ECOWAS COMMISSION Olatunde Olayemi Combating human trafficking training for Non State Actors ECOWAS Counter Trafficking in Persons Unit Olatunde Olayemi

Context of Trafficking in Persons and “Protection” issues in West Africa Widespread poverty in the region Conflicts Problems with governance and weak institutions High levels of migration within the region Widespread displacement occasioned by conflicts, natural disasters or man made disasters Accelerated urbanization Political instability

Legal and Policy Context ECOWAS Revised Statute ECOWAS Protocol on the Mechanism Relating to Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security and its provisions on the control of trans-border crimes ECOWAS Protocol on Good Governance ECOWAS Free Movement Protocols (rights of entry, residence and establishment); ECOWAS Common approach to Migration

Legal and Policy context cont. ECOWAS Policies and Plans of Action: - Combating Trafficking in persons; - Labor Policy and Plan of Action , - Child Policy and Plan of Action; - ECOWAS Child Protection Monitoring and Evaluation Framework ; - ECOWAS Regional Action Plan for the elimination of child labor - ECOWAS Humanitarian Policy and Plan of Action ; - ECOWAS Plan of Action on Implementation of International Humanitarian Laws

Trafficking in persons Definition. The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.

Definition of Trafficking in Persons Cont. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

The Palermo Protocol defines the key elements of trafficking in persons as: The act of recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons; By means of the threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim; For the purpose of exploitation,

FORCED LABOUR The Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), ratified by 177 member States, defines forced labour as: “All work or service that is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily”.

Child Protection Child Protection refers to preventing and responding to violence, exploitation and abuse against children – including commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage etc; and those children who are vulnerable to abuse such as those living without parental care , in conflict with the law and in armed conflicts.

Child labour “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.

Child labour DEFINITION Cont… Child labour is any work that: is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.

In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age.

Child Protection (including child labour) overlaps with human trafficking; These two are components of a larger PROTECTION framework! The Three issues of concern here Counter Trafficking, Child Protection and Forced Labour belong to the category of protection for specially vulnerable persons; the expanded group includes the elderly, IDP’s and the subject of GBV affecting women. Protection of specially vulnerable persons is a component of Human Security ‘freedom from fear’ All the above are important subject matter for governance.

Linkages between Child Protection, Labour and Trafficking Human trafficking overlaps with child protection in the sense that child trafficking constitutes a child protection challenge; the distinction in definition between trafficking in children and in adults should be noted. Child trafficking is also, simultaneously defined as a worst form of child Labour in ILO Convention 182. Child trafficking normally ends in exploitation of children through one of the other worst forms of Labour. Both Child trafficking and Labour are consequences of weaknesses in the protective environment of children. Though there is a need for specialization in addressing issues of child trafficking and child Labour to ensure effective and sustainable protection of children elements of the child protection system broadly speaking should be strengthened. Coordination between the varied sectors is essential.

Key Principles in Implementation. Intersection with the Social Protection Sector M&E at project , programmatic, National and Regional Levels. Whole of Government i.e. National, sub-national and local levels of governance, all relevant government institutions, emphasis on coordination and systemic capacities (vertical and horizontal) Whole of Society i.e. the private sector (formal and informal), CSO’s, local communities, media, faith based groups etc. Based on a Social Ecological Model (SEM) placing the individual at the center of relationships, the community and society at large .

Socio - Ecological Model Society Community Relationship Individual

Forwards and backwards integration must be considered in using the model; There often is a “leap frogging’ of effects between levels; The SEM considers ‘risk’ and ‘protective’ factors in planning interventions; Also ideology, strategy, operations and tactics and techniques must be considered.

ECOWAS Counter Trafficking in Persons Program Heads of States adopted the Initial Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children in 2001 Established a Counter Trafficking in Persons Unit In 2006 organized a Joint Conference with Central Africa and adopted a Joint Plan of Action and Multilateral Cooperation Agreement. Developed a Policy on Protection and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in 2010 Developed Guidelines on Protection , Support and Assistance to Witnesses in 2011.

Established the system of Annual Review of Implementation of the Plan of Action (Network of TIP Focal Points) in 2007 and compilation of Annual Synthesis Reports and Peer Review from 2008 till 2015; Established a Network of Media and Communications practitioners on Counter TIP and Child Protection in 2013; Implementation of counter trafficking components of the FMM from 2014; The plan of action 2007 to 2011 (with continuous implementation till date) has been evaluated and a new plan of action is proposed for 2016 - 2020

Global Objective of the Program. The broader aim is to effectively contribute to the realization of the rights of women and children in West Africa and; Contribute to the peace and security (human security) of ECOWAS and create an appropriate environment for the realization of human development in the region.

Strategic Approach of the TIP Unit Setting standards and Norms Monitoring and Evaluation Capacity Building

Key value added perspectives of the New Plan of Action 2016 -2020 While building on the existing plans, the new plan includes commitments on: Connecting anti-trafficking measures with immigration policy; Providing avenues for safe migration as an alternative to trafficking; Reducing vulnerabilities of individuals and families through social and human security programmes; Providing guidelines on the protection of migrants from exploitation; Establishing or strengthening of labour inspectorates;

Strategic Objectives To ensure Compliance to Appropriate Legal, Policy and Institutional frameworks for preventing and Responding to Trafficking in Persons To strengthen the mechanism to Protect and support victims of Trafficking in Persons To ensure appropriate promotion of special measures to reduce TIP vulnerability rate within the ECOWAS Community, especially among Women and Children To improve the knowledge and exchange of TIP data within the region To strengthen the Capacity of State and Non-State Actors to respond effectively to TIP issues through Specialized trainings To strengthen appropriate measures for authentic and relevant Travel and identity documents within the ECOWAS Community To strengthen the coordination, monitoring and evaluation mechanism for effective and efficient implementation of the 2016-2020 ECOWAS TIP Plan of Action

Theory of change Effective combat of human trafficking requires overall improvement in governance and economic performance of states (inclusive growth); Concerted efforts to combat human trafficking in of themselves amount to an important contribution to improved governance and serves as an entry point not only for the specific combat of human trafficking but for improving government accountability for the ensuring the security and welfare of its citizens; The combat of human trafficking must be undertaken with a clear understanding and linkage with its strategic context and environment, specifically the policing and protection of rights of especially vulnerable persons consequent on age, sex, mental or physical disability and displacement status; for this a concerted strategy is required. Broadly a whole of state and society approach would yield the greatest benefits; ECOWAS has the unique comparative advantages of applying a functionalist model and collective accountability to the combat of human trafficking linked with other categories of threats to human security.

Final comments and going forward For the TIP program: Next steps consist of submission of the new plan of action to the Council of Ministers of ECOWAS for adoption and the Heads of States for Approval; The current internal Strategic Plan of the TIP Unit will be reviewed to ensure alignment with the new Regional Action plan and will prioritize a coordination of action amongst partners to ensure harmonized efforts and achievement of key results within the time frame of the new Plan of Action; The Unit will also promote the implementation of the ECOWAS Protection Framework (focused on linkages between Policies and Action plans to protect especially vulnerable persons) with a focus on coordinated action from within the Commission. An important element of the above is inputting into the development of Governance and Human Rights Indicators for National Human Rights Commissions currently being developed by a sister Department; The foregoing all empty into the overall ECOWAS M&E process which measures achievement of Community objectives against the ECOWAS Vision and Strategic Plan.

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