By Bill W. Cooper
Parliamentarians of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are seeking to review of all international agreements entered into by their governments.
The lawmakers added that a proper review is to ensure those Agreements do not contain any clause that would have negative impacts on benchmarks and targets for the Sub-region.
Meanwhile, the ECOWAS Parliamentarians are also calling all member states to design an educational program for girls and boys to ensure that no child is left behind.
In the resolution read by the delegates over the weekend at the ECOWAS just ended 5th Delocalized meeting held in Monrovia, the meeting stressed the need for member states to embark on an educational advocacy campaign within the region.
The ECOWAS resolution seeks inter-member state cooperation and coordination on the issue of child marriage especially in cases of children who are smuggled from one country and forced into marriage in another country.
The Sub-regional body further stressed the need for member states to organize a regional conference on FGM to develop a strong regional policy on the matter that includes measures that criminalize its practice and contain punitive measures to be taken if caught.
The ECOWAS resolution is also calling for the crafting of a regional affirmative bill or a regional common approach on gender parity that is fair and balanced intended to ensure that there is at least one woman from every delegation represented in the Bureaux of Standing Committees in order for women to take part in the decision-making process.
The resolution also wants a sensitization mission to be undertaken on the need to build the capacities and self-confidence of women as well as advocate for the elaboration of a community text on gender parity.
“There should be organizing of an urgent meeting with every member states’ Gender Minister and the ECOWAS Commission to discuss the issue of women’s participation in politics as well as to institute regular boarder visits to oversee gender issues and discuss with the women informal cross border traders,” the resolution added.