Thirty-five years after the adoption of the 1979 Protocol relating to the Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence and Establishment, several factors are still impeding effective inter-regional mobility within the ECOWAS region. Although the right of entry and the abolition of visa requirements for a 90-day stay have been implemented in all countries, less progress can be noted as regards the Right of Residence and the Right of Establishment. Only four countries grant a specific residence permit to nationals from ECOWAS Member States. Similarly, in most countries the national labour legislation does not set specific provisions for access to employment by ECOWAS citizens, which jeopardises the implementation of the right of residence.

General immigration provisions include a number of gaps. Some of the existing national laws are outdated or imprecise in terms of guaranteeing the observance of international human rights or the application of transparent procedures. As concerns facilitating access to labour markets, ECOWAS Member States’ labour markets are protected through labour market tests or quotas. In some of the countries, labour legislation is ambiguous on the conditions and procedural steps to grant work permits, thereby enabling arbitrary decisions by public authorities.

In others, national legislation contravenes international law provisions, particularly regarding the principle of non-discrimination. Emigration is in general less regulated and very few countries have adopted comprehensive policies in this regard. In the area of labour migration, initiatives to identify and as sess potential new countries of destination and to promote employment of nationals abroad are quite limited in the region, and countries have mainly focused on labour agreements.

The fight against human trafficking is the most developed migration area; almost all Member States have put policies in place that are aligned with the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000) and its Protocol on Trafficking in Persons. Almost half of them have established bodies that focus on actions against human trafficking, and a network of ECOWAS National Focal Points on combating trafficking, coordinated by the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja, has been meeting every year since 2007 (with the exception of 2013) to review progress in implementing regional plans of action to combat trafficking.

However, results are mixed when it comes to the protection of the rights of migrants. The majority of countries have ratified the 1990 Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. However, efforts to protect migrants at risk are limited in scope in most of the countries where public authorities rely mainly on NGOs to provide support to victims.

Regarding the principle of policy harmonisation, the study shows that most countries lacked a comprehensive national migration policy, with there being only six countries that are in the process of drafting a national policy. However, almost all countries plan to develop a national migration policy which could be the precursor to the planned regional common migration policy. Conversely, a common migration policy could stimulate the development of national migration policies.

Another important aspect in deepening policy harmonisation is the alignment of migration and development policies. Although the study did not analyse to which extent migration concerns are mainstreamed in development planning processes and vice versa, the fact that the large majority of countries mention migration in strategic development documents should also be assessed as an important step.

The adoption of a coherent approach that includes migration in other public sector policies faces various obstacles in the countries analysed. First, governments do not have the data needed for sound policymaking. Migration and remittance statistics in the region tend to be outdated and imprecise. Remittance transfers through informal channels are always difficult to capture, but it is estimated that informal remittance flows could equal or exceed official figures in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Moreover, none of the countries indicated that they have undertaken an assessment of national labour market needs, and very few have undertaken a mapping exercise of their diaspora. In a similar vein, national authorities have not yet identified the qualifications that can be promoted abroad, nor those that should not be promoted.