Aidoghie Paulinus, Niamey
The Economic Community of West African States Parliament has called on states and governments of ECOWAS member states to tackle the causes of illegal migration in the sub-region.
The ECOWAS Parliament, in its declaration on migration in West Africa yesterday in Niamey, Republic of Niger, at the end of a three-day Parliamentary Sensitisation Forum on Migration in West Africa, further called on member states to tackle the causes through awareness-raising, education and training, as well as through good governance in order to motivate the young people to remain in their home territories.
The ECOWAS Parliament also called on member states to promote economic alternatives to the trafficking in the region and to develop the resilience of local populations by improving access to basic services and creating employment opportunities, particularly for the young people. Also, ECOWAS Parliament further called on the member states to “also promote an alternative to the underground economy of illegal trafficking of migrants and human trafficking by creating new sources of revenue for the communities affected or in the process of being affected by trafficking in the transit countries.”
Similarly, the ECOWAS Parliament reaffirmed the need to promote and effectively defend the fundamental freedoms and rights of all migrants, particularly women and children, irrespective of their migratory status. It also reaffirmed the need by member states to address the issue of international migrants through cooperation and international, regional or bilateral dialogue, avoiding approaches that could make them even more vulnerable.
The ECOWAS Parliament also called for the involvement of the major social actors such as the non-governmental organisations and other civil society stakeholders, as well as the local authorities in the development and implementation of migration policies and programmes.