African Union Campaign Against Trafficking Launched for Ecowas

26 March 2010
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Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

Abuja — Participants at a joint African Union/ECOWAS programme on human trafficking that ended on 26th March 2010 have recommended a variety of initiatives under a three-tier arrangement that would enable countries of origin, transit and destination address the dimensions of the menace, particularly as it affects women and children.

At the continental and regional levels, they called for strategic partnership and cooperation arrangements among countries of origin, transit and destination in Africa, the Arab world and other regions while ensuring coherence between bilateral and multilateral agreements to address the challenge of trafficking.

Moreover, they stressed the desirability of a mechanism for information and data exchange and for reporting the status of implementation of the Ouagadougou plan of action agreed by the African Union Council of Ministers.

The joint programme was meant to evaluate the status of implementation of the plan and launch the ECOWAS phase of the African Union Commission Campaign Initiative against Trafficking (AU.COMMIT) which seeks to galvanise the various stakeholders for a synergised and coordinated in combating human trafficking.

Among the actions recommended for national level implementation is the designation and equipment of a focal agency with responsibility for coordinating the implementation of the plan and which should network with regional communities and undertake multi-level prevention and awareness campaigns.

Participants said that regional level institutions should ensure the creation of a mechanism for information flow for the purpose of monitoring and evaluation; support fundraising efforts for targeted actions and assist in ascertaining national, regional and continental centres of excellence that need to be supported. They also challenged the AU to revise its definition of human trafficking so that it becomes 'clear, succinct and fully encapsulating' and to support other activities in the areas of lobbying governments in support of the implementation of the plan, design and launch a tool for formation flow and establish a continental one stop shop for technical support for the various stakeholders.

The participants also acknowledged some critical deficiencies including ' a general lack of understanding of the scope and dimensions of trafficking, the lack of followup, monitoring and evaluation of implementation, the dearth of institutional structures, resource constraints and the lack of partnerships.'

Read the original article on Ecowas.

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