About WACSOF

The West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) is the umbrella network of civil society organizations from the 15 member countries of ECOWAS. WACSOF envisions a well organized and vibrant civil society in West Africa and a stable and prosperous West African region.

Press Release

WACSOF Welcomes President Tinubu’s Order for Immediate Release of Minors Arrested During #EndBadGovernance Protests

6 November 2024
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Press Statement – 5/11/2024

The West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) commends the recent decision by President Bola Tinubu to order the immediate release of all minors detained during the #EndBadGovernance protests that took place across Nigeria in August.

We recognize the President’s swift action in response to the public outrage surrounding the unlawful detention of minors, and we strongly support his directive to ensure their prompt and safe return to their families. This decision aligns with Nigeria’s legal obligations under both regional and international human rights frameworks that prioritize the protection of children’s rights.

In particular, WACSOF highlights that this move is in line with the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), to which Nigeria is a signatory. Article 5 of the ACRWC states that “no child shall be deprived of liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily,” and emphasizes that any form of detention must adhere to principles that serve the best interests of the child. The unlawful detention of minors without consideration for their well-being and legal protections directly violates this principle. WACSOF applauds the President for addressing this issue and safeguarding the welfare of minors involved in the protests.

Additionally, we note that the ECOWAS Child Policy 2019-2030 provides a robust framework for the protection of children’s rights across West Africa, calling for the establishment of child protection systems that ensure the security and welfare of all children, especially during times of political unrest. In particular, the Policy stresses the importance of ensuring that “children are protected from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation” (Article 3.2). The Policy also advocates for the promotion of children’s rights to legal protection, fair treatment, and access to justice, particularly in cases where minors are arrested or detained in the course of public demonstrations or protests.

WACSOF further welcomes the President’s instructions to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to ensure the immediate welfare of the minors and facilitate their safe reunification with their parents or guardians. These actions resonate with the ECOWAS Child Policy’s commitment to ensuring the social reintegration and rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law, as well as the ACRWC’s directive that children deprived of their liberty should be treated with respect for their human dignity and should receive care that promotes their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

As an organization committed to the protection and promotion of human rights across West Africa, WACSOF calls for continued adherence to both regional and international frameworks for child protection, including the ECOWAS Child Policy 2019-2030 and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. We advocate for ongoing transparency and accountability regarding the legal processes tied to these protests and urge all stakeholders to uphold the rights of children in all circumstances, particularly in their interactions with the law.

WACSOF will continue to monitor developments closely and remains dedicated to ensuring that the rights of all children in West Africa are protected and promoted in accordance with established international and regional standards.

For further information, please contact:

WACSOF Secretariat: 8, Jaba Close, off Dunukofia Street, Area 11, Abuja, Nigeria 

Email: contactwacsof@gmail.com , info@wacsofoscao.org  

Phone: +234 903 3939 809

James Ugochukwu

General Secretary

West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF)

Key References:

  1. African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC): 
  2. Article 5: “No child shall be deprived of liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily.”
  3. Article 17: States that children in conflict with the law should be treated with dignity, with a focus on their rehabilitation.
  • ECOWAS Child Policy 2019-2030: 
  • Article 3.2: Calls for the protection of children from violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
  • Article 6.4: Emphasizes the need for child protection systems to ensure children’s rights are respected, including their welfare during legal proceedings or political unrest.

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2024 WACSOF PEOPLES FORUM

16 September 2024
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Categories: News, News Letter, Press Release

9th – 10th October 2024

The WACSOF Peoples Forum is a very important tool for mobilizing civil society to contribute to regional integration and development in West Africa. It is a gathering of representatives of West African CSOs and partners under the auspices of WACSOF. In accordance with Article 6(3) (a) of the WACSOF Charter, the Peoples Forum is the supreme policy organ of WACSOF to provide sustained guidance to the Secretariat in implementing the organization’s mandate. The Peoples Forum meets every 2 years to convene a General Assembly, which is a forum to review WACSOF’s impact and institutional effectiveness along the following key lines:

  • A review of the results and outcomes of WACSOF’s programs and activities towards increasing their relevance and impact;
  • Review of the organization’s policies and strategies to identify and address critical operational issues that affect organizational effectiveness and efficiency;
  • Renewing the mandate of its governance structures through the election of a new Executive Committee (Administrative Board); and,
  • Identification of new priorities to inform its work over a period of 2 years through analytical discussions of the prevailing regional context of West Africa

It has been 8 years since the last WACSOF Peoples Forum was convened in 2016. This situation has created a gap in the organization’s normal institutional development process, creating a situation that leaves the institution struggling to assert its relevance and impact. This fundamental institutional challenge also leaves WACSOF gradually descending into the abyss

of ineffectiveness that demands urgent attention. It is within this context that the 2024 WACSOF Peoples Forum shall be convened on 9th -10th October 2024 under the theme, “Strengthening WACSOF for greater impact in an ECOWAS of Peoples.”

