINDFUL of Protocol A/P1/5/79 of 29 May 1979 on free movement of persons, right to residence and establishment; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.2/7/85 of 6 July 1985 establishing an ECOWAS Travel Certificate MINDFULof Decision A/DEC. 1/5/2000 adopting the ECOWAS Passport MINDFUL of the Final Communique of the twenty- seventh session of the Authority of Heads of State and Governmen t dep lor ing the ex is tence of numerous roadblocks which impede free movement of pe rsons , the r ight of res idence and establishment; NOTING that harassments still exist on the highways and at the borders, in spite of the 30 years of awareness raising campaigns directed at border security agents and the citizenry; C O N S I D E R I N G that fac t - f ind ing miss ions undertaken along the highways and at the borders of Member States have confirmed that the protocols on free movement of persons are not effectively implemented; WISHING to address the concerns of Community citizens and to promote trade and investments in the sub-region; DESIROUS there fore of creat ing moni tor ing structures on free movement of persons on the highways and at the borders of crucial importance in ECOWAS, as well as the coordination bureau with a v iew to at ta in ing the objective of free movement of persons; 136 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ON THE R E C O M M E N D A T I O N of the meeting of Heads of Immigration Services of Member States held in Abuja, 26 - 27 October, 2006; HAVING C O N S I D E R E D the report relating to the sensitization mission on free movement of persons and good, undertaken in the Member States in N o v e m b e r and D e c e m b e r 2006 by the representative of the Chairperson of Counci l . ENACTS ARTICLE 1: ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITS: PILOT PHASE Member States shall establ ish Monitoring Units on free movement of persons at the border posts. A two-year pilot programme (2007 and 2009) covering the Lagos-Cotonou-Lome-Accra- A b i d j a n - O u a g a d o u g o u - B a m a k o - C o n a k r y corridors is hereby adopted. ARTICE 2: COMPOSITION The monitoring units on free movement of persons shall comprise the following: Three (3) civil society representatives Three (3) private sector representatives National Members of the E C O W A S Parliament A government Lawyer One (1) representat ive of the E C O W A S National Unit ARTICLE 3: MISSION The monitoring units on free movement of persons shall: compile a list of all E C O W A S basic texts on free movement of persons, right to residence and establishment and make them available to people from all walks of life; Popularize among police officers, gendarmes, customs and immigration officers and judicial officers, orders, degrees, laws, protocols and al l o ther i ns t ruments re la t ing to f ree movement of persons; determine the type of checks carried out; identify existing forms of harassment; note, denounce and prepare reports on breaches to free movement and expose those responsible so that appropriate sanctions can be imposed on them; monitor the application of sanctions; nominate for reward the best security agents who respect the right of citizens in the area of free movement plan and organize at border posts public awareness programmes on rights and duties relating to free movement of persons, right to residence and establishment; ARTICLE 4: MONITORING AND APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS The monitoring units on free movement of persons shal l ensure the appl icat ion of the sanct ions imposed and report to the Commissioner for Trade, Customs and Free Movement of Persons who shall inform the Council of Ministers and the Authority of Heads of State and Government. ARTICLE 5: ESTABLISHMENT OF A COORDINATION BUREAU To enable the pilot units located along the Cotonou- L o m e - A c c r a - A b i d j a n , O u a g a d o u g o u - B a m a k o - Conak ry corr idors to ef fect ively pursue their objective, a co-ordination bureau for the pilot units is hereby established. ARTICLE 6: OBJECTIVES OF THE COORDINATION BUREAU The coordination bureau shall: ensure that the pilot units strictly comply with their terms of reference; carry out pe r i od i c eva lua t ion of the performance of the pilot units; provide basic training for the members of the pilot units on the community law on free movement of persons, right to residence and establishment; provide pilot units with documentation or and other tool necessary for the realization of their activities; prepare consultative meetings to enable the various units to exchange good practices so as to identify problems and find solutions to them. 1.37 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 ARTICLE 7: RESOURCES OF THE PILOT UNITS AND THE COORDINATION BUREAU The Commission shall provide the pilot units and the coordination bureau with human, financial and material resources to enable them to attain their objectives. ARTICLE 8: EXTENSION OF THE UNITS At the end of the 2007-2009 pilot phase, and after evaluation of progress, the Council of Ministers shall replicate the monitoring units on the free movement of persons at other major borders. ARTICLE 9: This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E COUNCIL . REGULATION C/REG.29/12/06 AUTHORISING THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY TO TERMINATE THE APPOINTMENT OF MRS. TOKUNBO LIJADU- O Y E M A D E , F O R M E R D IRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION, AND TO REPLACE HER WITH A NIGERIAN NATIONAL THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFUL of Articles 10„ 11 and 12 of the E C O W A S Treaty, as amended in June 2006, establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions; C O N S I D E R I N G that dismissal of an officer of the Community is an administrative affair and that the procedure and appeals are provided for in the Staff Rules and Regulat ions of the institutions of the Community; N O T I N G that the m e m o r a n d u m of the staff representatives is very critical of the former Director of Administration; R E C A L L I N G , however, the willingness of Council to give a human face to the resolution of the issue relating to the dismissal of Mrs. Tokunbo Lijadu- Oyemade, and noting the initiatives already taken in this d i rect ion by the E C O W A S Execu t i ve Secretary; C O N S I D E R I N G the need to put an end to the issue relating to the dismissal of Mrs. Tokunbo Lijadu- Oyemade, which has dragged on for three (3) years; D E S I R O U S of providing the Institutions of the Community with highly qualified, competent staff, commi t ted to the dut ies and ob l iga t ions as p resc r i bed by the Staff R e g u l a t i o n s of the Institutions of the Community; REAFF IRMING its commitment to abolish the quota s y s t e m with regard to the appo in tment of professional staff; D E S I R O U S however of maintaining the current equitable geographical distribution of professional staff posts among all the Member States; ENACTS ARTICLE 1 1. The Executive Secretary is hereby authorised to terminate the appointment of Mrs. Tokunbo 138 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 L i j a d u - O y e m a d e , fo rmer D i rec to r of Administration of the E C O W A S Executive Secretariat. 2. The afore-mentioned officer shall be paid the benefits due her. ARTICLE 2 As an exceptional measure, the recruitment of a Nigerian national is hereby authorised to fill the vacancy created by the dismissal of Mrs. Tokunbo Lijadu-Oyemade. ARTICLE 3 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AICHATOU MINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R THE COUNCIL . REGULATION C/REG.30/12/06 ADOPTING THE GIABA STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, MINDFULof Articles 10,11 and 12 of the E C O W A S R e v i s e d Treaty as a m e n d e d in J u n e 2 0 0 6 , establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its compositions and functions; MINDFUL of Decision A/DEC.9/12/99 relating to the establishment of GIABA; M I N D F U L of the R e v i s e d Statutes of G I A B A expanding its mandate to the fight against the financing of terrorism; C O N S I D E R I N G that the fifty-fifth Session of the Counci l of Ministers, held in Niamey adopted a biennial strategic action plan for GIABA; NOTING that the meeting of Experts, held from 20 to 21 November 2006, evaluated the said action plan and proposed a triennial (2007 - 2008 - 2009) strategic action plan for GIABA activities; A W A R E f the need for G IABA to fully carry out its operational activities; D E S I R O U S of providing this Institution with a Strategic Action Plan; U P O N T H E R E C O M M A N D A T I O N of the meeting of Experts, held in Niamey from 20 to 21 November, 2006; ENACTS ARTICLE1 The GIABA Strategic Action Plan 2007 - 2008 - 2009 is hereby adopted. ARTICLE 2 This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Commission within thirty (30) days of its signature by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. It shall also be published within the same time frame in the National Gazette of each Member State. DONE AT OUAGADOUGOU, THIS 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2006 HON. AI^HATQUfMINDAOUDOU, C H A I R P E R S O N , F O R T H E COUNCIL . December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 FINAL COMMUNIQUE THIRTY-FIRST SESSION OF THE AUTHORITY OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT Ouagadougou, 19 January 2007 INTRODUCTION The thirty-first ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 19 January 2007 under the chairmanship of His Excellency, Mamadou Tandja, President of the Republic of Niger and current Chairman of ECOWAS. The following Heads of State and Government or their duly accredited representatives attended the meeting: His Excellency Thomas Boni Yayi, President of the Republic of Benin; His Excellency Blaise Compaore, President of Burkina Faso; His Excellency Laurent Gbagbo, President of the Republic of Cote d'lvoire; His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana; His Excellency Jao Bernado Viera, President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau; Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia; His Excellency Amadou Toumani Toure, President of the Republic of Mali; His Excellency Mamadou Tandja, President of the Republic of Niger; His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; His Excellency MaTtre Abdoulaye Wade President of the Republic of Senegal; His Excellency, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of the Togolese Republic; Honourable Mrs Fatoumata Sidibe Kaba, Minister of International Cooperation, Representing the President of the Republic of Guinea; Honourable Alhaji Mohammed Daramy, Minister of Deve lopmen t and Economic Planning, Representing the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone; The Prime Minister of the Republic of Cote d'lvoire, His Excellency Charles Konan Banny participated in this session. The following personalities also attended the thirty- first session as observers: Mr. Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Organisation His Excellency Rodolphe Adadah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Francophonie of the Republic of Congo, representing the President of the African Union Mr SoumaTIa Cisse, President of the UEMOA Commission Mr. Justin Baro, Acting Governor of the BCEAO Mr Ablasse Ouedraogo Representing the ADB President And several members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of regional and international institutions. OPENING CEREMONY The opening ceremony was marked by the welcome statement of H.E. Blaise Compaore, President of Burk ina Faso, the open ing address of His Excellency, Mamadou Tandja, President of the Republ ic of Niger, and current Cha i rman of ECOWAS and the UEMOA, the congratulatory speech of the Heads of State and Government, del ivered by His Excel lency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Her Excellency Mrs Ellen Johnson- Sir leaf, the address of the Pres ident of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, as well as the messages of the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the African Union and the United Nations Secretary- General. The Authority adopted these addresses as working documents of the summit. The Heads of State and Government reaffirmed their commitment to the development of the national economies of West Africa through the regional approach by making ECOWAS an effective instrument for promoting the integration process. 140 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 T R A N S F O R M A T I O N OF T H E E C O W A S C O M M I S S I O N INTO A C O M M I S S I O N A N D RESTRUCTURING OF ECOWAS INSTITUTIONS The Authority commended the transformation of the ECOWAS Commission into a Commission as well as the restructuring of the ECOWAS Institutions aimed at making the Institutions more efficient, with a view to enabling them fully play their role in the integration and development process of the region and to better adapt to the international environment. They urged the in-coming Chairman of ECOWAS to convene a meeting of ECOWAS Ministers of Finance and of the new Commissioners to set clear priority areas for the Commission that will give impetus to an action-oriented focus on a few sectors such as energy, t ranspor t , i n fo rmat ion and commun ica t ion techno logy as wel l as t rade facilitation. THE ECOWAS COMMISSION The Authority took note of the nomination of the following Commissioners by the Council of Ministers: Vice President, Jean de Dieu SOMDA - (Burkina Faso) Commissioner for Administration and Finance, Dr. (Mrs.) Adaoha C. OKWUOSA - (Nigeria) Commissioner for Trade, Customs, Industry and Free Movement of Persons, Mr. Mohamed Daramy - (Sierra Leone) Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, Ouseini Sal i fou - (Niger) Commissioner for Infrastructure, Comla Kadje - (Togo) Commissioner for Macro-economic Policy, Lambert N'galadjo Bamba - (Cote d'lvoire) Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Col. Mahamane Toure - (Mali) The Authority took note of the acceptance of the Republic of Senegal to present three candidates for selection to the post of Commissioner for Human Development and Gender. E C O W A S B A N K FOR I N V E S T M E N T A N D DEVELOPMENT (EBID) Following the restructuring of EBID, the Authority adopted a Supplementary Protocol relating to the amendment of Articles 1, 3, 6 and 21 of the revised Treaty as recommended by the Council of Ministers, to turn EBID into a single management structure with two windows (for concessional and private sector operations). ECOWAS PROGRAMMES The Authority adopted the 2006 ECOWAS Annual Report presented by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the reports of the two sessions of the Council of Ministers and of the meeting of the ECOWAS Mediat ion and Securi ty Counci l (at ministerial level). The reports focused on the ECOWAS regional integration and cooperation programmes, institutional issues as well as regional peace and security. REGIONAL POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY The Authority expressed serious concern over the slow progress toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The Heads of State and Government urged all Member States to improve upon economic governance through the adoption of appropriate macro-economic policies and enhanced structural reforms that will generate the level of economic growth required for attaining the MDGs, especially the halving of the incidence of poverty in the region by 2015. The Authori ty we lcomed the collaboration the ECOWAS Commission has established with the UEMOA Commission and the World Bank for the formulation of a regional approach to complement national poverty reduction programmes. All Member States were invited to take the regional dimension of poverty into account in their national PRSPs. EXTERNAL INDEBTEDNESS AND WEST AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT The Author i ty st ressed that the high external indebtedness of ECOWAS countr ies hinders development efforts and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Authority however expressed satisfaction at the commitments made by the development partners to cancel the external debts of many developing countries including