ECOWAS Parliament Holds Interactive Session on Eradicating Child Labor in West Africa

Abuja, May 18 (ANP)-The 2^th Vice-President of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), MP Boukary Sani Malam Chaibou chaired, this Thursday, May 18, 2023, an interactive session on child labor in West Africa organized by the parliament with the support of the inter-parliamentary union (IPU) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Placed under the theme ”eradication of child labour: assessment and sustainability of the commitment of the ECOWAS Parliament”, this interactive session aims to impregnate the parliamentarians of the community with the situation of child labor in the West African region. , and to draw their attention to the phenomenon. It was moderated by leading experts in the field.

In his opening remarks, the 2^th vice-president of the ECOWAS parliament, Boukary Sani Malam Chaibou indicated that ”child labor is a complex phenomenon, that is to say, it is difficult to define since any work carried out by children cannot be qualified as child labour”, stating that it is ”public knowledge that neglect of children is the most common form and also the major cause of violation of children’s rights ”.

As a result, ”children’s needs are compromised with the effect of the abandonment and denial of the right to dignity, health and education or inadequate protection and care. This neglect then forces children to engage in activities that pose a threat to their health, education and development,” Boukary Sani Malam suggested.

Yet, he noted, ”various key instruments have been designed to give concrete expression to the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, in particular the conventions which determine the minimum age for admission to employment, and prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor by States parties”.

For the 2^th vice-president of the ECOWAS parliament, this is ”discouraging and testifies to the lack of political will for the development and well-being of our children whom we pretentiously call future leaders”.

He, however, said he was “delighted to report that the ECOWAS Parliament in particular, as well as the other institutions of the Community, and our partners, continue to work together to ensure that the rights of the child are protected, preserved and promoted at all costs, at all levels and at all times.

Also, continued Boukary Sani Malam, “at the regional level, a draft Regulation adopting the ECOWAS regional action plan relating to the elimination of child labor and forced labor” is tabled by the ECOWAS commission for an opinion before the community parliament.

”While there is still a long way to go, I also rejoice that we have not yet lost the fight in our quest to eradicate the pervasive threat of child labour,” he said. he remarks while calling for ”strengthening efforts to move forward and work together to achieve the goals we have set ourselves”.

Speaking on this occasion, the Secretary General of the IPU, Mr. Martin Chungong insisted on magnifying the collaboration between his institution and the ECOWAS Parliament before recognizing, too, that ”child labor’ ‘ is a real threat.

He then advocated the establishment of a coalition to fight against the phenomenon whose main cause lies in poverty.

”The IPU intends to support the ECOWAS parliament in its strategy to combat child labour,” he announced.

As for the Nobel Peace Prize, Kailash Satyarthi, founder of the Kalash Satyarthu Childen’s Foundation, he indicated that parliamentarians represent ”the dream of millions of children, voiceless and are the builders” and for this, he has called for more ”investments for children so that they can take care of themselves”.

It should be noted that these interventions were followed by a panel on the initiatives undertaken by the ECOWAS Parliament with the support of the IPU, how to build a strong alliance against child labor and on the sharing of national good practices in the region. .

This panel was an opportunity to explain to parliamentarians the different actions of the community institution in the fight against child labor, the need to form an alliance against the phenomenon and share experiences, through resource persons , from some countries that have already made progress in the field.

A debate ensued with contributions and requests for clarification from parliamentarians on the issue.

The ECOWAS parliament is made up of 115 deputies from the 15 national assemblies of the member countries of the community space.

AS/ANP 0130 mai 2023