LAGOS: The ECOWAS Commission and the International Labor Organization (ILO) have agreed to work closely in addressing the challenges of child labor in West Africa. This was one of the decisions reached by officials of the two organizations after a meeting at the Commission's Abuja headquarters in late February. It was also agreed that ECOWAS should coordinate and harmonize national plans against child labor with a regional plan. The meeting discussed the Interim Report on Needs Assessment of Child Labor in West Africa presented to the Commission's Humanitarian and Social Affairs Directorate, by Professor Amadu Sesay and an ILO delegate. Presenting the report, Professor Sesay, a consultant from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in Nigeria, identified poverty as one of the fundamental causes of child labor in the region, adding that “11 of the 15 ECOWAS Member States ranked amongst the 50 poorest countries in the world.” The consultant also mentioned cultural influence as another reason behind the prevalence of child labor in sub-Saharan Africa. He said that “due to the lack of monitoring of child education or well being, many were children forced into labor or sold into slavery.” According to Professor Sesay, “the limited success recorded in the region on the war against child labor, especially in its worst forms, could also be linked with the fact that some of the activities took place in cocoa plantations/farms in three major counties of the region – Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria, which among them produce 70 percent of the world's cocoa beans used in the chocolate and coffee industry abroad.” He, however, commended development partners such as the UK, USA, ILO and some international media organizations for supporting the campaign against child labor in West Africa and called for synergy among the anti-child labor units in the ECOWAS Commission and for capacity strengthening. In her contribution, Bolanle Adetoun, a Principal Program Officer on Gender and Child issues at the Commission, explained that ongoing efforts were in support of the Commission's child development policy. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/W73LH Tags: Child Labor, Cocoa, ECOWAS, ILO Section: Human Rights, Latest News, West Africa
