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ECOWAS AND ITS PARTNERS PLAN ACTIVITIES TO IMPLEMENT THE REGIONAL DIMENSION OF THE PROJECT TO SUPPORT THE PROTECTION OF CHILD VICTIMS OF RIGHTS VIOLATIONS (PAPEV) IN WEST AFRICA.
Dakar, January 30, 2020. The implementation of the regional dimension of the Support Project for the Protection of Children Victims of Violations of their Rights (PAPEV) officially kicked off this Thursday, January 30, 2020 with the strategic planning meeting at the conference room of the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) in Dakar, Senegal. The opening ceremony was chaired by Dr Bolanlé ADETOUN, Director of the ECOWAS Centre for Gender Development (CCDG), representing Dr Siga Fatima JAGNE, ECOWAS Commissioner for Gender and Social Affairs.
The event was attended by several representatives of regional partner institutions working in the field of child protection, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Senegalese Ministries in charge of children and justice, the NGO ENDA Tiers-Monde, the International Social Service-West Africa (ISS-WA) and the West African Network for Child Protection (RAO).
The main aim of this 2-day meeting is to exchange views with regional child protection organizations on the provisions and strategies for implementing the PAPEV in the 6 beneficiary countries, with a view to assessing their level of understanding and knowledge of the project, and also to draw up a joint work program for implementing the initiative.
As a reminder, the PAPEV is an initiative of the OHCHR’s Regional Office for West Africa, implemented by ECOWAS through its Gender Operational Centre, the CCDG. It is financed by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
The project, which involves six ECOWAS countries – Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger and Senegal – aims to reinforce initiatives already undertaken against child exploitation and abuse at national level, which need to be sustained by an integrated regional approach.
Its aim is to contribute to the achievement of the MDGs, in particular MDGs 16 and 5, by implementing the recommendations of international and regional mechanisms for the protection of children’s rights, aimed at creating a safe and just environment for child victims of violations of their rights, as well as their legal, judicial and social care in the ECOWAS region.
Three (3) main activities are planned for the CCDG: strengthening or supporting the creation of child protection centers; carrying out a pilot project involving the 6 beneficiary countries, in order to develop experiences and best practices for promoting the return of trafficked children; and finally, intensive advocacy with decision-makers to support the reform process and child protection laws in West Africa.