Goal and Objectives of the 2024 WACSOF Peoples Forum

The overall goal of the 2023 WACSOF Peoples Forum is to initiate a process of institutional renewal for WACSOF through a refresh of the organization’s leadership and the adoption of key priorities for deepening the organization’s impact into the future.

Specific objectives of the Forum include the following:

  1. To adopt a practical and indicative roadmap for increasing the overall institutional effectiveness of WACSOF including the strengthening of its institutional set-up and deepening the relevance of its engagement
  2. To select new Executive Committee Members for effective policy-level guidance and oversight in the implementation of the organization’s activities and programs

Description of Activities

In relation to the theme of institutional strengthening, the forthcoming WACSOF Peoples Forum will not just be an event that takes place during the officially designated meeting days. It would build-up from the national level and come together at the regional level during the official two meeting days of the Peoples Forum. Hence, the process shall begin with a set of pre-forum national consultations.

Below is a description of the sequence of activities to be carried out as part of the 2024 WACSOF Peoples Forum activities:

  1. Pre-Forum National Consultations
  2. Main Sessions of the WACSOF Peoples Forum

Pre-Forum National Consultations

In the build up to the 2024 WACSOF Peoples Forum, the WACSOF Secretariat in collaboration with the Members of the Planning and Organizing Committee from each country

shall carry out a series of Pre-Forum National Consultative Meetings to lay a solid path towards the conduct of an inclusive 2024 WACSOF Peoples Forum. These national Consultations shall serve the purpose of effectively examining the national conditions of each country as well as isolate the key priorities of civil society in the different countries. The national consultations, which will take place between 10th September 2024 and 8th October 2024 for all the countries and shall have the following objectives:

  1. To examine different aspects of the national contexts in the different countries and identify key emerging issues and entry points for civil society engagement.
  2. To review the thoughts and perspectives of civil society concerning the various challenges that WACSOF is currently facing.
  3. To select delegates that shall represent each country during the main sessions of the WACSOF Peoples Forum
  4. To elect Members that shall represent the different countries on the executive Committee (this objective is mainly for countries that are eligible to take up seats in the WACSOF Executive Committee, including Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia, Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau).

Insights from these national level meetings will be synthesized into a summary report that shall be presented during the main sessions of the WACSOF Peoples Forum on 9th & 10th October 2024.

Main Sessions of the 2024 WACSOF Peoples Forum

The WACSOF Peoples Forum would hold in accordance with the following configuration:

Day 1: 9th October 2024 [11:00 GMT – 15:00 GMT]

  • Session 1[15 Minutes]: Opening Session
  • Session 2 [45 Minutes]: Discussion on the theme: WACSOF – Past, Present and Future (It will underscore the history, evolution and current challenges of WACSOF and provide suggestions for the Way Forward) – by General Secretary
  • Session 3 [60 Minutes]: Discussion of issues in the National context of each country (Summary reports of national level consultations, including announcement of nominations of New Executive Committee Members) – by Members of the Planning and organizing committee from each country;
  • Health Break [15 Minutes]
  • Session 4 [45 Minutes]: Review of contextual developments in West Africa with relevance to civil society engagement;
  • Session 5 [20 Minutes]: General Commentary;
  • Session 6 [10 Minutes]: Closing Session

Day 2: 10th October 2024 [11:00 GMT – 13:00 GMT]

  • 1st Meeting of the New Executive Committee: Meeting shall be to discuss and adopt key priorities for WACSOF going forward, based on discussions during the Peoples Forum

Click to access Concept Note: [link to https://wacsofoscao.org/concept-note/

Click to register for the event [link to registration form/ meeting link]

WACSOF CONVENES INNAUGURAL MEETING OF COMMITTEE TO CONENE THE 2024 WACSOF PEOPLES FORUM

16 September 2024
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Categories: Blog, News, News Letter, Press Release

16th September 16, 2024

The West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), the umbrella body of civil society organizations in West Africa has initiated the process to convene its 2024 General Assembly, also called a “Peoples Forum”. This is a bold step forward considering that WACSOF has not been able to convene such a meeting since the last one was held in February 2016 due to lingering operational challenges, which have affected the organization’s proper functioning over the years.

Hence, as part of a plan for institutional renewal, the WACSOF General Secretary, Mr. Kop’ep Dabugat, appointed a committee of 18 civil society representatives from different countries across West Africa to support the WACSOF Secretariat in organizing the next peoples Forum before the end of 2024. During its inaugural meeting held on 10th September 2024, the committee adopted certain fundamental plans to guide the conduct of the 2024 WACSOF Peoples Forum. Among these plans is the adoption of 9th -10th October 2024 as the tentative date for the meeting to be held virtually.

