ECOWAS moves to address human protection challenges

A three-day workshop is underway in Accra towards the es­tablishment of an office to coordi­nate the country’s efforts to tackle human trafficking, gender-based violence, exploitation, forced labour and other human protection issues.

The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Protection and Human Security In­tegration Coordination Mechanism (ECO-PHSICM), would work with both state and non-state bodies to boost ongoing efforts to deal with human protection issues.

Organised by the ECOWAS Department of Human Develop­ment and Social Affairs and the government, the workshop, aims to build the capacity of participants on human protection, and deliberate on draft documents for the ECO-PHSICM.

The participants were drawn from ECOWAS Commission and United Nations bodies, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ministry of National Security, Min­istry of Employment and Labour Relations, Ghana Refugees Board and civil society groups.

Opening the workshop, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Re­gional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, in a speech read on her behalf by the Coordinating Director of the Ministry, Perpetua Dufu, said the workshop was well-timed given the humanitarian and human securi­ty situation in the region.

The minister said the situation, arising from factors including the threat of armed conflicts, terrorism, and violent extremism had subjected vulnerable and victimised popula­tions to severe risks.

“The worsening case of child abuse, trafficking in persons, viola­tions of international humanitarian law, gender-based violence, and hu­man-induced conditions that inhibit populations from harmonious living continue to confront countries in increasingly complex and intercon­nected forms.

“This highlights the need for a more comprehensive approach to addressing the issues that instigate human security challenges in the region for the collective good of the citizens of ECOWAS,” Ms Botch­wey said.

She noted that human security had become an extremely serious issue in the West Africa sub region due to worsening social and eco­nomic fortunes, internal conflicts, political instability and civil wars with incidence of violence, affecting governance and socio-economic development.

Ms Botchwey expressed the hope that the ECO-PHSICM when established would aid in coordinat­ing efforts of all stakeholders in promoting the rights and freedoms of people, maintaining their dignity, as well as, ensuring equal opportu­nities for all to enjoy their rights and develop their human potential.

The ECOWAS Resident Repre­sentative in Ghana, Mr Baba Gana Wakil, said training and establish­ment of the mechanism aimed at enhancing the protection of the most vulnerable in society, in response to increased rates of vio­lence, especially against women and children in the region, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said children in the region still faced a high prevalence of violence, including corporal punish­ment, high rates of child marriage, female genital mutilation, physical and sexual abuse, particularly against girls in schools, communities and the tourism sector.

Mr Wakil described the ECO-PHSICM as a unique opportunity to address the country’s human security and protection challenges through an integrated, multi-sectoral and human rights-based approach.

The approach, he said, should be based on dimensions such as strong and enforceable legal, policy and institutional frameworks; proactive and sustainable prevention systems and robust social mobilisation strategy.

 BY JONATHAN DONKOR