By Hannah Dadzie
ECOWAS has agreed on a roadmap for ensuring human security in the sub-region. At the closing ceremony of a 3-day capacity-building workshop for multi-stakeholders on Protection and Human Security in Accra, stakeholders came to the conclusion that collaboration between member states is key to stemming the problem of human insecurity in West Africa.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, was hopeful the deliberations would go a long way towards effectively addressing Ghana’s human security and protection challenges to promote sustainable development. She asked ECOWAS member states to continue to engage in constructive dialogue to address the complex challenges confronting the subregion.
The workshop was aimed at the development and adoption of a road map as well as the establishment of an ECOWAS Integrated Protection and Human Security Coordination Mechanisms. It was also to strengthen the protection and human security architecture in all ECOWAS Member States.
The discussions recognised that human insecurity has become a major threat in the subregion. After deliberations, there was the need for a roadmap to achieve better coordination and human security response. The ECOWAS Commission reiterated its commitment to support the Government and people of Ghana and all ECOWAS Member States in creating a region that respects human rights and guarantees security.
In a closing remark read on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the Director Regional Integration Bureau at the Ministry, Neematu Ziblim Adam, called for improved funding for institutions to resolve human security challenges. She expressed gratitude to ECOWAS for the workshop, which she described as timely.
“For the past three days, we have been deliberating on issues of human security and how we can at the national policy-making level ensure the protection of the citizen of Ghana and the sub-region. The presentations and discussions the workshop generated are testaments to the importance of human security to the development of our countries. I am confident that the knowledge gained and the expectations shared during this workshop will go a long way in strengthening our collective effort towards protecting human security and promoting sustainable development,” Madam Ayorkor Botchwey noted.
National Network Coordinator for WANEP-Ghana, Albert Yelyang, encouraged the media to help change the narrative of human insecurity in the subregion.
“For all of us representing the institutions are reservoirs of work because a lot is going on in each of the institutions—civil society, the government in particular, and the media. We need to carry the media along, not just for them to cover our programs and disappear, but they need to understand our programming that will help us make the changes that we want to make. That is why cooperation and collaboration are very important,” Mr. Yelyang said.
Executive Director, of Ghana Federation of Disability, Dr. Peter Obeng Asamoa, appealed to ECOWAS to champion the African Disability Protocol to enhance the protection of human security, especially the vulnerable in society.
“Everything we have discussed over these three days has almost a bearing on the African disability protocol. I will appeal to ECOWAS to kindly promote the African Disability Protocol in all the member countries of ECOWAS. This protocol is something that will enhance the issues of protection and human security for not only persons with disabilities but for all of us,” Dr. Obeng Asamoa appealed.
Participants described the workshop as insightful and hoped that the outcome of the deliberations would ensure human security.
The workshop was organised by the Department of Human Development and Social Affairs of ECOWAS in collaboration with the Government of Ghana.