Background

Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements (BLMAs), including bilateral labour agreements and memoranda of understanding on labour migration, are key instruments for governing labour mobility between countries of origin and destination. When effectively designed and implemented, they help expand regular migration pathways, protect migrant workers' rights, promote fair recruitment practices, strengthen cooperation between governments, and support sustainable migration and development outcomes. As more countries incorporate fair recruitment provisions into these agreements, significant gaps remain in the clarity, implementation and enforcement of measures addressing issues such as recruitment fees, unethical recruitment practices, gender equality, monitoring and access to remedies.

As a result, ECOWAS Member States are increasingly negotiating or revising BLMAs with countries in Europe and the Arab States. Strengthening the technical capacity of governments and social partners is therefore essential to ensure that these agreements align with international labour standards and effectively safeguard migrant workers. This regional workshop will provide a platform for knowledge sharing, practical learning and regional dialogue while supporting the development of an ECOWAS fair recruitment workplan and a common regional position on BLMAs.

The workshop is organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with support from the Fair Recruitment Forward project funded by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Action for Improving Labour Migration Governance in Nigeria (ACTION) project funded by GIZ under the ZME Programme, the Free Movement of Persons and Migration in West Africa (FMM West Africa II) project funded by the European Union, and the FAIRWAY Phase II programme co-funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). 

Key documents