ECOWAS Member States have been urged to harmonise efforts and enhance implementation of legal texts governing child trafficking and labour to eliminate the scourge in the sub-region.
The call was made at a regional seminar jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), ECOWAS Parliament and UNICEF in Abuja on Wednesday.
In his address, Director, ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Mr Dennis Zulu, said the respect for child rights was critical to development in the sub-region.
Zulu said that the third Global Report on Child Labour revealed that 168 million children were involved in child labour globally with 85 million involved in hazardous work.
“Sixty per cent of the 168 million are involved in agriculture and most of our countries depend on agriculture as the number one sector in our economies.
“Most revealing is the fact that the rural and informal economy account for significant proportion of the children working in child labour.
“It is, therefore, important if we are going to address this problem of child labour and trafficking, we adopt a collective effort involving all stakeholders.
“One of the ways that we are proposing to fight labour and trafficking is through the promotion of international legal standards.
He encouraged member states to ratify ILO conventions that specifically targeted child labour and trafficking.
“This is Convention 138 on the minimum wage and Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour.
“We are also encouraging member states to look at possibilities of ratifying convention 189 on domestic work.
He also encouraged members to enhance implementation of necessary legal texts that addressed child labour and trafficking and commit sufficient funds in their national budgets to fighting the scourge.
“As opinion leaders, we have a responsibility of going out there and speaking about these problems and taking leadership in terms of trying to put in place interventions that will ultimately lead to the elimination and worst forms of child labour.”
In his address, the representative of IPU, Mr Agbre Jean-Albert called on the members of parliament to harmonise their actions for “effective results”.
Jean-Albert also called for enhanced inter-regional parliamentary cooperation to promote a coordinated approach to fighting child trafficking and labour.
“I would like to place particular emphasis on cooperation; the parliament remains a member group of actors whose actions should be harmonised for more effective results.
“I also seize the opportunity to advocate for the strengthening of inter-regional parliamentary cooperation, particularly between West and Central Africa, to render the environment more hostile to child traffickers through concerted and coordinated action.”
He added that the seminar would provide a platform for members to share experiences and explore the possibilities of enhancing legislation on child trafficking and labour.
Jean-Albert also reassured of the continued commitment and support of the IPU.
Declaring the seminar open, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Moustapha Cissé Lo, called for the enhancement of parliamentary efforts in the promotion of child rights in the sub-region.
Cissé Lo said members needed to be “continually vigilant to meet up with the expectations of our peoples”.
“We as parliamentarians can be effective when we consider bills and budgets our countries present to us and concerns relating to human rights should be reflected on.
“We should increase parliamentary efforts towards the promotion of child rights and create the legal environment for the promotion of human rights,” he said.
The two-day regional seminar would examine national and regional synergies in the fight against child trafficking and forced labour.
It would review efforts taken by member states and identify implementation priorities and strategies of member states. (NAN)