By Mark Longyen
Abuja, Jan. 26, 2025(NAN) Dr Sintiki Tarfa-Ugbe, ECOWAS Director, Humanitarian and Social Affairs, says ECOWAS collaboration with the African Union in implementing the African Peace and Security Architecture (APS-IV) projects has strengthened the sub-region’s children’s rights protection.
Tarfa-Ugbe made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
She said that under the APSA-IV, the Department’s priority was to focus on children in emergencies, particularly children affected by conflicts in West Africa.
The director noted that West Africa had been faced with the challenges of conflict, insecurity, climate change, natural disasters, which culminated in increasing the number of children needing protection and assistance.
Tarfa-Ugbe said that, through APSA-IV support, her department was able to reduce the challenges faced by vulnerable out-of-school children and children in internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps.
“Indeed, APSA-IV has significantly strengthened ECOWAS capacity in the area of our humanitarian intervention in the region.
“What we have done through the APSA-IV project was to try to work to strengthen the protection of the rights of children in the West African sub-region through our humanitarian interventions.
“We make sure that we work with our member states, with partners, with the civil society on the ground, and network to ensure that we promote the protection of the rights of children in West Africa,” she said.
According to her, the key areas of the collaborative efforts are humanitarian assistance toward ensuring children’s survival, development, protection and participation.
She said ECOWAS also used the APSA-IV project to strengthen the regional governance of child rights protection in line with ECOWAS Child Policy and Strategic Action Plan, which member states had adopted.
The director said that, through APSA-IV, the Humanitarian and Social Affairs Department supported member states by way of humanitarian assistance and capacity building to promote the protection of child rights.
She explained that the task involved implementing coordination efforts to ensure that member states implemented the goals that were within the child rights policy, and supporting their efforts.
“I can tell you we have supported member states’ efforts to protect children, to promote their rights, to ensure their survival, to ensure that participation is pivotal to the regional stability and integration agenda.
“As a regional economic community, we have the commitment to the promotion of child rights within our sub-region because we believe it’s an important pillar for regional stability and security.
“What APSA-IV has done is to strengthen that existing commitment, and make sure that it is not just something that is regional, but also because of the African Union component, which has strengthened collaboration with the African Union,” she said.
Tarfa-Ugbe said that, through APSA-IV funding, the humanitarian intervention focus was on member states, like the Sahel States, which always witnessed high number of children during national emergencies.
She said the capacity building effort focused on APSA-IV implementation in all member states by strengthening their governance systems, legal frameworks, coordination, and advocacy, to the benefits of all members.
While applauding APSA-IV’s complementary efforts, she said that, going forward, there would be the need to look at the challenges faced and the best practises learned, with a view to strengthening the existing work.
“Within the coastal countries, like Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin, we have host communities that are receiving displaced populations.
“It will be good now to go to those host countries to see how we can continue to support them, going forward,” she added.
NAN reports that APSA-IV is an African Union (AU) initiative funded by the European Union (EU) to promote peace and security in Africa, through Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms.
The project, coordinated by the ECOWAS Peace Fund, comprises multiple components contributing to peace support operations, conflict prevention and management, youth peace and security, governance and elections.
The components include the ECOWAS Peace and Security Council, the Panel of the Wise, the Early Warning System, the African Standby Force, Humanitarian Affairs, and the Peace Fund.(NAN)(nannews.ng)
Edited by Vivian Ihechu
