Abuja: In a sweeping resolution, the ECOWAS Parliament has ordered member states to take urgent steps to protect vulnerable children, stamp out exploitation, and permanently remove children from the streets across West Africa.
This landmark resolution was approved during the parliament’s ongoing 2026 First Ordinary Session, held on Thursday in Abuja, providing a platform for member states to strengthen unified actions.
They also mandated the parliament’s speaker to transmit the resolution and the joint committee report to the ECOWAS Commission’s President for onward submission to the Chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers.
The MPs noted that ”street children, who are usually exposed to the gravest human rights abuses, are among the most neglected groups in society.”
The parliamentarian’s decision follows recommendations from a delocalised meeting of its Joint Committee, held earlier in April in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The committee covers Social Affairs, Gender, Women’s Empowerment, People with Disabilities, Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Trade, Customs, and Free Movement.
ECOWAS member states are to adopt and implement comprehensive domestic strategies for street children, with clear objectives, timelines, and dedicated budgetary allocations in line with international child rights standards.
“Member states are also urged to strengthen the enforcement of child protection laws and ensure that street children have access to free, inclusive education, healthcare, birth registration, identity documents, and child-friendly justice systems,” the resolution said.
The resolution calls on the ECOWAS Commission to establish a unified regional framework addressing street children, guiding member states and promoting a coordinated response across the subregion.
The ECOWAS Commission should enhance its Child Rights Information Management System to enable data-driven policy decisions and strengthen regional coordination by collaborating with governments, civil society organisations, and development partners.
The lawmakers stressed the need to tackle the root causes of the street children crisis by expanding social protection programmes for vulnerable families, particularly single-parent households affected by poverty, displacement, and family breakdown.“The parliament recommends preventive measures, such as community child protection mechanisms, parental support services, psychosocial assistance, and public awareness campaigns to combat discrimination and social exclusion, integrating these strategies into the overall resolution framework.n.
Recognising the cross-border nature of child trafficking and exploitation, the parliament calls for referral systems. The resolution urges member states to adopt safe repatriation protocols and information-sharing mechanisms to better protect children on the move, it stated.
It also stressed the need to scale up capacity-building support for national institutions. Key areas include child protection, child-friendly justice, and law enforcement. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Thursday’s sitting focused on the overarching theme: “Parliamentary Approach to the Protection of Street Children and the Fight Against the Exploitation of Children in the ECOWAS Region,” framing the session’s discussions and the resultant resolutions.