some ECOWAS countries. It invited the West African development partners to extend these measures taken under the highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) and the multilateral debt relief ini t iat ives (MDRI) , to all ECOWAS countries, while making eligibility conditions less stringent. December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 MONETARY COOPERATION PROGRAMME The Authority stressed the need to deepen macro- economic conve rgence and to enhance the performance of Member States to give greater credibility to the second monetary zone and the ECOWAS single currency. In this regard, it urged all the Member States to redouble efforts to comply with the macro-economic convergence criteria through strict budgetary discipline and structural reforms aimed at expanding the production base. FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS The Author i t y exp ressed conce rn over the numerous obstacles still existing along West African highways and at the borders of ECOWAS Member States, which lead to undue delays in administrative formalities and extortion of travellers. The Authority congratulated Burkina Faso on the removal of all unofficial check points a long its internat ional highways. It urged all the other Member States to emula te this measu re in o rder to e l im ina te obstacles to the free movement of travellers. Desiring to enable ordinary citizens of ECOWAS take full advantage of their membership of the Community, the Authority urged Member States to take all necessary measures to implement the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence and Establishment. The Authority expressed satisfaction at the decision of the Council of Ministers to establish pilot units for the free movement of persons along the Lagos- Cotonou, Lome-Accra, Abidjan-Ouagadougou and Bamako -Conak ry axes , c rea te a cent ra l coordination and monitor ing bureau, grant an incentive allowance to the best security officers at border posts and apply severe sanctions on erring officers. ECOWAS PASSPORT The Heads of State and Government praised the Republ ics of Benin, Guinea and Senegal for effectively putting into circulation the ECOWAS Passport which confers Community citizenship on the peoples of the region. They urged the other Member States to take the necessary measures to print and put into circulation, this important travel document, without further delay. INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION The Authority recognised that the issue of migration had become a major pre-occupation for the West Africa region, particularly since it involves youths, the most active members of a country, and also because ECOWAS countries are the main source of transit for migration from Africa to Europe. The Authority further agreed that while the security dimensions of the migration phenomenon do not have easy solutions, urgent attention must be given to the development dimension in order to resolve the p rob lem of pover ty wh ich encourages emigration. It was decided that one of the regional s t rategies would be the estab l ishment of an adequate fund to meet the development needs of Member States, and a better facilitation of the transfer of the savings of migrants. WEST A F R I C A - E. U. ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (EPA) The Authority stressed that the EPA currently being negotiated between West Africa and the European Commission should help to achieve the objective of reducing poverty. In this regard, the agreement must take into account the development dimension, notably in building supply capacities, improving the competitiveness and up-grading of West African economies. Concerning the end of the 2007 deadline for the signing of the agreement, the Heads of State and Government urged the negotiators to be flexible in their approach, with a view to concluding an EPA that serves the interests of the peoples of West Africa. MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS The Authority deplored the fact that the suspension of the Doha round led to the reluctance of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to take into account some of the concerns of the West Africa region, notably the cotton issue. The Authority underscored the importance of an efficient multilateral trade regime founded on fair, equitable and transparent rules. It therefore urged all the members of the WTO to translate into action their declared commitment towards the successful completion of the on-going negotiations, in line with the mandate of the Doha development round. The Authority also invited the development partners to go beyond the commitments made in Hong Kong in order to eliminate all domestic subsidies on agriculture, notably cotton. The Heads of State and Government particularly 142 December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol. 50 insisted on the need to make the different promised support measures available and to find a lasting solution to the cotton issue. BIRD FLU In order to prevent an avian influenza epidemic, the Author i t y exp ressed sa t i s fac t ion at the establ ishment of a regional st ructure for the prevention and control of bird flu in West Africa. The Authority invited development partners to support the implementation of the regional strategic plan for the prevent ion and contro l of avian influenza. It thanks the ADB for the measures taken in respect of the domiciliation of the emergency fund established