The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has accepted responsibility for loss of lives and property in the sub-region saying it was caused by a lack of comprehensive emergency mechanism to peace support operations during military incursions among member states.

ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Gender, Ms. Adrienne Diop, made this admission in Abuja yesterday while declaring open the ECOWAS Emergency Response Team (EERT) Training Workshop for the Commission’s managers.
She added that the commission has decided to take a bold step to improve the ability of its response teams to deal with emergencies in conflict and disasters in the region.

“The void created by the absence of an ECOWAS civilian intervention mechanism to peace support operations and natural disasters has resulted in the loss of several lives and properties. It is also important to note that civilian humanitarian responses rendered to victims during disasters or conflicts in the past have largely been provided by United Nations organization or other international partners.”

“The idea of establishing an ECOWAS emergency response team (EERT) is not meant to replace or duplicate the efforts of our development partners but to compliment their efforts of providing a coordinated humanitarian response to victims of conflicts and natural disasters and at the same time create a sense of ownership and responsibility to the peoples of the region.”

Diop noted that the regional body has made improvement in its response to situation within the sub-region.
The EERT which was developed in 2005 is one of a few simulation exercises available in the sub0-region, and it has trained a total of 84 managers and specialists among member states.
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