President Kagame today attended the launch of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) and African Legal Support Facility project on International Commercial Law in Africa. Speaking at the function, President Kagame Pointed out the flagrant disadvantage of African nations when signing international commercial contracts, and told the Pan African Lawyers Union that it was time to “create a fair balance and avoid situations where the weak remain perpetually so, and the strong continue to have the upper hand.” The playing field must be leveled for African countries, international investors and creditors alike”, he added.
Thanking President Kagame for his dedication to addressing the capacity gap in Rwanda and in Africa, the President of PALU Barrister Akere Muna told the audience that Rwanda was the natural choice for the launch of this project. He told the audience that today was “a defining moment for PALU…never in the history of our profession have so many of us met on African soil…with your partnership President Kagame, we will see the invisible, touch the intangible and achieve the unattainable in the interest of one and only one beneficiary- the people of Africa”.
President Kagame concluded by encouraging the members of PALU to “go beyond legal theory and also consider the values of human dignity, issues of equality, and accountability that empower our people to have a say in the administration of justice, making it a collective responsibility of all our citizens.” The afternoon continued on with deliberation on PALU’s strategies demonstrating that today Africans are in the driving seat when it comes to shaping their future and addressing the obstacles to socio and economic transformation.
Click to read full speech: http://www.paulkagame.com/2010/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=253%3Aremarks-by-president-kagame-at-the-launch-of-the-palu-alsf-joint-project-on-international-commerical-law-in-africa&catid=34%3Aspeeches&Itemid=56&lang=en