for that purpose. INFRASTRUCTURE Taking into cons idera t ion the impor tance of infrastructure in the integration and development of West African economies, the Authority directed the ECOWAS Commission to accord priority to the deve lopmen t of th is sector , espec ia l l y the complet ion of the remain ing por t ions of the international highways, the interconnection of rail networks with a standard gauge, as well as the development of the telecommunications and energy sectors. The Authority urged all Member States to create an enabling environment for infrastructural development and policy harmonisation in these sectors. Te lecommun ica t ion The Author i t y adop ted a reg iona l t e lecommun ica t ions pol icy and a regula tory framework covering specific aspects of the sector such as in terconnect ion to ICT and services networks, licensing regimes and management of the radio frequency spectrum. ECOWAS Energy Programme The Authority expressed its concern over the impact of the increase in the price of petroleum products on non oil-producing Member States. It invited the ECOWAS Commission to make proposals to assist the Member States involved to reduce the cost of petroleum products. The Authority took note and expressed satisfaction at the remarkab le p rogress made in the construction of the West African gas pipeline, the first phase of which extends from Lagos to Accra, pass ing th rough Benin and Togo. It fu r ther requested the ECOWAS Commission and Member States to explore the possibility of extending the West African Gas Pipeline to all ECOWAS Member States. The Authority further noted with satisfaction the breakthroughs recorded in the establishment of the ECOWAS Power Pool system, which is charged with linking the electricity grids of the member countries with a view to eliminating the energy deficits within the region. The Authority directed the ECOWAS Commission to harmonise national policies and to establish a regional regulatory body. The Authority also invited the Member States that had not ratified the ECOWAS protocol on energy to do so as soon as possible. INFORMATION SOCIETY Desir ing to reduce the digital divide between developed countries and ECOWAS countries in the field of ICT, the Authority adopted a declaration on the Information Society. In that regard, it stressed that access to information, information sharing, and the creation of knowledge contribute significantly to enhanc ing economic , soc ia l and cul tura l development thereby enabling ECOWAS Member States to meet their deve lopment goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). REGIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY A. Countries in conflict Cote d ' l vo i re The Authority expressed deep concern over the persistent crisis in Cote d'lvoire. The Heads of State and Government stressed the need to find a lasting solution to the crisis, based on the immediate concomitant launching of a programme of citizen identification and disarming armed groups in order to c reate the necessa ry cond i t ions for the organisation of credible elections by October 2007. They called upon all Ivorian Political forces to coopera te in the imp lemen ta t i on of UNSC Resolution 1721 (2006). They welcomed the initiative of President Gbagbo for dialogue with Ministre d'Etat Guillaume Soro and called upon the Chairman of ECOWAS to facilitate the dialogue to give momentum to the peace process. i An December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol 50 In addition, it decided in consultation with the African Union, to send a high-level delegation to permanent members of the UN Security Council with a view to exploring the ways and means of ensuring diligent application of Resolution 1721, depending on the outcome of the dialogue. The Authority called upon the UNSC to visit Cote d'lvoire to add impetus to the peace process. B. POST CONFLICT COUNTRIES L iber ia The Authority expressed delight with the extension of the mandate of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) up to the end of March 2007, and hoped that the gradual withdrawal of UN troops would be possible in the near future with the improved securi ty situation and considerable progress in security sector reforms. The Authori ty further lauded the lifting of UN sanctions on logging in Liberia and encouraged the government of that country to press on with the improvement of the monitor ing system for diamond exploitation in order to facilitate the lifting of sanctions on this strategic resource. The Authority expressed satisfaction with the interest shown by the European Union, following the request made by ECOWAS for a selective lifting of the UN travel embargo imposed on certain personalities, aimed at revitalizing the national reconciliation process in Liberia. Guinea Bissau The Authority took note of the establishment in New York on 21 September 2006, of the International Contact Group on Guinea Bissau as well as the round table held on 7 and 8 November 2006, which served as a forum for discussing medium and long- term prospects and mobilizing resources needed to achieve the objectives of reconstruction and development. The Authority also invited development partners to support Guinea Bissau in its economic recovery efforts, whi le encouraging the government of Guinea Bissau to be steadfast in the pursuit of its economic and security sector reforms. Sierra Leone The Authority welcomed the rofe the integrated UN Office (UNIOSIL) is playing for the stability of the country, particularly as regards the democratization process. The Author i ty also underscored the importance of presidential and legislative elections scheduled to be held in Sierra Leone in July 2007, the first to be held without the presence of a UN mil i tary cont ingent . The Heads of State and Government underlined the importance of all parties respect ing democra t ic rules and f reedom of movement and expression during the election campaign. The Authority further expressed satisfaction that Sierra Leone had been accepted as one of the countries to benefit from the UN Peace Building Commissions Programmes. Gu inea The Heads of State and Government expressed concern about the deepening crisis in Guinea. They called on the in-coming Chairman to dispatch a delegation to Guinea for consultation with all political stakeholders with a view to encouraging the use of dialogue and non-violent means to resolve their differences. Togo The Heads of State and Government expressed satisfaction at the success of the inter-Togolese d ia logue and ca l led upon the in ternat iona l community to support the effort of Togo to hold legislative elections in 2007 and the economic programme of the Government. C. CONSOLIDATION OF DEMOCRACY The Heads of State and Government noted that several presidential and legislative elections would be held in some Member States in 2007, and called for the respect of the ECOWAS protocol on democracy and good governance in ensuring the holding of credible and transparent elections. D. M E C H A N I S M FOR C O N F L I C T P R E V E N T I O N , R E S O L U T I O N , PEACEKEEPING AND SECURITY Aware of the fact that effective implementation of the Protocol relating to the Mechanism can advance the cause of peace in the sub-region, the Authority urged the countries that have not yet done so, to ratify the protocol. E. COUNCIL OF ELDERS The Authority took decisions on the duration of the 144 .December 2006/January 2007 ECOWAS Official Journal Vol 50 tenure, the tasks assigned to and the appointment of members of the Council of Elders, in order to make this structure operational. CRITERIA FOR SELECTING ECOWAS MEMBER STATES TO THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL OF THE AFRICAN UNION The Authori ty set cri teria for the select ion of ECOWAS Member States as members of the African Union Peace and Security Council. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL The Authority requested Member States to provide active support to the candidature of Burkina Faso as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2008-2009. The Author i ty expressed apprec ia t ion to the Republic of Ghana for the manner in which it had carried out its mandate as a member of the United Nations Security Council, to the satisfaction of all the members of the Community. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION The Authority expressed its gratitude to all the ECOWAS development partners for their support to the consolidation of peace, security and regional integration in West Africa. ELECTION OF THE NEW CHAIRMAN OF AUTHORITY The Heads of State and Government elected His Excellency Blaise Compaore, President of Faso, as Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government for a term of one year. DATE AND VENUE OF THE NEXT SUMMIT The next ordinary session of the Authority will be held on the second Friday of June 2007 in Abuja, Nigeria. TRIBUTE TO PRESIDENT TANDJA The Heads of State and Government expressed their sincere thanks to His Excellency President Mamadou Tandja, President of the Republic of Niger, for his leadership role in the promotion of regional peace and security and in the deepening of the ECOWAS integrat ion and development process. They lauded the contribution of President Tandja to regional integration and the furtherance of the ideals of democracy. TRIBUTE TO PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO The Authority expressed its deep gratitude and paid glowing tribute to His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the eve of his exit as Head of State of Nigeria. The Heads of State and Government commended the invaluable role played by President Obasanjo in the strengthening of the integration process, peace and securi ty in West Afr ica. President Obasanjo is personally and unreservedly committed to the building of stability and prosperity in Africa in general and in West Africa in particular. TRIBUTE TO MR KOFI ANNAN The Authority also paid special tribute to Mr. Kofi Annan , ou t -go ing Uni ted Nat ions Secretary- General, for his achievements at the helm of the international organizat ion and for his positive contribution to the consolidation of peace and security in the world and in our sub-region in particular. VOTE OFTHANKS The Heads of State and Government expressed their gratitude to His Excellency Blaise Compaore, President of Faso and Chairman-elect of ECOWAS, for the generous hospitality extended to them during their stay in Ouagadougou. They specially thanked him for the v is ion out l ined in his acceptance speech, for moving the integration of West Africa forward. The Authority wished the Burkinabe people happiness and prosperity. The Authority expressed its gratitude to all the Heads of State and Government who are taking part in the ECOWAS peace initiatives aimed at finding an acceptable and lasting solution to the conflicts in the region. THE AUTHORITY 145