The Monrovia office of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has embarked on a three-day round-table dialogue and capacity building of stakeholders aimed at strengthening mechanisms for human security.
The workshop, which commenced September 14, is expected to end on Friday, September 16.
In her welcome remarks, the ECOWAS Commission Ambassador accredited near Monrovia, Josephine Nkrumah, noted that “Human Security as a concept connotes the rights of people to live in freedom and dignity with freedom from fear and want, with equal opportunity to enjoy their rights and develop their human potential.”
“Persons most affected by rights and human security violations are women and children, migrants, displaced persons including refugees and internally displaced persons,” Nkrumah said, adding that “Interventions to address these challenges require a coordinated approach for protection of vulnerable persons in our regional community to address, amongst others, issues ranging from International Humanitarian Law, Trafficking in Persons, Sexual and Gender Based Violence and Child Rights, notably, Child Labor, Violence Against Children including Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.”
She said that like many other aspects of life and living, Covid-19 further exposed the weaknesses and/or lack of systems to provide human protection and security particularly for the vulnerable groups, and that of all vulnerable groups, evidence shows that women and children particularly suffered the predominant shadow pandemic of abuse at home.
She added that other vulnerable groups including ‘at risk youth’ (drug addicted) “suffered major setbacks with the withdrawal of interventions to rehabilitate them into contributing members of society. Refugees were not left out of the scarring of Covid -19 in providing basic amenities for such persons,” she said.
“The ECOWAS Integrated Protection and Human Security Integrated approach for interventions towards building resilient systems has targeted 8 countries — Liberia inclusive — to undertake high level advocacy and capacity building to drive interventions in the areas of IHL, TIP, SGBV, Social Protection, Drug Prevention and Control and Child Rights Texts,” Nkrumah said.
She named Niger, Senegal, Benin, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde and Ghana as member countries to benefit too.
“So far, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria have benefited from these interventions and capacity building workshops organized and implemented by ECOWAS,” the ECOWAS Ambassador noted.
She pointed out that prevailing realities within the sub region portray that with regards to human security and protection, specifically pertaining weaknesses in the rule of law and observance of fundamental human rights, general weaknesses in the administrative capacities require both a social mobilization approach embracing civil society and non-state actors as well as strengthening of systems within the state actors space who address these challenges to strengthen the protection web and empowerment of all people.
Nkrumah said that the workshop is drawn from cross cutting stakeholders to fashion out a harmonization of protection methodologies, synergizing and synchronizing efforts to prevent and address vulnerabilities, victimization and other related risks.
“Within the ECOWAS framework of texts on Conflict Prevention and many ECOWAS policies on Child Protection, Plans of Action on Trafficking In Persons, Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labor, Women Peace and Security, ECOWAS seeks to mobilize its Community Citizens to drive and benefit from an ECOWAS of people with enhanced institutional capacity in mainstreaming a whole of government, State and Society protection and human security approach in national development plans,” she told the gathering.
The West African diplomat expressed hope that at the end of the workshop, data on the vulnerability of a number of people, mainly women and children, will be shared by relevant and concerned government ministries and agencies responsible so as to navigate the paths of ideas to curtail the deadly menaces.
Osondu Ekeh, Project Officer in the Human Security and Civil Society Division at ECOWAS Commission delivered the workshop’s overview on behalf of Dr. Sintiki Ugbe, director of Human and Social Affairs Department of Human Development and Social Affairs of ECOWAS Commission.
Ekeh said that the three day workshop is a component of the ECOWAS integrated Protection and Human Security Intervention in Liberia.
He explained further that the intervention in Liberia is a continuation of implementation of a new programming approach by the Human Security and Civil Society (HSCS) division of ECOWAS Commission which he said started in 2021 and had already taken place in Gambia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo and Niger.
As noted by the ECOWAS Ambassador, he said eight other countries, including Liberia will benefit this year (2022).
He pointed out that the main outcome of the intervention is to ensure there is substantial improvement in national coordination and capacity to prevent and address vulnerabilities, victimization and other related risks including human trafficking, smuggling of migrants, advance the protection of persons vulnerable to sexual and gender based violence as well as address child rights violations, drug abuse, access to justice, lack of social protection, amongst other protection and human security concerns.
Liberia’s Justice Minister, Cllr. Frank Musa Dean, declared his ministry’s unflinching support to the ECOWAS effort.
He said Liberia is a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Convention against Transnational Organized Crimes, specifically trafficking in persons. He said the UN Convention, known as the Palermo Convention was signed in Palermo, Italy, in December of 2000.
“In fulfilling and upholding its obligations, in 2005, Liberia criminalized human trafficking by domesticating both the international and regional Conventions on human trafficking through an Act of the National Legislature — the 2005 TIP ACT,” Minister Dean said.
He said amongst other things, Liberia sets the basis for its commitment to fight against trafficking in persons.
“The Act also provides for the creation of a National Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce, with a secretariat and a board of directors, currently chaired by the Minister of Labor and Co-chaired by the Ministry of Justice. The Taskforce continues to spearhead Liberia’s fight against human trafficking,” he explained.
Minister Dean said in time there was a Legislative amendment that included Money Laundering and illegal migrant labor. He mentioned 2013 as the year the amendment was done.
He emphasized that his office will work with ECOWAS to ensure there is success in the establishment of the ECOWAS Protection and Human Security Integrated Coordination Mechanisms.
The Ministries of Finance, Gender and Social Protection, as well as other line ministries and agencies, were present at the opening ceremony.
Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor sent a special message of encouragement to the forum by one of her lieutenants even though she is in Tanzania attending a forum on women affairs and other continental issues of relevance.