During the meeting, the WACSOF General Secretary emphasized that the WACSOF Peoples Forum is a gathering of the representatives of a wide spectrum of civil society organizations in West Africa and partners to adopt critical plans for the organization’s smooth functioning. According to Article 6(3) (a) of the WACSOF Charter, the Peoples Forum is the supreme policy organ of the institution, providing sustained guidance to shape the general actualization of the organization’s mandate. The People’s Forum is supposed to meets every 2 years to renew the organization’s vision and leadership. These very important points were emphasized by the General Secretary

As organizations everywhere are always seeking the opportunity to improve and do better to ensure their mandate is achieved excellently, the convening of the next Peoples Forum can be seen as a very crucial moment. In practical terms, the next WACSOF Peoples Forum provides a platform for review of the forums impact and institutional effectiveness along several lines. First, the Peoples Forum will serve as an opportunity to review the results and outcomes of WACSOF’s programs and activities towards increasing their relevance and impact. Second, it will also provide an opportunity to review the organization’s policies and strategies to identify and address critical operational issues that affect organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Third, it is an opportunity to renew the mandate of WACSOF’s governance structures through the election of a new Executive Committee (Administrative Board). Fourthly, the peoples Forum will also provide the avenue for the identification of new priorities to inform WACSOF’s future plans.

The Planning and Organizing Committee for the 2024 WACSOF Peoples Forum shall reconvene on Thursday 19th September 2024 to take final decisions on the plans for the forum. Committee Members include Mr. Sidikou Moussa (President EPAD, Niger), who will serve as Chairman and Mr. Omang Dave (Executive Director Changing Dreams 2 Life, Eduradio, Nigeria) as Secretary. Other members of the committee include, Matthias Mahnboe Yeaney (Executive Director IREDD/ InfoQuest, Liberia), Mr. Alhassane Konah Balde (Executive Director CPJ, Guinea) – Member, Mr. Salieu Kamara (President SCRC, Sierra Leone) – Member, Mr. Siddikh Nias (President RADDOH, Senegal) – Member, Mr. Tiemoko Sangare (President FDS, Mali) – Mamber, Ms. Indira Correia (Guinea Bissau) – Member, Mr. Guerri Gomez (Guinea Bissau) – Member, Mr. Felix, Best Agorvor (Ghana). Other members of the Committee are yet to formally confirm acceptance of their appointment on the committee.

https://wacsofoscao.org/report-of-the-inaugural-meeting-of-the-organizing-committee-for-the-2024-wacsof-peoples-forum/Click to read full Committee Meeting Report [Link to Committee Meeting Report]

ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof. Fatou Sow Saar, Calls for Resolution of WACSOF’S Current Challenges

7 May 2024
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Categories: Press Release

The General Secretary of the West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), Mr. Kop’ep Dabugat, paid a courtesy visit to the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr as the official entry point of WACSOF to ECOWAS. The purpose of the visit was to brief her on the current state of WACSOF and request the partnership of ECOWAS in addressing matters crucial to its smooth operation and functioning for greater impact in supporting the ECOWAS agenda.

During the meeting, Mr. Dabugat informed Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr that despite the internal challenges being experienced by the organization of recent, WACSOF is back in business, and waxing stronger. He also mentioned that the organization’s secretariat is now fully operational, with a strong communications infrastructure in place, and with a set of focused outreach programs being rolled out to effectively mobilize and engage the civil society across the region. He added that the organization has initiated several programs to address emerging developments across the region as well as to strengthen its institutional processes and systems. He added that the organization plans to convene its Peoples’ Forum (General Assembly) in July 2024.

Concerning the current internal situation of WACSOF, Mr. Dabugat informed the Commissioner that while WACSOF continues to struggle with its challenges, the civil society space across the region continues to remain in disarray. Hence, he drew her attention to the need for ECOWAS to intervene. He further informed her that in order to finally address the current internal situation in WACSOF, the organization’s secretariat is currently engaging ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security (PAPS), Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah and his team towards convening a dialogue and mediation process. While thanking her for receiving him, Mr. Dabugat emphasized his commitment to the goal of reclaiming and strengthening WACSOF for a more harmonious partnership with ECOWAS.

In response, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr emphasized her strong interest in working together with civil society, while regretting the internal divisions within WACSOF. She also emphasized that such a situation of crisis within an organization discourages partners from being involved with the organization. While drawing attention to the need for WACSOF to find a lasting solution to its current challenges, she mentioned that she would consider supporting the organization to solve its problems as a first step towards strengthening its institutional capacity. She also stated her commitment to explore being involved in the efforts to convene a dialogue as earlier mentioned. She believes that this will assist WACSOF to navigate towards a lasting solution for its current challenges. Her goal is to restore a robust and unified WACSOF that will be an effective platform for the mobilization of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in West Africa.

West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), Secretariat

8, Jaba Close, Opposite FCDA Minister’s gate) Area 11, Garki

Abuja, Nigeria.

Email: info@wacsofoscao.org

Phone: +234 903 393 9809Website: www.wacsofoscao.org

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