he Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament) has scheduled a Joint Committee Meeting in Freetown, Sierra Leone between Paril 8 and 12, to address the issue of child protection.

The committees include those on Social Affairs, Gender, Women Empowerment and Persons with Disabilities.

Others are, Legal Affairs and Human Rights; Trade, Customs and Free Movement; Political Affairs, Peace, Security and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

With a theme, ‘Parliamentary Approaches to Safeguarding Children in Street Situations and Addressing Child Exploitation in the ECOWAS Region’, the meeting is consistent with the institution’s mandate of legislative oversight to promote Member States’ effective implementation of ECOWAS child protection commitments.

Member States have adopted the ECOWAS Child Policy and Strategic Plan of Action (2019–2030) and the ECOWAS Gender Strategy, both of which provide normative frameworks for preventing and responding to child vulnerability across the region.

However, across West Africa, economic insecurity, rapid urbanisation, displacement and recurring humanitarian crises have contributed to a growing number of children living or working on the streets.

“These children tend to face serious and compounding risks, including exploitation, hazardous labour, violence, substance abuse and limited access to essential protection services.

“Though legal frameworks exist in many Member States, inconsistencies in implementation, resource constraints and weak cross-sector coordination continue to reduce their effectiveness.
In a region marked by porous borders and significant intra-regional mobility, differences in legal standards, child protection procedures, data systems and enforcement capacity can create dangerous protection gaps, particularly for children who cross borders or engage in informal economic activities”, said the Parliament.

It added that there is therefore, a clear need for harmonised legislative approaches, enhanced parliamentary oversight, and strengthened inter-parliamentary collaboration to ensure that regional commitments translate into tangible safeguards for children of West Africa.

“It must be stated that the choice of Freetown as the host city of the meeting of the Joint Committee is deliberate, given Sierra Leone’s adoption of the revised Child Rights Act (2025), which represents a significant progress in aligning national legislation with international and African child protection standards. The Member State’s ongoing reform efforts, encompassing institutional coordination, social welfare delivery, data systems and community-based protection mechanisms make it a key reference point for peer learning and regional exchange.

Members of the Parliamentary Joint Committee and other participants at the meeting are expected to review Sierra Leone’s national strategies and service delivery systems as a model for broader application across ECOWAS Member States.

In the course of the five-day meeting, participants will engage in a participatory and field-oriented programme structured around four key components: