The Kingdom of Morocco called Monday in Nairobi, for a common African legal space to face the challenges of climate change.
Speaking at the 3rd Regional Symposium on Greening Judiciaries in Africa, held between April 3 and 5, Head of Division at the Supreme Council of the Judiciary Power (CSPJ), Imane Elmalki, stressed the need to achieve a balance between the needs of sustainable development and environmental protection in all reform projects, within a common legal framework.
Elmalki, who is also Advisor to the Court of Cassation, stated that the environment issue unifies African countries and enshrines our continental belonging and common destiny, noting that the environment is a common good and a collective responsibility of all countries, necessitating the participation of all actors.
The Moroccan official added that African countries face similar challenges, namely desertification, drought, and climate change, noting that the African citizen has moved from adapting to their environment to searching for better opportunities in a better environment.
In this context, Elmalki stressed the importance of modernizing the legal system by adapting it to regional and international commitments, as well as the importance of ensuring human, logistical, and management resources to implement these obligations, said to be for a preventive and reactive approach to “stop the environmental disaster.”
Elmalki also called for special attention to this project and to provide all the means to the judiciary, at the human, scientific, and organizational levels, so that it can meet the expectations and face the challenges, noting that the Courts of Cassation have pioneered the green future, modernizing the mechanisms of judicial and administrative action, as well as the curricula of continuous training of judges.
The Head of Division further highlighted the role of judicial training institutes in making environmental law one of the essential components of training programs, stressing the central role of justice in the protection of rights and freedoms generally and in the consecration of environmental security particularly.
Elmalki stressed, in this context, the need to take firm initiatives and integrated strategies to remedy the imbalance, overcome the obstacles, and face the challenges with courage and clarity.
“This symposium is a major step towards successful legislation and ecological justice that will assimilate transformations and enable these countries to achieve their commitments,” underlined Elmalki.
Over 300 participants, including 27 chief justices from African countries, are partaking in this session of the Symposium held under the theme: “Strengthening the Role of Judiciaries in Addressing Climate Change in Africa”.
The opening session was marked by the presence of Kenyan President William Ruto who, in his speech, urged African leaders to unite in combating climate change, noting that Africa is disproportionately affected by climate change.
Ruto concluded that the institutional reconfigurations and economic resets emanating from this structural change will establish Africa as the continent of the future, as well as the world’s green economic powerhouse.
