Abuja, Nigeria – Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mauritania, social partners, development partners and labour migration stakeholders gathered in Abuja for a regional workshop on fair recruitment and Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements (BLMAs). The workshop provides a platform to strengthen regional cooperation and promote labour migration governance frameworks that protect migrant workers’ rights and support safe, orderly and regular migration.

Opening the workshop on behalf of the ILO Country Office Director, Dr. Vanessa Phala-Moyo highlighted the importance of advancing rights-based and gender-responsive approaches to labour migration governance across West Africa. Participants emphasized the need for stronger BLMAs that integrate fair recruitment principles, improve monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, protect migrant workers from exploitation, and facilitate sustainable regular migration pathways between West Africa and other regions.

Supported by the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO), the workshop brings together stakeholders for peer learning, practical exchanges and collective reflection on the development of an ECOWAS Fair Recruitment Workplan and common regional positions on BLMAs. The initiative is supported through the FMM West Africa II programme, funded by the European Union, the Fair Recruitment Forward project and the ACTION Project, funded by GIZ, as well as the FAIRWAY II Programme, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Through these partnerships, the ILO continues to support efforts towards fair recruitment, decent work and enhanced protection for migrant workers across West Africa.